If you're going to be in Nice, you might as well go to Mandelieu-La Napoule and check out Le Chateau La Napoule and take the tour. I'd never heard of him before, but the house is gorgeous, and the artwork is like nothing I've ever seen (pictures here and here). When you've finished that, make sure you check out the restaurant in L'Ermitage du Riou, right down the hill. It's reasonably priced, and the best meal you'll ever eat. Cannes is too touristy, and I didn't spend any time in Nice, but it looks like the same. The little towns farther down the coast are gorgeous and like nothing you'll see anywhere else.

It's Siena. Sienna is a minivan, a color and my girlfriend.

Thanks Dan. Fixed. Now how about some suggestions?

I've only been to Florence and Rome among those cities, so I can't help you out that much. I really liked Prague. Go to Prague. Florence is wonderful, very charming city with great artwork. You might want more than a few hours there, even if Jori has been there before. Rome was cool, do a walking tour. Great way to see the city and get some info on the monuments and artwork.

I've been to Italy a couple times and have a minor obsession with it. I think you may need to take travel time into account a bit more, though. Cinque Terre is a definite must-see -- it's absolutely gorgeous and make sure you start early in the day to make the hike between all five towns -- but it's going to take you several hours to get from there down to Florence, and even further to Siena. Siena is fantastic, but you actually can kind of do it in a day. It's a pretty small town. In fact, it makes more sense to stay in Florence and do a day trip to Siena, or at least add a day to Florence. Florence is always wonderful to revisit and there's no way that your girlfriend has seen everything unless she lived there for an extended period of time.

If not an extra day in Florence, then by all means an extra day in Rome. And again, Rome to the Amalfi Coast (and back?) is a pretty long trip in itself that will eat up some time It's hard to do northern and southern Italy in a trip as short as yours because you're racing around and not enjoying anything. And the KEY to really loving Italy is to take your time (especially with the meals). I would personally suggest trying to spend as little time on trains as possible and really soak in the environment, even if that means not getting to one of your locations. No matter how well you try to schedule yourself, especially with trains, beforehand, you'll always have to adjust something, and sometimes the information you get from here online just isn't 100% correct once you get there. The best advice I can give anyone traveling to Italy is not to overschedule.

I agree with the Siena comments. It is a great city, but you definitely don't need more than a day. There isn't much more to do than just wander and explore the city. Of course, I am partial to Florence because I lived there.

Cinque Terre is beautiful. Plan a day for the hike and another for wandering the towns and hanging on the beach.

Again, Nice is beautiful but it would be more of a chance to relax rather than actual sights and touring. I hear the Chagall museum is great, though I didn't make it there.

Too much. Do less, enjoy it more.

I just came back from five weeks in Italy, mostly spent in Rome and the bay of Naples.

If you're looking for good places to eat in Rome, I'd suggest Giovanni's in the Piazza Farnese (it might be listed in Rick Steves). A bit touristy, but I ended up there with a few Italians who liked the food despite all the Americans. :-)

While you're on the Amalfi Coast, be sure to sample some limoncello. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't bring a bottle or two back.

The number rule about travel in Italy: be flexible. Plans will change, trains will be delayed, etc. It's better to roll with the punches than to complain bitterly, I've always found. Also, many of the smaller towns that I visited almost completely shut down during the afternoon "siesta", from roughly 12:30 or 1pm until about 3 or so. It was often difficult to track down lunch during that time.

When I went to the Amalfi Coast two years ago, I stayed in Sorrento which I liked very much. A bit touristy but so beautiful. I recommend scheduling into your day the 4 pm drink in the outdoor cafe because it comes with a snack and is perfect for the essential people watching. Rule of thumb: a coffee comes with little cookies while alcohol is accompanied by nuts. Drink the spritz (not sure how that's spelled), it's a Venetian drink my sister turned me on to. It's orange, if I recall correctly, and very refreshing.

From Sorrento, you can take a day trip to Capri which I thought was totally gorgeous though also packed with the tourist types. However, if you hike up away from the town you can have an amazing view of the island and I also stumbled upon an outlook over the house where Godard filmed Contempt, which I thought was quite exciting.

In Rome, be sure to eat ice cream at San Crispino, it's near the Trevi fountain. Jori's probably been there, it's pretty famous. Every bizarre flavor you can imagine and the epitome of Italian gelato. I say the Italian rule is to eat at least one gelato a day, that's the way I travel anyway. Rome also has loads of amazing movie posters for sale on the streets, I bought a Roman Holiday one when I was there. And you should try to visit the Campo de'Fiori market, the produce is just stunning.

You two are going to have such a blast! Can't wait to hear about it.