UKH

My twice-annual work trip to Florence is coming up and as always I would like to tie it in with a little bit of seeing Italy. Have previously used the trip to have a glimpse of Rome, Pisa, Lucca, Tuscany/Siena, Bologna and Venice

This time I’ll probably flirt through Bologna briefly inbound but I see that return options could incorporate Turin or Naples. I’d take the train from Florence after giving my talk, it’s three hours by train to either of them but I finish at 2:30pm so can get there in plenty of time for a decent evening and then I’d have the next day to explore too.

I don’t know much about either city. Just proving the UKC hive mind initially (knowing that I might get much consensus!)

I love Naples , yes , its dirty and dangerous  but fascinating. Pizza and street food is amazing , Pompeii is close by , Vesuvius, Sorrento and Positano are a short train and bus ride away. Seriously there is so much to do and see , the underground world of Naples is extensive and interesting. Herculaneum is also well worth a walk around. 

Naples! You've got the Amalfi Coast plus Pompeii and Herculaneum to explore.

I probably wouldn't stay in Naples though, I'd probably head out to Sorrento and stay there - nice town and quieter than Naples.

I plan to FLIT through Bologna, not FLIRT through it. Autocorrect has been feeling romantic lately, often correcting  “living” to “loving” too 

Naples is a fantastic city, but I'd suggest that a night and one day might be frustratingly brief, given all that there is to see in the city and the vicinity.  One possible benefit of going there in December, though, could be that it wouldn't be as punishingly hot as it was last time we were there - in July!  If you do choose to go there I can recommend the Palazzo Turchini as a comfortable and reasonably-priced hotel.

Turin in the winter can be a lovely, atmospheric place.  With a bit of planning you should be able to "do" the key highlights of the city in an evening and a day.  As well as the 'standard' attractions like the Duomo and the castle in Piazza Castello, you can spend a happy hour or so strolling around spotting locations from The Italian Job such as the Chiesa Gran Madre di Dio (aka "God's Grandmother"), the Palazzo Vela and the Lingotto car factory.  A donder through Parco Valentino along the banks of the Po can take in a visit to the charming if not also frankly slightly bizarre Borgo Medievale.  If the weather is cooperative you get wonderful views of the Western Alps from vantage points such as the top of the Mole, or the Superga (reached by a rickety old rack railway from the suburb of Sassi on t'other side of the Po).  Alternatively, of an evening, you can sometimes get captivating glimpses of the mountains silhouetted by the sunset by looking anywhere from south-west to north-west along one of the main thoroughfares out of the city centre such as Corso Francia.  And if you're spending an evening there you'll also likely be mingling with the the locals making their "passaggiata" around the social hub of the city: Piazza Carlo Felice, Via Roma and Piazza San Carlo.

Bottom line: for a short visit I'd recommend Turin.  Naples and the Costa Amalfitana are worth doing as a longer trip in their own right.

Yes, I got the dislike that I always get when posting about trying to get something out of my work travel

i can extend to 2 days. 

Thanks for such a detailed reply! I’ll try to absorb it later. I know these tiny glimpses I grab whilst basically travelling back from work things, hardly do justice to these places , but they give me ideas of what could be worth a more detailed repeat visit.

It is all also somewhat governed by the convenience of flight times and UK airports. Landing at Gatwick at 11pm is not useful for me, for example, as it would necessitate another overnight in London. I’ll have to consider these things too. But you’ve given me some hope for Turin (I did visit the city in 2000 but we were backpacking and it rained for 18 hours and our tent was rubbish and we were struggling  with italian language so we gave up and went to France by hiking over a small Alp  )

Although thinking about it now, I have not really done the “big ticks” in Florence itself! Plenty of wandering and I went to a modern art thing but haven’t been in the Uffizi or inside the Duomo for example!

My one visit to Florence was a few years ago now, a very brief day trip by train from Lucca.  We didn't visit the Uffizi (massive queues) or go inside the Duomo either.  We did pop up to the Palazzo Pitti which was much less busy and has the Giardino di Boboli immediately adjacent (IIRC the Vasari corridor was "chuiso per restauro" when we were there).  Apart from that we dondered about the Mercato di San Lorenzo and along banks of the Arno, ate ice cream in a gelateria at the foot of the Ponte Vecchio and an al fresco lunch in the Piazza della Signoria.

I'd say that, unless there is something that you absolutely have to see (I've been to Milan numerous times but have never seen the Ultima Cena in the flesh!) then many Italian cities lend themselves very well to a day's inquisitive stravaiging.

You've described my approach quite precisely! I once "did Rome" in an afternoon and a morning of wandering which was basically Termini down to the Coliseum to just sort of look at it from outside, then across town to sit in the Pantheon for a bit, then to a couple of Piazzas, then dinner and an early night, then the next day went up to the National Museum of Modern/20th Century Art in the park (quite randomly - I'd planned to go to Villa Borghese but it was totally sold out then I thought "go to Maxxi" but that was quite a trek and I fancied a coffee and just stumbled across the Modern Art museum and planned just to use the cafe, then decide it would be a good idea to "do" that museum)
I forgot to even pass by the Trevi Fountain on that trip  

Team, I chose Naples. 
Hopefully find a trip to Pompeii but I might skip a Vesuvius climb in favour of some Neapolitan urban delights, catacombs etc look good. I think basing myself in Sorrento on such a short trip might be counterproductive but I welcome any further comments and suggestions. 

I can probably get into Naples for around 7pm on a Thursday night and have all of Friday and Saturday at my disposal, and a noon flight on Sunday. 
I am however pondering a later arrival in to Naples on the Thursday to accommodate a visit to the Palazzo Pitti in Florence after work on the Thursday, or even stay one more night in Florence and get an early train into Naples the Friday morning. I would probably only have a lie in and a lazy breakfast in Naples in any case. Choices, choices

Buon viaggio!

Though have to say, how could you possibly 'do' Rome in a day? It wasn't built in one :-D I lived there for a year and there's still a lot I never got to do!

If Juve are playing at home Turin every time.

I did use inverted commas for Rome!

I “did” Saint Peter’s and The Vatican on a separate trip ha ha

Can you tell me about the locations of Naples? I am planning to go there next month

Pompeii can take a good chunk of a day on its own.  Top tip: don't queue for the entrance that's directly opposite the railway station.  Instead, turn right and stroll down the hill to what is actually the *main* entrance and you'll likely not even have to queue at all.  Then work your way *up* the site and emerge bang opposite the station.  Sorted.

The hike from where the bus drops you to the top of Vesuvius is OK but I'd skip it if I were on a tight schedule.  (There used to be a chairlift as well but I have a feeling that's no longer operating.)

If you're going to Pompeii you might want to think about stopping off at Herculaneum as well (or even - dare I say it - instead).  They're both on the same railway line.  Herculaneum tends to be much less rammed than Pompeii, and the fresco work is easily on a par with much of what you get to see at Pompeii*.  Herculaneum is also where you get the bus to Vesuvius.  If you're set on doing Vesuvius then you might want to consider skipping Pompeii (I know, sacrilege, World Heritage Site etc etc) and just do Herculaneum and the volcano in the one day.

* Don't forget that a lot of the good stuff from Pompeii is actually in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.  (This includes the "rude stuff' which is kept in a separate gallery - I think you may even have to pay extra to see it!  No idea whether it's worth it, we didn't bother.)