Italy

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41

We stayed in Tuscany for a week last summer and enjoyed the area southeast of Florence. We stayed in an agriturismo, which was nice because we were a big group and wanted to cook for ourselves some nights. It would be less convenient if you wanted to eat out every night and at the height of summer the mosquitoes were bothersome in the evenings. They were much less of an issue in the hill towns where there was less greenery and more breezes. But by late September that may be less of a concern.

Lots of great hill towns: Montepulciano, Cortona, Assisi, Siena, Arezzo, etc. But the place we were most pleasantly surprised by was San Marino - it’s quite a drive over to the east coast, but has the most amazing views from the walled city. The cliffs make it easy to see why the city was never conquered in 1700 years. You definitely need a car for all those places though.

We stayed fairly close to the main Rome-Florence train line so it was feasible to go into Florence for the day without needing to drive. If you go to Florence then try to climb the dome of the cathedral, the views are amazing and going up the curved dome itself between the inner and outer walls is fascinating.

42

We were in Italy almost 4 years ago, 3 days each Sorrento/Amalfi/Capri, Florence, Rome. We think about the trip often, hope to go back and we loved Florence. Note, we don’t travel often so it was a big trip. Our Florence hotel on the Arno, Plaza Lucchesi, so pretty. Wish we went to Boboli Gardens, recommend bus and afternoon with pizza in Siena, walk/gelato San Gimignano and wine/cheese tasting in Tuscany. We didn’t mind the crowds, Plaza Navona people watch and activity, the best sandwich at Osterio all’Antico Vinaio. More gelato. Enjoy all!

43

We stayed in an agriturismo near Siena. It was interesting and was just a few miles from Siena so we could go there and walk around at night, it was magical. However, they had dinner at the farm which took forever, so that’s something you might need to plan for. I would probably opt for a hotel or an apartment next time.

I also stayed in an agriturismo on the Amalfi coast, with awesome views and the best food I’ve ever tried, but I believe they only take large groups. Also agriturismi are likely not to have A/C which may be a problem in September.

44

@mom60, we flew Alitalia to Rome last year without problems.

A couple of years ago, we flew from London to Milan, took a train to Venice, train to Florence. We rented a car to drive from Florence to Rome with a stop in Greve in Chianti where we spent a few relaxing days at an agriturismo.

DH wasn’t thrilled about driving into Rome. We went straight to our hotel and he immediately turned in the rental. We’ve enjoyed both times we’ve visited and look forward to our next trip.

45

Ok, so we finally have plans and I need your help! Venice 2 nights, Florence 3 nights and Rome 4 nights.

I’ve been to Venice and Rome and know most of what I want to do. I try to do one planned thing a day to give it structure. The tours I have each day are around 4 hours each (the typical big sight seeing ones, plus a food tour). Rome is our last leg, so I don’t want to tire everyone out…especially overdo museums.

Florence! I need help planning my time.

Day 1 - arrival from Venice in morning. Need help

Day 2 - 10 hour Tuscany tour…every one is quite excited about this one.

Day 3 - need help.

I do like tours, I believe guides add a lot of history and make things interesting. The Walks of Italy tours in Rome are worth the money.

Do you think this one would be for Day 1? It’s 3 hours, but may be a really nice overview that afternoon.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/florence-tours/florence-walking-tour-david/

Day 3: I’m thinking no big tour, but get early tickets to the Uffizi. 2 hour guided tour for 36 euros. The rest of the day figure out things on our own, but what? I don’t mind it being relaxed, but I find when we go on big family vacations like this, the family looks to me. Haha!

46

For one of the days, I would suggest you go to the top of the Doumo in Florence and you must buy those tickets in advance. It is 463 steps, if all members of your family can handle that, the climb is worth it for the view (of both the city and the inside of the Doumo).

For the other day, the tour you linked to looks fine- it hits all the most important places. We did a very similar tour in Florence.

I think doing the walking tour the first day works well as an introduction to the town.

47

@conmama, what time will you arrive in Florence? Doesn’t it take quite a few hours to get from Venice? (I’m trying to arrange a trip for June!)

48

Yes, definitely climb the dome of the Duomo as I mentioned in post 40 (much better 360 degree views and a more interesting climb than the Campanile though that usually has shorter lines). If you’ve not been there before, visit the Pantheon in Rome to see the largest dome in the world before Florence’s Duomo was built.

We have photos of when my D dressed up as Brunelleschi’s dome for Renaissance day in elementary school (that was a challenging costume with lots of coat hangers and curtain fabric!). This semester in college they have an Intellectual Traditions course where they act out various key events of the Renaissance, so I’m hoping she gets to play Brunelleschi again :wink:

49

@inthegarden , it’s 2 hour 15 minutes by fast train.

50

My business trips look a lot like leisure travel as I visit our producers (vendors). This post includes ideas in no particular order.

On some of my trips, I’m alone at night so I often like to be in town to walk to dinner.

A beautiful resort in the Chianti Classico: Dievole. Find the web site. It is fabulous and located between Siena and Florence.

Also outside Florence in Bagno a Ripoli is this very nice small resort and excellent restaurant.

http://www.ristoranteal588.com/it/

http://www.borgoivicelli.com/en/

As a family, we stayed in this apartment in Florence. It is a 5 minute walk to Santa Croce and one of the neighborhood markets is nearby, San Ambrogio. This is an easy walk to the Ufizzi and the Duomo.

https://www.vrbo.com/68776

No one has mentioned Lucca, an amazing small city between Florence and the sea on the western coast. They are famous for music concerts in the summer and the walls of the city are a ring for walking or bike riding.

Do you know about Panzano? It’s a small town in the Chianti Classico — and the big feature is the larger-than-life Dario Cecchini, the Dante-quoting butcher — with his collection of restaurants. Dario’s mission is that if one is going to butcher an animal, there should be no waste.

Oh, and Verona is just gorgeous — the old city, the river … The opera (amphitheater).

Near Montepulciano, in Montichiello, Daria has a couple of restaurants and apartments. Take a look.
https://www.ristorantedaria.it/en/ristorante-daria/

Of course, Bologna is fascinating, the restaurants are great, and there are fabulous food tours to Modena and Parma.

If you go to Rome, I’ve stayed in this apartment twice:
https://www.vrbo.com/en-ca/cottage-rental/p384199vb

In Livorno, I’ve stayed at this hotel. It’s old and classy. But the rooms are modern. It’s across the street from the sea.

https://www.ghpalazzo.it/en/hotel-livorno/

I’ve lost track. Did I mention Ancona? A smallish city on the Adriatic. It’s certainly the less touristed side of Italy. I took a train from Bologna and the ride along the coast was beautiful. I stayed outside the city at Azienda del Carmine, an agriturismo: https://www.aziendadelcarmine.it/

This year I’m hoping to get to Calabria, or maybe Sicily. I’ve been as far south as Campobasso, and to the north I’ve been from Milan to Trieste (fabulous, but beyond Venice).

We once used airline miles to fly into Zurich and then took the train to Milan and beyond. I can’t think of a better train trip.

Note: if you drive, many of these towns have ZTLs (restricted driving areas). Learn the signs and ideally have GPS that warns you with enough time to stay out of the zone.

51

Actually, several of us have. I mentioned it being one of my favorite places. Highly recommend it as a point for exploring western Tuscany. Great rentals can be found inside the walls.

52

One of the things you mentioned is enjoying water and landscapes. Amalfi is beautiful without a doubt, but you may want to consider the northern Italian Lakes and Dolomites region. On Lake Garda, you can wander from town to town on the ferry or via a lake side walk way at parts. The northern part of Lake Garda is a forge- the mountains meet the lake and allows for breathtaking views at every turn. You can take a gondola to the top of one, right from the lake side town of Melcesine. From there, you could (if you went in the late Spring or summer), travel into the Dolomites. The Dolomites themselves are breathtaking, the historic towns are unique and the lakes are stunning. However, the drive along switchbacks is not for the faint of heart!

53

Just saw that you are going in the early fall. I believe that would be ok for the Dolomites, but double check the weather.

54

Thanks for more great recommendations. My sister is coming to visit tomorrow and she is going in May. We are going to do some trip planning.

55

Sorry @doschicos I missed the references to Lucca.

@gone2mrrw’s mention of Lake Garda is a good one — and one that can easily be combined with Verona.

All good choices.

56

Don’t want to hijack this thread, but can some of you quickly mention which airlines you’ve had good luck with (fares and comfort, not to mention not losing bags!) I’ll be flying from DC/BWI if I go…

57

American, Delta, British Air. I wouldn’t do Alitalia unless it was quite a bit cheaper.

58

I just booked our flights today! I’m so excited! 9 nights: Venice, Florence, Rome. I even have hotels , but am still researching.

We went with Delta.

Now on to the reserving tours!

59

Thank you! I will check out those. Was feeling bad about hijacking and decided to start a new thread but now I may not have to!

60

We actually spend two nights in Verona, attended an Opera and then went to Lake Garda. It worked perfectly for us and was a very easy drive from Verona to where we stayed on the lake (Bardolino).