Going to Italy, wanna help?

[altachic]

Going in March.

I know, I know, that's too early but it's way more expensive to go in April/May and the fall. March was the time we could afford.

So, we are going to fly into Rome and go north and south. I know we want to go to Cinque Terre and there abouts, most likely Florence. We'd like to spend more time going south, as the weather will probably be warmer at that time of year. I want to go to Sorrento as well.

Other than that, we have no idea. Where should we go, what should we see, where should we stay, what should we do?

[neck beard]

What ever you do, buy fresh green olives from a big barrel full of water at a neighbourhood market on Saturday morning. And buffalo mozzarella. And tomatoes.

Venice will be a little less crowded then. Its awesome but a bit out of your way (about 5 hours east of Cinque Terre via Milan, roughly).

[davep]

Lots of italy discussion in this thread:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...=sienna+venice

[Hutch]

Ski at Cervinia or Courmayeur.

[Steven S. Dallas]

Naples is a dump and should be avoided.

If you're going to Florence, I really like the towns of Pienza, San Giminiano, and Montepulciano, which aren't far. Siena (which is bigger, but still a very small city) is super cool, too.

[Hutch]

This place on Lake Como is pretty kickass.

[TeleHoar]

Venice and Florence fur shur. Spend a day in Rome too.
Gondolas in Venice are expensive but fun.
Avoid Naples unless you are going to Vesuvius and Pompeii, Pompeii is amazing.
Isle of Capri and the blue grotto, classic trip.

Tuscany area if you head towards Sienna.
Bike ride through the Chainti region.

Don't miss the David in Florence and the Pieta' in St. Peters Rome.

Have fun. I love Italy.

[pappag]

If you're going north from Rome, stop in Assisi - easily one of the more beautiful basilicas on the inside. Be in Florence on Saturday for the market. Do a wine tour in San Gimignano. Do dinner at La Torre in Siena. Save money for shopping as most stores have a very largely-discounted sale through the end of March/beginning of April. Avoid Venice and Naples.

[ass-to-mouth]

definitely check out naples. there will be plenty of people who will tell you it's a dump & to avoid it...blah..blah..blah. sure it's a little chaotic and a little dirty, but it's REAL italy. not just some lame tourist trap like florence or sienna or venice. places where the tourons with camcorders outnumber the locals. puglia (the heel of the boot) is also very cool and inexpensive (for italy anyways). the little towns along the gargano coast are worth checking out.

[Toadman]

Sounds similar to a trip we did a few years back. We flew into FCO, spent a few nights in Rome. Then we rented a car and drove up north through Umbria. We stayed at this place in the Umbrian country side, which is just amazing!

http://fattoriadivibio.com/farm-holiday-umbria.php

Check out Orvietto. The drive there was also just beautiful. Lots of little towns around Umbria that are really cool. Todi, Assisi, Spello, Spoleto, Montefalco, Gubbio & Deruta for Italian Ceramics.

The food was also fantastic. And make sure to sample lots of Gelato and all those wonderful cheeses. We also spent a night in Sienna. Would have liked to have checked out more of Tuscany but so little time.

Venice if you have never been is great.

We spent a few nights on Capri, and really liked it. Hiked all over the place. And if you manage to get there, have dinner at this place...

http://www.terrazzabrunella.com/en/index

Had the most amazing meal, service, and view...

Enjoy, where ever you end up.

[Kied]

+1 for Lake Como, oh and this...http://www.ducatitours.com/

[srsosbso]

This place on Lake Como is pretty kickass.

We also stayed there. Unreal place.

I rode from that town (Varenna) around the bottom of the lake, up to bellagio and then up to the chapel of the madonna del ghisallo (leave it to the italians to have a patron saint of bicycle racing.) Beautiful.

Italy is stunning. Take a road bike and cycle if you can. All the hill towns in tuscany are amazing.

Also recommend Umbria and the dolomites.

[BigDaddy]

I lived in Rome for a semester... right on the Campo de Fiori. Anywhere you go is going to blow your mind. You should see the Forum, Colloseum, St. Peters (The Vatican), Castle St. Angelo, Pantheon (not to be confused with the Parthenon in Athens!), etc. All within walking distance and lots of small sight along the way. Get some gelloto at Giolittis then just walk around or sit and enjoy the sights:



In northern Italy, there are many great small towns but my favorites are: Mantua (check out the Pallazo del Te), Verona (home of the real Romeo and Juliett), Vicenza (lots of Palladio's work), Parma, and like Nick, I loved Assisi, too. (If you eat meat, get some porchetta nearby... it's so good!) Don't worry if you miss any of this stuff... you can't go wrong just wondering Italy and trying new stuff... it's all good.

[Buster Highmen]

Take your skis to hit Alagna. You can thank me later.

I liked Florence, but it's overwhelming. At least to me. After a while, Michelangelos get psychedisneyesque. Don't miss the Uffizi, the Palazzo and the Duomo. Plus, go drop the $100 each on a tasting menu at Enoteca Pinchiorri.

I really liked Sienna. It has tons of art treasures, an amazing cathedral and really cool streets in the old town but it seemed more real. It's easy to take a bus there from Florence for a day or two.

We stayed right on the Arno, 2 blocks from the Ponte Vecchio. I can't remember the hotel's name, but it was small and 1/4 the price of the snazzier grand hotels 3 blocks away.

I'd recommend not trying to do too much stuff. I think it's better to pick a few places and see them more thoroughly than dashing madly around.

I think this was the hotel in Florence on the Arno, right next to the Uffizi: Hotel Degli Orafi

[brice618]

Just got back don't have time this moment but I'll be writing it all down sometime in the near future so shoot me a pm to remind me to send it to you.

I lived there for two months this summer and have traveled all over the northern side and as far south as Sorrento.

[Hutch]

We also stayed there. Unreal place.

Cool. Honeymoon? We were.

[DJMingus]

I think your timing is great. Fewer people and better weather unless you like it HOT.

Second Buster's thoughts on not doing too much. We did Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Venice and two of the Lagos in two weeks and ended up wishing we had skipped one of those to spend more time in each. We enjoyed them all but a day or two extra in each would have been a lot better. Relax, eat, drink some nice vino Italiano.

Lake District will be a lot cooler than south in March. On my next trip we will fly into Roma and spend all of our time from Tuscany south and I would prefer to do it in March/April or November.

[StormRider]

My wife and I went for 2 weeks in April ’06.

Cinque Terre is way cool. Don’t bother looking for a hotel. Residents rent rooms and they should be easy to find that time of year. The room we rented was like a 400 sq ft studio apartment and clean.




We also hit Florence, Barga, Lucca, San Gimignano, Montalcino, Siena, and a couple smaller places.

Lucca is cool. I think many travelers make a mistake in overlooking it.


We really liked Montalcino. And the drive between there and Siena should not be missed. “Flying Over the Crete” I think I saw it referred to as.






Sommocolonia, a tiny town north of Lucca, is home to one of the greatest hardly-known stories of WW2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Fox




I definitely echo the thoughts of not trying to see too much. We used Sommocolonia and Montalcino as bases and did day trips out of there. We saw and did a lot but with a limited itinerary we never felt rushed and were able to truly enjoy the sights we saw. If you want to get in to any of the big museums, book a walking tour of the city that includes that museum. You’ll learn a lot about the city during the tour and you’ll cut the line at the museum. May not be a problem in March, but worth looking into.

Here is a link to the billion photos I took on our trip.
http://stormrider.smugmug.com/Travel

[Buzzworthy]

E wants to go BAD. You are going to cost me a lot of money Sat.

[Tye 1on]

you fuckers rule. I will never again travel internationally [other than tj] without doing a search here first. fkna.

[srsosbso]

Honeymoon? We were.

Actually, yes, honeymoon. Wait a minute- am I married to you?

[Hutch]

am I married to you?

Do you work with altachic? If so, get in the car and pick me up, you were supposed to be here at 4:30!

[Steven S. Dallas]

Lucca is awesome- I stayed just outside the town for a week on an estate that was built into the hillsides by the Medici some five hundred years ago. Absolutely gorgeous and all our food and wine was produced on the grounds of the estate, plus we had our own chapel, which as it turns out is a really awesome place to go fuck one's girlfriend when the rest of your family (we had about 35 people staying there) is sitting around the dinner table.

So, yeah, you should do that, except for the part about my girlfriend.

edit: Actually, we broke up a few years ago, so go for it.

[Hutch]

So, is the dinner table in the chapel, then?

[Steven S. Dallas]

That would be a little sacrilegious, don't you think?