For some reason, my husband thinks it's necessary to go to Portugal this year as well as Italy, so I'm putting the trip together. We have done the big 3 and a lot of the more famous sites on previous visits, so am looking for some guidance from people in the same situation. I'm planning from 3-4 weeks in country. How long would you suggest staying in Assisi, Modena, Parma, and Arezzo?
Posted by
Sammamish
66 posts
We stayed 3 nights in Assisi and enjoyed the village a lot. We also spent 3 nights in Parma, and while it wasn't my favorite, a couple nights would be okay if you really want to go there. There is a castle outside of town that you take a bus to and it is worth a visit. Ravenna is very nice with all the mosaics and we took the train there from Florence for a 3 night stay. The train from Parma changed in Bologna to go to Milan and the second leg of the train was uncomfortable, crowded, people taking up multiple seats making you stand and rail staff not asking anyone to move. No one checked tickets but they did come on to intentionally boot a few young men off. Not sure I understand the Italian train system as many trains were great.
Posted by
Denver
898 posts
What are you and your husband's interests? What led you to focus on those four towns/cities in Umbria and Emilia-Romagna?
Are you planning on having a rental car or using only public transportation?
My spouse and I like regional dishes, history and fine art. We visited Assisi years ago (before the earthquake) and enjoyed our visit. We are not Catholic. I found it interesting enough for me for a a half-day visit. I've never felt the need to return.
I love Modena, for a less-touristy mid-sized location, and we have stayed there for five days on two separate trips. To me, the town is lovely place to hang out in and people-watch. There are things to do and see within Modena, but most days we drove to other locations in the area. We've visited Parma several times, one-night stays or day trips (from Modena). It's also a nice smaller city, IMHO.
We stayed for three nights in Arezzo, and I really enjoyed it. It's less touristy, but still a delightful, smaller city. We happened to be there for the monthly antiques fair, and I really enjoyed strolling through that, though I only made one purchase. (Spouse does not like stuff like this, so he didn't enjoy it so much). We took day trips from here, too.