4 Days in Northern Italy – What to see / where to stay

I am also planning a Northern Italy itinerary, traveling in May. Are you sure you want to do this by car? Train connections are really good. Watch Rick's video of Padua-Verona-Ravenna, linked to from this site. My research also suggests Bolzano is worthwhile, which is also covered in Rick's book. Bressanone/Brixen is a town I have my eye on too, they have a special light and water show in the evenings this spring. Others have mentioned to me Ferarra, Vicenza, and Trento. There are really just too many great places to visit in Northern Italy.

There are so many options and as the other poster noted, they are certainly doable by train. We used GoOpti from Verona to Ljubljana. They were very reliable and reasonable.

For visiting the cities between Milan and Trieste, a car is an expensive liability. Trains run frequently and are relatively inexpensive. For 5 nights, I’d suggest 2 in Verona, 1 in Padova and 2 in Trieste. I’d spend a full day exploring Verona, leave early the next morning for Padova (make sure you secure Scrovegni Chapel tix beforehand), leave late the next morning for Trieste. All cities are easy to reach by train and train service is frequent. Last fall I stayed at the Hotel Al Santo in Padova (good restaurant, too) and the Hotel All’Arco in Trieste. Both highly recommended.

On the other hand, if you want to drive, I would spend the first night in Verona and then head up the east side of Lake Garda to Bolzano (the Hotel Città is in the center of the historic center and has direct access to underground public parking). From there, take the Great Road of the Dolomites for an all day scenic ride through the mountains to Cortina d’Ampezzo. Head south stopping in Treviso. And then onward to Trieste.

Another place along the rail line that's worth a stop is Vicenza.

I thought there was more than enough to see in Padua to fill more than one full day, so that's a place I'd consider spending more than one night. You could easily side-trip to Vicenza from there (in as little as 15 minutes), and even Verona's only about 45 minutes away by train.

I loved Ravenna, but it's quite a bit off the direct route between Milan and Trieste, at least if you're traveling by train, which I agree is the way to go.

Thanks to all for the great input. I'm starting to rethink the car and now considering the train. But, a few questions regarding the train. How far in advance do we need to book a train and how often do they generally run? I realize this depends on from/to destinations but just in general. And, can tickets be purchased at the station or best on-line? Bottom line question -- how much planning do i need for train travel in northern Italy. The advantage with the car is freedom to go from town to town when we wish. To what extent will this be limited with train travel. Thanks again!

We stayed in Padua and day tripped by train to Venice, Verona, and Vicenza. We were quite happy with the friendly Hotel Al Cason. It was about a ten minute walk to the station, where each day we just walked up and bought our tickets. Journeys are about one hour or less each way and inexpensive. As I recall trains ran all day, several each hour. Padua itself was very nice, with several major sights and a laid back ambiance compared to other destinations. Safe travels. And, our trip was in late September a few years ago.

Trains run quite frequently along major rail lines. You can look at both schedules and fares on the Trenitalia website. For schedules alone, I find the Deutsche Bahn website easier, but I have occasionally encountered situations in which it didn't seem to be displaying all the trains. I don't know what's going on there. When checking schedules, be sure to use the correct date.

Trenitalia insists that you use the Italian names of cities/stations, so: Milano, Padova (Padua), Mantova (Mantua). If it's an option, choose "Tutte le stazione". In Veona I think you'd want the Porta Nuova station.

Small towns are served only by regional trains. The larger places will also have faster service. The regional trains have no reserved seats, can never sell out, and have the same fare no matter how late you buy your ticket. Fast trains have reserved seats, can sell out (though this isn't terribly common except around holidays), and have fares that vary depending on when you buy your ticket and your willingness to commit to a specific departure time by buying a non-refundable ticket.

I see there are seven trains from Milan to Verona between 8 AM and noon (a mix of fast trains and regionals), but there is an unfortunate gap between 9:45 and 11:25 AM, so it's prudent to take a look ahead of time so you don't end up cooling you heels for a long time at the departure station.

Lines at Italian ticket counters can be long, slow, or both. I always use the ticket machines when I can. They have an English option. But in any case, either buy your ticket the previous day or allow some time to accomplish that task. The machines are very handy because you can see right away the cost of each departure, the total travel time, and how many transfers you'll need to make.

If you're traveling to or from a smaller place, don't automatically choose a routing just because part of the trip will be on a Freccia (express) train. You will pay more, and you may lose a lot of time from a long layover somewhere, not arriving any faster than you would have done by sticking to cheaper, regional trains. Look at the total travel time!

Edited to add: If you buy a ticket on a slower train--one that doesn't give you a reserved seat--you must insert the ticket in the little validator box before you get on the train. The validator will time-stamp the ticket. If you fail to do this, you do not have a valid ticket and will almost certainly be heavily fined.