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5 Nights Around (not not in) Venice

Posted by (Nashville) on

My wife and I will be traveling with a group to Italy starting in late September (3 nights each in Umbria, Florence & Venice) but then will have 5 nights on our own before we fly out of Marco Polo airport. We are trying to fill in these last 5 nights of our itinerary. As is usually the case in Italy, the problem is too many possibilities given our limited time. I (but not my wife) have previously visited many of the great nearby cities (Bologna, Ferrara, Padova, Vicenza, Modena, Parma, Ravenna) and would go back to any of them but definitely want to visit some new places. I'm looking for some suggestions on workable itineraries for these 5 nights.

Some considerations:
1. We are interested in going to the Dolomites to take in the beautiful scenery and get a taste of the different culture but are a little unsure about the weather in early October. We don't ski or climb but are reasonably fit and enjoy easy to moderate hikes that are rewarded with great scenery.
2. We haven't decided yet on renting a car and it will depend on the itinerary.
3. We are wine lovers so incorporating wineries/wine routes would certainly be something we would enjoy. Then again, we will be in Italy and there will be no shortage of wine of this trip.
4. We are flying out of Marco Polo around noon. I think that means that if we have a car, we could stay anywhere within about an hour of the airport and have a reasonable amount of time to get to the airport the day of our departure. If we don't have our own transportation, the options might be more limited. I've never flow through Marco Polo so any tips on departure challenges would be appreciated.

My first draft of an itinerary would be rent a car in Venice, drive to somewhere in the Dolomites and stay 2 nights. Drive to somewhere within about an hour of the airport (maybe Vicenza which I enjoyed on a previous visit and might be small enough that a car is not impractical) to use as a base for the last 3 nights and visit some wine regions, Verona, and Bassano del Grappa.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions!

Posted by
27221 posts

I've read good things about Treviso and Udine, as well as Trieste, but they all remain to be visited.

Assuming you get to the Dolomites, allow time to see the very pretty historic center of Bolzano and the museum housing the Iceman. The historic areas of Bressanone and Chiusa/Klausen are also worth a visit.

Posted by
11243 posts

Perhaps go to Lake Como for 2-3 nights and work your way back with stops at Verona or B d G or both?

Posted by
275 posts

I can recommend the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region, which includes Trieste and Udine. Those are the two biggest cities there, and they are both very nice. Trieste is very different from the rest of Italy thanks to strong Austrian and Slavic influences. I also liked Cividale del Friuli which is near Udine.

I also liked Trento which is close to the Dolomites. The mountains are visible from the city.

Posted by
4897 posts

You didn't mention visiting Verona in the past. One could easily spend a couple of night there. And it's very close to Venice by either car or train. If you don't have a car to go to the airport, there is a very inexpensive bus from Piazzale Roma to Marco Polo.

Posted by
3607 posts

There is a strada del vino south west of Bolzano that you might want to investigate. Also, closer to Venice, Bassano del Grappa and Marostica are attractive towns, well worth visiting.

Posted by
39 posts

Thanks for the all the great suggestions. I wish I could squeeze them all in. I must say Trieste and Udine were not places I had previously considered but now I'm intrigued. Anyone have thoughts on whether a car in Trieste is a big hassle?

Posted by
894 posts

Have flown out of Venice a couple of times. It’s a small airport and gets very crowded and chaotic, particularly when buses from cruise ships are off-loading passengers. Even if your flight is around mid-day you will need to be at airport at least 3 hours in advance if flying direct to US, or 2 hours if flying within Europe. There are hotels within easy reach of the airport so I would get rid of the car the night before, and taxi or shuttle to airport the next morning.

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