My family and I are touring Italy by car this summer. I'd like to hear of any hotel recommendations which are outside the city center and the controlled traffic zones of Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. An optimum hotel would be a small 2-Rick-$ place with a family room with a Metro/Bus station nearby to allow us to travel into the city center during the day.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Dan, for Florence, we stayed at the Hilton Metropole Hotel which is 3.35 miles from city center. It was very accessible from the autobahn. They provide a free shuttle bus that goes to and from the train station in the city. It really worked out great for us. Check it out at www.hilton.com
Posted by
Sacramento, California, United States
253 posts
Dan, I suppose you have your reasons for touring Italy by car, but even with hotel stays outside the centers for those cities you mentioned, most of your vacation will be spent arguing over where to park the car, driving the car, and maneuvering through illogical traffic scenarios. Hope you have a tight, family unit - you are going to need to rely on it.
So this is my suggestion. Find a good place to park the car OUTSIDE those cities near train stations that allow easy access to each and find accommodations near the city centers. You have to weigh the cost of spending a bit more money to be near what you came to see in the first place with the amount of time and energy you will be expending dealing with a car in Italy and taking local transportation each day you plan on being there to go into town.
Seriously. You want to take a car to somewhere NEAR Venice and commute in?
Posted by
In the Mountains, USA
689 posts
Dan,
We love to drive around the country side in Italy. I don't know your reasons for wanting a car - but if you are only going to the citys you mention, you don't need one. You will pay a lot of money for it while not driving it.
In Florence (3 nights) we not only paid for the car rental - but 35E a night to have it parked. We didn't see the car for almost 4 days - but it cost us nearly 400 extra Euros just to keep it to drive to Venice to drop it off.
Now we only use the car to get to our village in Abruzzo - or if we want to explore the country side.
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
1825 posts
Unless an area is not easily accesible by public transportation, a car is a liability in Italy. eg,when I rented a villa in Tuscany a few years ago, we went to the nearest town and took the train in to Florence. The best times spent in many of the towns you mention is after the day trippers/tour buses leave and you are left in town to walk around and enjoy with fewer crowds. I would recommend you rethink your transportation strategy and only rent a car if you are wanting to drive around Tuscany or areas not well served by train or bus. The train combined with small, family run hotels in or near the city center will heighten your experience.