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Bologna or Venice? 3 nights

Posted by on

Hi all!

My partner and I are planning a eurotrip and part of our trip will be driving from Rome for a Day in San Marino and we want 2 days in Venice.

Originally we wanted to stay in each of these places but then we thought a central location would be quite nice to have a base point! So we are considering 3 nights in Bologna and then just day trips either via train or driving. But I'm now thinking that as we don't actually have interest in 'seeing' Bologna as much as Venice and San Marino would we be better off just staying in each of these places?

We also have to consider parking and would rather avoid the cost of parking on Venice. So if we were to stay here we would like a hotel with free parking and to just travel in?

What are your thoughts!?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I should have said, we HAVE to take the car, it is part of our trip as there're a few roads my partner wants to drive on - BIG car person... which is why it's making decision making a little complicated as I would prefer to just stay in Venice. But we will have the car and will need to stay mainland :)

Posted by
8474 posts

Been to Bologna once and Venice four times. That tells you something. Venice is a must see city in Italy. Nothing wrong with Bologna, but in my opinion it is not a first tier site in Italy.

Posted by
7209 posts

If you have the chance to see Venice then by all means GO there. There is no other city like Venice. If you don't want to park in Venice then don't drive :-) Take the train which is a hundred times easier than driving AND the train deposits you into Santa Lucia station right at the Grand Canal.

Posted by
761 posts

Venice is unique and you definitely want to stay there overnight. That will give you a chance to explore and enjoy in the early morning and late evening hours. Also - I would recommend the train over a car. Train travel is easy, convenient and eliminates the cost and hassle of parking. You will not use the car while in Rome or in Venice. Not sure how to work in San Marino but I'm sure someone on this site can.

Posted by
2148 posts

Are there specific places you want to visit between Rome and Venice that require a car? Otherwise, recommend taking the train. You could always do a 3 day car rental near San Marino (? Ravenna). Parking in Venice is very expensive. Venice is magical at night. We love Bologna, but it certainly is too far away from where you want t go to day trip. If you definitely want a car for your whole trip, maybe stay somewhere in Padua that has parking. Padua is a wonderful city and the train ride into Venice is only about an hour. If you do drive to San Marino, consider going to Urbino also.

Posted by
5290 posts

Since "...we don't actually have interest in 'seeing' Bologna as much as Venice..." my suggestion is that you follow you instincts and spend all those days in Venice. It is a truly unique place and if you get restless there are many days trips that can be done from there. If at all possible, take the train and forget the car -- just not worth the hassle.

Posted by
9078 posts

Venice is a place to be, not just to visit on a day trip. The best times are late at night and early AM, which you wont see on a day trip. .

to reaffirm, there are no hotels with parking in Venice proper (where you should stay), since there are no roads and no cars. If you are flying out of Venice, dump the car before or when you get there. Staying on the mainland just so you can park a car you cant use would be missing the point. It would be like going to see Manhattan while staying in New Jersey.

Posted by
16895 posts

Why San Marino? It's not much different from other Italian hill towns. Orvieto is a favorite alternative that's served by relatively fast trains. (Nearby Civita di Bagnoregio is smaller, but requires an additional bus connection.) It would also not be a bad option to skip hill towns and take a direct train to Venice (less than 4 hours).

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