Christmas in Florence, New Years in Naples--and then where??

Posted by Diana (The World!) on 02/23/24 06:40 PM

We will be spending Christmas in Florence and New Years in Naples. And then where?
We need to be in Rome on January 6th for our flight home on the 7th. That leaves us 5 nights to explore and enjoy a different town.
We have been to: Rome (twice), Venice, Pisa, Lucca & Florence on previous trips, so would like to explore someplace new. For some odd reason, we are not at all interested in the Amalfi region. We especially enjoy wandering interesting old town areas, visiting beautiful churches, and lingering over a nice meal with wine. We are also looking forward to Christmas markets, and I understand they usually go until about the 6th of January?
Someplace easily accessible by train, as we won't have a car.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
TVQ

Posted by valadelphia

02/23/24 07:01 PM

5104 posts

Could you flesh out the actual days that are planned so far?
Bari is one I would consider, with maybe a stop in Matera. Or go back toward Rome and take a train to Orvieto.

Posted by hiredman

San Diego, California, USA

02/23/24 07:02 PM

1147 posts

Hello Diana,

I'm not sure I'm answering your question directly but if you have time don't miss Arezzo (short train ride from Florence) around Christmas time as they pull out all the stops. Siena also has Christmas faires around the holidays.

I notice you didn't mention Siena in your list of places you've been. I'm not sure it's 5 full days worth but it certainly matches your description of what you're looking for. Have you considered making your way to Rome via the train accessible Tuscan and Umbrian towns? Siena, Arezzo, Cortona, Chuisi, Orvieto and other towns that grab your interest?

Also heading north Verona might fit your interests but it would mean backtracking towards Rome a bit.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Posted by Katherine

Atlanta, GA, USA

02/23/24 07:24 PM

795 posts

not on topic AT ALL, but remember that January 6th is La Befana/Epiphany/3 kings day and apparently a national holiday, so make sure you are on top of your transport (which might be either less frequent than normal days and/or very busy) and a plan for food/activities as many things are closed that day. I ended up in Rome on Jan 6th one year going from Liverpool to southern Italy and my friends and I ended up in the most Italian of Italian lines at burger king for an HOUR because that was the only thing we could find open.

Posted by Diana OP

The World!

02/23/24 09:07 PM

35 posts

THANK YOU Katherine for that information--we'll have to plan carefully so we can definitely be in Rome on the 6th. We do have an airport hotel reserved for the night of the 6th-now all we have to do is get there!

valadelphia: The rest of our itinerary: Dec 14-20 in Germany for Christmas Markets, etc. Arrive in Florence Dec 21st, leave Florence Dec 26th. Naples: Dec 26-Jan 1st.

Thanks for the suggestions--I'll look at those other areas for sure!

Posted by valadelphia

02/23/24 09:18 PM

5104 posts

Looks fantastic. I have always wanted to see Naples at Christmas time after a brief visit there. I have heard that Salerno is great at that time of year too, but it is so close to Naples it could just be a day trip.