Do you go back to the same place?

I posted a topic about a year ago, "Why do we return?", and I'n glad you brought the question up. I assumed that people do return. I do.

I go back to Italy every year. Sometimes I add another country, and I've had multiple trips to Berlin and Belgium, but Italy is home to me. There are s few cities I return to every year, some are in a two-or three- year rotation, some I have visited only once. I have the opportunity to take long holidays. I love adding new places.

Yes Lulu, we go back to some of the same places. This November we head back to Germany for about the 5th time. We have been to other countries but Germany draws me back. Don't know why. We will also go to Prague, Vienna & Budapest for the first time.

Yes! Usually adding something new. This is the 4th year in a row to London, 3rd year in a row to Paris. This year I have bookended my travels with those 2 cities.

Well, this August is 26 years in a row we go on holiday to a small village near Innsbruck, Austria. We know the parish priest and most of the parishioners (unfortunately the choir director passed away this year), they stop us in the street to ask if we have seen their dog, we give them a lift if we see them walking uphill, and so on.

Repeat travel has many advantages. You are already familiar with a place. So, it's more relaxing and you see sights that you missed the first go around. Visit a different neighborhood, just leisurely stroll an off-the-beat street for the heck of it. It 's a different feeling. The first go around - one is hyped up on seeing the major sights, trip planning, logistics. The second time - you know what you want to see and not see. You know where you are going. Italy has soo much to offer a traveler. I wish I could go to Italy every year. I have been there twice now. You may want to switch out one or two towns.

I always go back to Paris, but we always add a few new places each trip too. We never go for less than a few weeks , so we have the time.
We return to several other places also, we love Spain, Uk , and this year we finally made it back to Greece ( my first visit there was years ago) .

However each trip we alwzys add one place at least that we havnt been too!

Hi Lulu,

We've stayed in the Berchtesgaden area 5 trips for a total of 18 nights.
We've stayed in Hall in Tirol 5 trips for a total of 18 nights.
Stayed in both Fuessen, Mittenwald and La Villa (Dolomites) for 6 nights each total.

Yes, we love returning to our favorites.

My sister's family used to rent the same beach house year after year at the NJ shore.
My uncle had a summer home on a lake. It's practically the only place they vacationed.

Paul

I have the "Paris Rule" - All European trips must include a stop in Paris! We repeat some and add new on each trip - our next trip we are repeating Paris, Amsterdam - DH loved it there and we have more to see, Barcelona - a great place to just chill, Berlin - so much more to see, Vienna - DH's favorite city and Florence - been craving this pizza we had there...

We are adding Poland, Russia, Naples, Amalfi Coast and Oxford. Well - that the plan today! I expect it will end up similar to this!

I always want to do both, return to my favorites and see new places. It is always a hard decision, so I try to do a little of both in my trips. If only I had more vacation time and funds, it would make this decision so much easier!

If you go back to Italy and re-visit one or two of your favorite places from last year, and add one or two new places, it'll make for a very satisfying trip.

Let's see, 5 trips to Europe - London all 5 times (but we usually fly in and out of there as our choices are limited by where we live - London is direct without having to do annoying connections to Montreal or TO); Venice 4 times (and want to return in 2018); Paris 3 times (and hitting Paris again for a few days next year); South of France, Rome, Cinque Terre twice.

As much as I do have a lot of places on my bucket list, it is nice to go back to a familiar spot as after repeat visits, you are familiar with the transit system and have most likely seen all the 'big' tourist stuff. So you can slow down, relax a little, don't get worked up about how to get from point a to point b, see smaller and hopefully less crowded sights. And even better - return to the places you enjoyed on previous visits - a certain restaurant or shop...4 of our trips to London we hit Shaftsbury Ave so hubby can go to Forbidden Planet comic shop and I go across the road to Hotel Chocolat for some goodies.

It's even nice staying in the same accoms - 3 of our Venice stays were at the same place. Hopefully Paris next year we'll get the same airbnb. London we have couchsurfing friends we always stay with - so the anxiety of finding where you are staying is gone as well because it's old hat now.

For me it's a bit of a vacation from your vacation - a chance to relax a bit and encounter the familiar.

For me it's Scotland, though my next couple trips won't be there, it continually calls to me. Our last trip was to Greece, next year it's England and Wales, and after that probably the GAS tour with RS. I like going back to familiar places as I will be next year, but I also like seeing new things.

This topic brings to mind a story about friends after visiting the same place annually for at least a couple of decades refused to go this year and likely forever as "their" accommodation was not available. They were surely in a very comfortable routine and would not consider altering their requirements. To each his/her own.

Third trip to Europe coming up late February/early March, and we've visited Italy all three times. First trip (2010) was Sicily/Florence/Rome, second (2015) was Paris/Lucerne/Florence/Salerno, and this time it will be Rome (6 nights)/Sorrento (5 nights), with daytrips planned to Orvieto from Rome, and Naples and Ercolano from Sorrento.

So yes, Lulu, we try to mix in other places if we have the time, but will not shortchange Italy. That second trip was 17 nights, which is the way to do it and it didn't feel like running around either. The alternate trip for next year--which we decided not to do because it would be too much running over 11 nights--would've been Rome/Siena/Verona/Innsbruck (Hall in Tirol)/Salzburg, flying out of Munich. If I had 3 more days to play with we've had done it. Would have loved the train journey.

I do like knowing 'the lay of the land'. Second time in Florence, I immediately knew how to navigate through those rabbit-warren streets without a map. In 2010 we only had 2 nights in Rome but stayed near Campo de' Fiori and loved it, so this time we're renting an apartment on the second floor overlooking the square--can't wait!

We feel that way too. It was very tempting to return to Italy after our first trip there together. Instead, we have since traveled to Ireland and France, going to Spain this fall. We've loved every place we've been to. We decided to go back to Italy for our 5 year anniversary next spring and I'm sure we will fall dangerously back in love with it again...there is just something about Italy! We have limited vacation time so we do not mix countries on visits; we don't come close to seeing everything we'd like to see and hope to return in the future.

We definitely like to go for return visits. London is our favorite place on earth and we try to visit as often as we can. We tend to add another new trip to the journey if we can. I can understand your love for Italy, it is very special. Funny, my husband was born and raised in Rome and he would give his right arm to live in London.

It's natural to return to places you're familiar with and where you're comfortable.
I went to college in Innsbruck one summer, and I naturally return to the Austrian Alps and Northern Italy.
But with the advent of budget European airlines, you can return to your old haunts and quickly and cheaply go to completely different and unfamiliar turf.
I strongly suggest anyone to step outside their comfort zone on any trip. Then you'll have another familiar place you can return to in the future.

Seems I am the odd one of the posters so far. There hasn't been a place we've visited that I would not like to return to, but...big but...my dream list of places to see and things to experience is too extensive. I would rather see more of the world than become comfortable in the same destination, even if they are amazing.
The world is wide, wonderful and varied. As are the people who inhabit it. I feel that I am limiting myself if I don't visit different places and have new experiences. So I research extensively, then prioritize and plan that I won't return. Of course I leave wanting more, but that is preferable to missing out on some other fabulous destination.

I think the answer depends on the person. I can see the allure of going to the same lake place or other location year after year, being familiar with what is around and generally having a relaxing time.

For myself, though, I've found that when visiting Europe the places I thought were magical and with so much to see tend lose that magic on return visits. I have been to Paris and Amsterdam a few times but there is so much to see both in town and via day trips that the familiar is mixed with new. However trips back to Sorrento or towns in Tuscany/Umbria that we've been to before have not been as fun as they were the first time.

I think I tend to re-visit places because of an unusual conjunction of activities that mesh with my interests (London = theatre, crafts, antique markets, Indian food), a realization that I only scratched the surface on an earlier and too-short visit (Barcelona), a cosmic shift in their situation (Berlin, the Balkans), a desire to show the area to a traveling companion, or true uniqueness (Venice).

I love smaller cities and towns and visit a lot of them, but where they are concerned, if I return to the same general area, I'm inclined to look for a new place that may have some of the same positive characteristics as the town I loved. I am definitely not one to keep returning to the same spot every year. As others have noted, there are way too many places on my target list. I'm retired, and I suspect hearing the clock ticking is a factor here.

We usually visit some old favourites every year - maybe Venice, Rome, the northern Black Forest/Alsace/Pfalz(now)/Hesse, Bavaria, Luxembourg - (some of the above, not all at the same time) and add in a few new spices and always see something new and interesting in both the new and accustomed areas.

And sometimes things change. Over the years we have loved occasional visits to Regensburg. This year we discovered that we really don't like it there anymore since the river cruises dump out thousands of tourists who overwhelm the place. We may never return. But I have found lovely small towns not far away because the hordes never get there.

on soapbox
- I hate cruises. I'm sure they are nice for those onboard, and my cousin who cruises every year loves them, but good gracious they make a mess of places they swamp. Regensburg. The poor overwhelmed Cinque Terre villages. Venice. One or two boats, OK, but not whole fleets of leviathans. Please.
off soapbox

Also, in change, people get older. We have frequented a small family hotel just outside Trier for over a decade and loved seeing the family. Now the young ones have left the business and have their time occupied with small children, and the older ones have grown so old that it harder for them to keep up. So this year we swapped for a larger hotel outside Luxembourg and loved it so much that it is likely to be our first choice as we pass through Luxembourg on our annual road trip.

I don't do shopping (except the rare trip into a ferramenta to get something utilitarian.

So you can have my bling.

I've lived in California for half of my life now, but Italy is still home, so I go back for that reason. However when I can I add another new place every year to my Italian visit. So for example over a 3 week stay, I might spend 10 days in Italy and 10 somewhere else, or something like that. You can do the same if you want to visit some other places also. If you don't have 3 weeks of vacation available at once, you just split whatever time you have.

One year for example I went from California to Greece with Alitalia, spend about 8-10 days there, then on my way back I stopped in Italy for another 15 days. I've also flown from California to Italy via London, Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, etc. Each time I spent a few days in those layover cities (on my way there or on my way back), so I visited those places too. You can do the same using a multicity plane ticket and often you can prolong your layover to several days at no additional cost over using those airports just a few hours to change planes.

Additionally if you've spend only 10 days in Italy, you probably have seen only a fraction of a fraction of what Italy has to offer, therefore I don't think you can say you've seen Italy already, you've just seen a tiny portion of it, I'm sure there are many more places in that country you still would like to visit.

We have been to most European countries and several other. The two places we have visited the most are Canada and Italy. We return not only to Italy but even to the same town with a villa inside the walls. I expect we will go to Venice some more also. Like you, Italy calls us back.

I fell in love with Rome, and because I have barely scratched the surface, I have to go back. It's almost a compulsion. But am adding new places to the itinerary too. That's what's so great about Europe.
Cynthia

I'm always happy when we visit a place I don't connect with because that frees me up to add other places. I could die a happy woman in Paris, London or Athens. Rome was "one and done" and I've seen enough of Prague and Brugge. Coming from the Seattle area, it's been easy to find flights to London, spend a few days connecting with friends and shaking out the jet lag, then continuing on to other European spots. Can't wait to add new places to my list of places I love.

Venice really grabbed us the first time visited, and after six days there,mwe knew that we would have to return. Since then, we have visited Venice half a dozen times, staying for a total of about ten months.

I am returning in two weeks time for 2.5 weeks for the Architecture Biennale, really looking forward to it.

Not only do we revisit cities, once we find an OK place to stay we may revisit hotels/apartments. But we add one or two new places each trip -- and some turn out to be one-and-done (Orvieto) while others get a more extensive re-visit on another trip (Budapest.) Had we but world enough and time ...

It depends on how much you can travel. If I were just beginning my European travels, I'd want to visit new places every time. Now I find that I like to combine new and old, whether it's a new country or simply new places in a country I've been to.

Italy stole my heart 4 decades ago and hasn't let go. I've been back - with the Husband - several times since, and I'm pleased to say that she ran away with his as well. I find that getting to know a country or very old city well is not much different than making a good friend? It takes some time to experience all of their personalities and learn their stories.

It's also fun to get right off the plane and dispense with the first-timer's acclimation process: we can dump the bags and hit the ground running! I can't imagine that our future trips to The Boot won't have a stretch in Rome built into the Itineraries. Or Florence, for that matter. Or others that we've yet to explore: we add some new faces to every trip, or have so far, anyway.

Shopping doesn't figure into the must-do list other than books from attractions we find especially interesting (our bags are much heavier going home!) and a Christmas ornament for the tree. Putting that darn thing up every year is a day-long event now 'cause we get to reminiscing about the trip we bought THIS one, and place we found THAT one. HA!

We've traveled to some other countries - and will certainly do more of those - but there's something about Italy... The goal, when the DH retires in a year or so, is a couple of months spread across a handful of bases there. Belgium grabbed us too so there will definitely be a return adventure to that one.

Don't forget that--at least for us--when my wife and I return to a specific place in Italy, we find a way to do it better, and usually cheaper.

Six years ago, on our first trip abroad, in Rome we stayed at a hotel right near the Campo de' Fiori open-air market. It being our first time and not wanting anything to go wrong, I probably overstepped as far as quality of room necessary. It was wonderful, but no doubt I paid more than I needed to. The Euro being 1.43 to the dollar at the time didn't help either.

As I said above, for next February I found a smallish apartment overlooking the Campo square with a full kitchen at about 60% less than I paid in 2010. Not that we're going to cook many meals, but now with a refrigerator at least we can take advantage of the wonderful fruits, veggies, meats & cheeses that the market and surrounding stores have to offer.

Partly for business I am in Italy every summer for about 2 months (3 weeks of work). I just got back from my 13th visit in a row. I did try new places the first couple of years but have since settled into cities, hotels, apartments, restaurants that I found myself thinking of frequently during the rest of the year. So, I started returning to those (and yes, adding at least one new Italian destination each visit). Amazing! "I remember you from last year." That has now become: "welcome home, Roberto!" Can you believe a waiter and owner in Siena this year remembered the entire circus when I ordered a steak (I was alone) last year? I explained that my apartment had a refrigerator for the left overs. Didn't matter, the whole trattoria had to be part of the presentation ceremony. Great fun, lots of applause, free glass of grappa afterwards. I went back a couple of days later (when the left over steak was finally gone) and was warmly greeted and questioned about the doggy bag. And the hotel that holds my favorite room for me even if I can't give exact dates (but try to, several months in advance).

Yes, I go someplace new every year. Sometimes I return there again and again (my trip gets longer every year). But the end result is what makes my travels to Italy so special. I feel welcomed. I feel remembered. I feel like I belong. I am frequently greeted by name. I guess one of these years I won't get on the plane that heads back to the States.

Go outside Italy? Sure - it's easy to get to a lot of other countries by air, train or boat. Italy makes a great home-base!

This is a great thread, one I've thoroughly enjoyed reading. I teach leisure at university (yes, that's a thing), and it's something we have talked about in often class- we 'dig deeper' when we return; lots of people 'package' their first trip and then venture a bit more into the unknown for subsequent trips. People tend to do it with lots of different leisure choices- play tennis against progressively more challenging opponents, listen to different types of music, etc.

For me, specifically, my returns to Italy have been with people who are new visitors to the country, and so each trip has looked similar. We have ventured out of the 'same old' each time we went though.. this summer we added Naples and the Amalfi Coast to the Venice/Florence/Rome corridor, and the next trip will include either Puglia or Sicily (or both!), but not only could I return to Italy every trip I take, I could probably be talked into going back to Venice every time I go to Italy.

However, my family, specifically my teenaged daughters, have the 'btdt' attitude about Italy, so I'm OK with an 'every other trip' mentality (even though I'm secretly wishing it was every trip!).

Robert in Montreal

I always return to Italy and wish I could live there. I also make forays into France, Spain and England when I'm in Europe, butI can never get enough of Italy!

I never thought I would travel TO Italy, never mind returning. But, as others have said, I fell in love. I am going back to Florence for the 3rd time this month. After 2 visits, I find that I am finally willing to leave the city to see other sites.
When I go back next year, for a longer trip, I will go to some other places I have not been.