Dolomites and N Italy

Vicenza and Treviso are two cities my companion and I really enjoyed. Vicenza has the beautiful Palladian architecture in the city as well as two spectacular residences on the outskirts - Villa de Rotonda on which Thomas Jefferson based Monticello and Villa Valmarana ai Nani. Take a cab from the city and they are a short walk from each other. In the city, the Teatro Olimpico is a must see. For a unique dining experience, visit Righetti at Piazza del Duomo 3 - VERY local, moderately priced, delicioso!!!

We did a day trip to Treviso and enjoyed visiting. There’s an interesting art museum (Museo Bailo), beautiful canals, and endless streets to wander.

Have you visited Padua?

Thank you for the info on Vicenza and Treviso. That was very helpful.
I have not been to Padua. Should I consider it?

My husband and I loved our 6 nights in Treviso --- a lovely and interesting town with canals and bridges, plenty of great places to eat, frescoed Venetian-style buildings, old city walls, interesting small churches and museums, a fish market on an island, some cool wire mesh art installations on some of the walls of the buildings, and many pedestrian-only streets and porticoed sidewalks. If there were tourists there, they were Italian. Here's some of the wire mesh art of Mario Martinelli in Treviso: https://www.mariomartinelli.it/en/ombre-rete/

My husband thinks I liked Verona slightly less than I expected because it was SOOOOOO hot there in early September. It is true that I do not like heat --- one reason we normally travel to Italy in winter or very early spring. But, like you, he wanted to go to an opera there.

We had some great meals in Verona, and the castle and museum and bridge were interesting and several parts of the city had the medieval streets and buildings that we both like. Wonderful old bronze doors in one church and plenty of medieval and Renaissance church art.

The whole section of Verona where the completely fake "Juliet's balcony" is was over-run with tourists and whenever we accidentally walked into any part of that area while we were walking around, it was pretty obnoxious. There's a bunch of other made-up Romeo and Juliet stuff in the city, too, but I suppose you can't blame Verona for wanting to create tourist attractions.

We went on some good day trips from Verona, such as to Soave to drink Soave and to Mantua to see the Camera degli Sposi. After 5 nights in Verona, we were ready to move on to Padua.

Sort of hard to say why we almost instantly loved Padua. We were there for 9 nights and could have stayed a month. Its medieval core were fun to walk around in and many sidewalks are covered with arched arcades and there were little shops and places to eat tucked away everywhere --- the feel was less city-like than Verona, I guess. Many buildings are painted on the outside, like in Venice and Treviso. It's a college town, so all the students give it a lively youthful feel.

The two main outdoor food markets were fantastic and when those are done for the day, they are completely cleared away and the piazze are filled with tables and chairs from all the surrounding restaurants --- filled, not just right in front of each restaurant. Each piazza (there's actually three big ones right next to each other) also had live music or some kind of event many nights we were there, and every evening was interesting, with kids running around and people sitting on steps and on the fountains eating gelato. The indoor market was pleasantly mobbed with shoppers and full of shops selling dozens of kinds of cheese or food from Puglia or wherever. Upstairs from the indoor market is a huge medieval hall full of frescoes.

I was excited to visit Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel, which I had last seen almost exactly 50 years ago (in the days when you could just stroll in there and spend an hour or more). On this trip, we actually went once for the regular 15 minutes and then again for the double 30–40 minute visit you can book some evenings. It's my favorite art in the world. My husband really enjoyed the chapel even though he is nowhere near as interested in late medieval and early Renaissance art as I am (that is a HUGE understatement!). He also greatly enjoyed the botanic gardens, although not a gardener like I am — as a cook, he especially liked the indoor part with all sorts of cleverly informative exhibits about coffee, potatoes, herbs, etc.

Vicenza is on our list, but we haven't been there yet.

We loved seeing Carmen at the Verona Coliseum a few years ago Great fun.

https://www.arena.it/en/

As for hiking in the Dolomites, if you have not found them yet Gillian Price's hiking guides to the Dolomites (Cicerone Press) are great.
Also FYI: https://www.suedtirol.info/en/en
And the Cortina Express Bus service goes to Cortina d' Ampezzo from the Marco Polo Airport parking lot.
https://www.cortinaexpress.it/en

Verona is a great walking town - the center is nearly traffic free and buildings with faded murals and painted details lurk in unlikely corners. There are cafes with outdoor seating everywhere in Verona whenever you decide to want to sit and/or spritz. I have a very low interest in opera but I would look into seeing an opera in an actual Roman arena just for the experience.

The an intact Roman Arena and Theater which are still used for events with music and opera being a big part of the city's summer schedule including concerts and opera. The Theater includes the Archeological Museum which is small but also gives you access to the rambling remains of old religious sites there. If you like modern art check out the small Palazzo Maffei Casa Museo which mixes ancient and modern art, a palazzo and rooftop tour all into one place overlooking piazza Erbe and is underadvertised. I think Piazza Erbe (looking past the market stands) is one of the prettiest piazzas in Italy. Verona has the 'elegant decay' feeling with faded murals on medieval buildings that the Veneto does so well.

Al Grottino - Osteria e Sbecoleria is a great hole in the wall place off Piazza Erbe for a drink and cicchetti. Cafe Monte Baldo nearby also has great cicchetti and more serious food if you want that. Right near the cafe there is Arcivio a super small, super hip cocktail bar. There is no lack of good restaurants in Verona but read the menu carefully at the older places because the cuisine can be very "traditional".

Easy trips from Verona include Brescia, Mantua/Mantova, Vicenza, Padua/Padova and Lake Garda if you're concerned that no city will fill a week and want to explore more.

Sounds like a great trip,
=Tod

Hi, Vicenza was one of our lesser favorites compared to other cities around it. I will throw out another option. Maybe head to Ferrara after Venice. I think it’s just a hour direct train, if I remember correctly. There’s wonderful much less crowded gems in Ferrara. And the beautiful Ravenna mosaics are a direct train for a day trip from there. Arrive early in Ravenna for the least crowds viewing the mosaics.

I'm with Jean in that I'd put Padua way in front of Vicenza. I also loved Ferrara and Ravenna. I enjoyed my stay in Treviso but would put any of these above it.

I cannot thank all of you enough for your fabulous information. I am getting so excited, even though it is a year away. I love this Rick Steves’ forum as you can connect directly with people who have been there, done that.
I appreciate the information on the bus that goes from the Marco Polo airport to Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Thank you so much again for enriching my trip. I now will add Padua to my itinerary as well as possibly Ferrara. .
Linda.

I've never been to Treviso but I was in Verona and Vicenza on a road trip in September 2019 and would recommend both of them. I did Vicenza as a 1-day side trip (by car) from Padua. I started at the Villa la Rotonda (which is outside the city center - easy to reach by car, but not sure how easy it is to reach by public transportation). It is often cited as the model for Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello. In the city center, the Teatro Olimpico is definitely a must-see. If you like architecture, you might also enjoy the Palladio Museum in addition to just walking around and admiring the beautiful beuildings (Palladian and otherwise) from the outside.

I spent about 48 hours in Verona. In addition to the Roman ruins (the Arena Amphitheater and the Roman Theater being the main, but not the only, examples), beautiful and lively piazze (e.g., Piazza delle Erbe and the adjacent Piazza dei Signori), one of the things that impressed me the most was the churches. When I visited, there were four churches (Duomo, Sant'Anastasia, San Fermo Maggiore, San Zeno Maggiore) that you could visit on a single ticket. While some of these churches were not at all impressive looking from the outside, inside they were beautiful and very different from each other. If you go to those churches on your own, be sure to read up about them so you know what to look for when you are there (e.g., in at least one of the churches, the ceiling is a highlight). As someone already posted, Juliet's House is indeed a tourist trap (I'm ashamed to admit I went there anyway out of curiosity). You can ascend to the top of the Torre dei Lamberti for a view of Verona from above; you get a nice view of the Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori but the rest of the view is basically a sea of red tile roofs. I also visited the Castelvecchio Museum and the elaborately carved tombs of the Scaligeri family, who are to Verona what the Medici are to Florence. I hope this helps.

Thanks Geoff. So many great suggestions. I will have to narrow them down to two or three. But I really appreciate all of you taking the time to write such detailed information.