It's a city, but for 6 days I would fly to Palermo from Rome --- we
were just there and loved it. For a big city, choose a good
neighborhood and it's almost like being in a town. We felt very
welcome. Then make "trips" from your neighborhood to the busier areas
of Palermo and to Monreale. Palermo is an especially great place to
stay if you enjoy art, architecture, mosaics, and wonderful food.
I definitely agree. Above poster, my friend Laurel has tuned me on the utilization of Rome's neighborhoods in the function of a small town. Everyone has their favorite, but mine is offseason Campo de' Fiori. Others like Prati, any number of 'hoods,, but I like CdF. We were there in early April, and yes, there was Jubilee but the neighborhood and Rome itself were too touristed-out for my liking. We still have fun, it's Rome for crissakes. So we're going to see how March works.
But we usually stay just off the square, mere feet away. Anything we need is steps away, and a 5-minute walk yields virtually everything. We both dig the Trenitalia and Regionals. We're going to try 2 weeks winter after next, probably March.
But in our travels, unheralded towns include--
Salerno--small city, great vibe, stayed there 2x
Castellammare di Stabia--stuck in traffic there, looked nice!
Castiglione di Sicily--ancient little village on the slopes of Etna
Rignano sul' Arno--20 km SE of Florence, rolling hills, picturesque village. Had a cooking class at a house in the hills.
On that Rome trip, we're considering basing in Lecce for a few days, which is a small city. But I'm OK with finding a small neighborhood within the small city. Same kind of interaction...
