Help with 10 day itinerary

If it were me, I would add the Cinque Terre and do 4 nights Florence, 4 nights Bologna and 2/3 Cinque Terre. It depends on you and what you like/want. Where are you flying home from? That could make a difference.

We are in New Orleans, so while not easy, it's not horrendous either as most connections are through Washington DC, Houston, or Newark. We are also moving on to another country for just a couple of days to see our daughter, which adds to the length of the trip.

Normally, I would save the relaxing until the end of the trip, but wonder about the weather in CT and if 10 days would make that much more of a difference to add to end. I could fly into Bologna, then Florence, and then CT and fly out of Pisa. Or the reverse. I did promise my husband i would try to keep the transferring down which is why I tried to limit to Florence and Bologna, but I know for sure he wants to keep the number of churches down as well, so it's a fine balance.

So in your opinion - Florence and Bologna are pretty similar? Have you been to Ravenna before?

Thanks so much.

Although I like Bologna and have dear friends who live there, 5 nights is way too much time there.... maybe 3 nights 2 full days - one day to for the food tour and one day for Modena/Ravenna. If you find the travel to and from CT "easy" I'd add it. Are you planning on flying in and out of Florence? We've flown "into Florence" twice - although once we were rerouted to Bologna and were bussed back to Florence Airport - apparently that is not that unusual.

I prefer to travel in straight lines so Bologna ,Florence , CT makes sense to me not Florence, Bologna then CT. You could look at Florence - Bologna and then something closer to Milan or Venice and fly from there.... like Verona or Lake Garda

Thanks.

I could fly into Pisa and then do CT for 3 nights and 2 full days (is this enough?). I don't know if "easy" is the word, but this doesn't seem too difficult.

Then go to Florence for 4 nights and then off to Bologna for 4 nights. I can't do Modenna and Ravenna on the same day - they are in opposite directions. So 1 day in Bologna, 1 day to Ravenna, 1 day to Modenna, and 1 day on the food tour. I had looked at going to all of these places from Florence, these other cities seems more accessable from Bologna.

Lake Garda looks beautiful but sort of feel my head is exploding by looking at that other option. Would that area be nice in October? I guess Milan would be the best airport? Then down to Bologna and then to Florence? So it seems I may choose between CT and Lake Garda (October?). I have not looked into this option at all - but how much time would you recommend for Lake Garda? I'll explore that now as well. EDIT: I will pass on Lake Garda now. Too much of a different direction for me to take.

I have booked fully refundable tickets, and plan to change this trip around, so in/out airports isn't an issue at the moment, but clearly want to make the decision soon.

I would spend the time in a small village in either Tuscany or Umbria and do day trips. Although I loved the mosaics in Ravenna, I didn’t think much of the town itself and did not enjoy staying there.

I don't think Bologna and Florence are similar at all. However, with all the day trips you want to take you are using Bologna as a base. Which all day food tour are you taking? I'm guessing you are also using Florence as a base. I have been to both. I plan on returning to Florence for a coupe of nights just to be back there. No interest in going back to Bologna.

The Cinque Terre is wonderful to see. No idea what the weather is like there in October. We were there 8 years ago mid September. Weather was beautiful. If you can, take the ferry boat. We stayed in Monterossao al Mare and it stopped at all the villages. We got of in each village, walked around for an hour and caught the ferry on its return. Then went to the next village etc, Seeing them from the water is spectacular. If it's on your bucket list, or for a different vibe from the cities I would consider it.

@Joyce,

Here is the food tour I plan to take. https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187801-d11455330-Bologna_Food_Experience_Factory_Visits_with_Gourmet_Lunch_and_Wine_Tasting-Bologna.html

It seems to be that the consensus on both Bologna and Florence are all over the place (I am getting sort of the same results on another blog as well). Some people seem to think Florence is too crowded (going in October so hopefully will avoid that) with no Italians around. Others thing Bologna is too gritty - but not sure what city to compare that to. Is Bologna like comparing Naples - some love and some dislike? This is the problem I am having for sure. But Bologna seems to be a good base.

Others have that same love-hate relationship with CT as well, but mostly because of the crowds, which I will be avoiding. I guess if it rains too much then we can take off to Florence early and eat the hotel room cost. The train travel from CT to Florence is not horrendous. But I am also trying to avoid too much travel in general. I used to travel a lot, and this particular decision is difficult for me - maybe because I've been out of practice for a couple of years!!

We did that exact food tour. Alessandro is fantastic. You will be in a food coma. We booked direct through the company. It's a fantastic day.
We liked Naples. We liked Bologna but we were only there for 2 nights. One day to walk around and one day for Alessandro's food tour. Not enough there for me to go back. Florence historical center is huge and so much to see.

As far as it being gritty. We are from the Boston area and my daughter has lived in NYC for the last 10 years. Maybe we are just immune to it.

On an off topic, we had plans to go to NOLA twice this year. We have never been. First trip was a weekend in January. Our flight was cancelled due to a Boston snow storm. Rebooked for May. Husband ended up in Mass General Hospital with medical issues. Debating if we should try to plan for a third time.

What ever you end up doing, enjoy your trip and the food. It is amazing

The problems with the CT are the possible crowds and the unpredictable weather. There surely are websites where you can see if there are cruise ships docking in LaSpezia, and maybe Genoa or Livorno, where many of the daytrippers come from. The CT is very scenic on sunny days, only on sunny days. I didn't think there was much to explore in the villages themselves. It seems to me that there would be little or nothing to do if the weather isn't good. And since the villages are tiny and the popular hiking trails are narrow, crowds make it unpleasant.

Yes, Florence and Bologna are big cities, but you will only be in the historic centers which don't feel muchat all like big cities. The train station in Florence is on the edge of the historic center, the one in Bologna is a 10-15 minute walk away. Both are excellent for daytripping, in part because they have so many options for dining on your return. I can't think of any better places for daytripping.

To me, Florence and Bologna are nothing alike. Florence is full of art, Bologna is a university town and full of food. Not that Florence doesn't have great food, it is just totally different.
CT is one of my favorite places in the world, but have never been in October. If you have 10 nights, I would try to go to all 3.

@Joyce - thanks for your help! Yes - please try to come to NOLA soon - I am so sorry to hear about your husband. I can try to give you some great tips!

@Chani - I realize this is a gamble. We are going at the very beginning of October, so fingers crossed. I remember about 10-ish years ago I went to Munich for 4 days on a big trip in August expecting to do all sorts of outside events, and it POURED the entire time. Going to museums with three kids for 4 days was not too fun. I guess my point is that the weather is such a gamble any time of year. If it's pouring in CT, we will just eat the cost of the hotel and try to get to Florence early.

@Charlotte - we have decided to go to all 3 over 12 days!

On early October weather in Cinque Terre, I've never been but we did a trip to the nearby French Riviera (Nice and Cap Ferrat) in early October about 4 years ago. The water was still warm enough for snorkeling and glorious for boating, the weather was still summery but without being oppressively hot, and while there were enough people around that the restaurants etc were all still functioning, there were no crowds. Good luck!

I'm back with another thought since clearly I can't make up my mind and my plans changed a bit.

Our flights are now solidified going into MILAN (I had to change from the initial Florence for a variety of reasons). I now have 13 nights. I was going to do CT -3, Florence - 6 (with day trips) and Bologna -4 (with day trips). I don't like having CT at the very beginning of the trip since that is a slower pace, even though it would be better weather. So now I have two options:

1. Just do Florence for 9 nights with a LOT of day trips and a slower pace. I could track the weather and go to CT for a night or two if there are rooms (which there should be in October), and keep our stuff at the place in Florence.

2. If weather is bad, just stay in Florence for 9 days. I just don't want to get too bored in my slow pace haha. We could do Lucca, wine tour, San G, Arrezo (sp) and any other suggestions.

3. Keep CT as is. I know so many people gamble with weather, but I am not sure there is much of a back-up plan in the area if the weather is bad - but I'll take any thoughts.

Thanks.

Some random reactions. Despite what you said about churches, I recommend a day in Parma. The cathedral and baptistery are extraordinary. Not a bad food scene either.
If the weather is bad, there is nothing to do in the CT except go elsewhere. I wouldn’t bother with it, but then I’m not a fan.
While most of the mosaics in Ravenna are in churches, I recommend a full day there. As works of art they are just stunning. Don’t try to combine Ravenna with anywhere else in one day.
You could add Volterra and Arezzo as day trip destinations from Florence.

By the way, just because they are big cities, Florence and Bologna are not at all “too much the same.” Think New York and New Orleans. They are both big cities, but not too much the same.
Buon viaggio!

Remember that the "bigness" of both Florence and Bologna is outside the historical center --- you can walk from one side of Florence centro to the other in half and hour --- and neither feels like any city I've ever been in. You can distinguish one from the other because Florence is gray and Bologna is red, too! Both, but particularly Florence, are crammed with things to do and there are easy day trips from both. I've now spent 6 weeks total in Florence (with only two short day trips) and I still have a long list of things to do there. I do not think you will be bored.