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Hotel recommendations for Venice/Florence & best transportation option to get there?

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Hi all,

My brother is getting married at a family home in Cortona in late August. We will be leaving the wedding festivities Sept 1 and traveling to Venice for a couple of days and then Florence for a couple of days and flying home on 9/5. We would like hotel recommendations for both cities. Keep in mind we are both 43 and have not been to Italy since our honeymoon in 2002. Not to mention we will finally be kid free for the first time in 12 years so the more romantic hotels, the better. :)

Also, i am unclear of the best way to get from Cortona to Venice and then from Venice to Florence. I'm assuming train will do the trick, but not sure if I need reservations ahead of time or how to do that. We had a heck of a time in 2002 getting from Rome to Paris via train and missed our flight by 40 min. leaving us stranded in Paris with no money and no credit cards. Ah, we were young then and a little wiser now. :)

Would also love any restaurant recommendations. Thanks!

Posted by
484 posts

Train from Venice to Florence is easy. SMN (Santa Maria Novella Station for Florence and Santa Lucia Station for Venice.). We had first class reservations and enjoyed our travel. However, you can travel any class. Because this route is popular, you can buy tickets right before the train leaves the station. There are multiple trains daily. I would just check train times online 1-2 days in advance. Remember to validate your ticket BEFORE you jump on the train. Just find a scan machine near the tracks. Because we had first class reserved tickets for a specific time, we printed a valid eticket before our trip and carried it with us. This type of ticket needs no validation because it's fully prepaid and only good for a specific time. The tickets you buy at the station can be used over a period of time (days) and need to be validated BEFORE you board the train, so that the ticket cannot be reused. The train conductors check for valid tickets and can hammer you with a 50 euro fine if you do not have a validated ticket.

Posted by
16895 posts

Cortona-Camucia train station is connected to the town center by local bus that runs about hourly, but much less on Sunday (2x/day). You can also call for a taxi at 348-402-3501; there may or may not be a public phone at that unstaffed station. For schedules that are easy to print, but don't include ticket prices, see How to Look Up Train Schedules Online. Direct trains from Cortona to Florence are unreserved regional trains, with tickets available through the machine in the station. Reserved tickets from Florence to Venice are sold in Florence station and at www.trenitalia.com.

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