Hello-I am in my 60’s and going on a week long cooking trip in Umbria in May after an exhausting year with family health. It’s time to regroup.
I have traveled to Italy 3 x’s before and seen enough of Rome, Tuscany and Florence.
I am looking for some ideas for a week to travel by myself—-to do before my cooking trip.
I like culture, food, painting, hiking and art. I don’t want to move around much.
Is there an area or two you might recommend? I would prefer not to drive by myself.
I love the Italian Riviera. Most tourists visit only a small part of it - the Cinque Terre - which is beautiful, just quite overrun with tourists. But there's more to the riviera than that. A couple of Mays ago, I spent three nights in the lovely riviera town of Camogli. It's an Italian tourist town that gets busy in the summer but in May, not so much. There are some hiking opportunities in the area. I did a strenuous hike via Batterie from Camogli to San Fruttuoso described here (the authors took the easiest, less scenic option which you might take too if you aren't an expert hiker):
https://www.neverendingvoyage.com/hike-camogli-to-san-fruttuoso/
I took a few ferries too but didn't follow quite their itinerary.
No need to drive. Trains zip up and down the Riviera to get you anywhere. There are a lot of little towns to visit - including the Cinque Terre, if you want to navigate the crowds.
You can stay in Umbria. Find a hotel in Spello, Assisi and surrounding areas. Lots of hiking, lots of good food and art. You can hike parts of the Sentiero Francescano della Pace, which traces Francis' steps from Assisi to Gubbio. Umbria's a great region to unwind and enjoy nature, while providing enough food and interesting towns to look at to keep you entertained.
I would go to Lake Como and stay at Varrena or somewhere on the lake. I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere there and the ferry makes for a new place to see everyday or you can just relax at your hotel and read a book overlooking the lake.
You could use Venice or Bologna as home base with a few easy daytrips from either. Venice is closer to foothills for hiking, however. Bologna is central to parmesan, ham, balsamic vinegar regions, as well as its own tortellini and ragu (blognese sauce) so very foodie. Venice would givenyou seafood. Excellent train connections.
Perhaps add what you want to do or see that week. Similar to Umbria, convenient connections, the coast, relaxing or more about sites?
I'm also in my 60's and last year spent a month in Volterra. What a fantastic experience! I had been there for a couple days the year before when I was on the RS Heart of Italy tour and knew then that I would love to return. It's a very historical place so there's plenty to see, yet small enough to just savor 'la dolce vita'. It's accessible by bus (not the easiest, I admit, but that's part of what makes it so delightful -- it's not totally overrun with tourists) and you can walk everywhere once you get there. Just writing about it makes me want to go back!
Thank you to all those posting. I apppeciate all the ideas!
I've championed Salerno in the past, and for this trip of yours it would be perfect hub for you to base there. It's a small city of 110,000 people, but especially near the Old Town--where I would stay--it's very historic, very small-townish. It's got a lungomare, a great beach, bus/train access anywhere on the Amalfi Coast, also to Naples, Pompeii & Paestum. Also great food.
I visited Naples/Sorrento/Amalfi coast for almost a week under similar circumstances. The natural beauty of the region did wonders for my psyche and will always be special to me. There’s so much to see and do (or not do!) My only regret was not having more time. Naples has tremendous museums, they’re just always going to be second fiddle when you’re a few hours away from places like Florence and Rome. Museo Capidomonte has some absolutely amazing paintings and zero toursists. The seafood is wonderful of course, but the pastries in Campagnia will blow your mind. There’s just no where else like it.
You might look at the transport factors first--like where would be a good place to access your Umbria destination from.
Ancona could be interesting--fly there, see the city, and then take a bus to somewhere like Sirolo (hiking) or a train to Senigallia (eating!). I believe you would be well placed for trains from Ancona, but again I'd suss out that part first.
I spent two weeks in Lucca a few years back.
It's gorgeous, and lots to see and do there.
The trains go easily from there to bigger centres.
When you say you don't want to move around too much, does that exclude traveling to another region of Italy for that week?
For hiking, the Dolomites, stay in Ortisei. Breathtaking beauty with a blend of cultures. You could easily visit Verona between Ortisei and Umbria.
Bologna is a wonderful city to explore with a significant food focus. Day trips to food producing towns can be done-Modena, Parma, etc
Where is your cooking trip in Umbria? We spent two weeks in Spello and loved it as a base and as a town.
Cortona is on the Tuscany/Umbria border and is a good base for exploring that side of Tuscany and Umbria. Arezzo is nearby with it's outstanding frescoes. Lake Trasimeno is near and Deruta, the pottery town, is an easy day trip.
If you don't mind taking a flight, visit Puglia in the heel of the boot, totally different and so very interesting. Fly into Bari.
Will you have a car? That makes a difference. If so, driving from Orvieto to Perugia, Assisi, Spello, and Montefalco is nice. Also, there is a huge lake, Lake Trasimeno, which looks gorgeous, but, I haven't been there yet.
