Italy Itinerary Help

I forgot to add that we wanted to try a cooking school in that May 30th to June 8th period.

Glenn,

The first part of your Itinerary looks well organized, however the latter part seems a bit "ambitious" for the short time remaining. You've listed eight locations to tour (and an Agriturismo) in a time frame of about eight days. IMO, you'll need to pare the list down to a more realistic level. I'd suggest making a list of all the places you'll be visiting after Verona, ranked from "must sees" to "nice if we have time", and then remove the last two from the list. From a logistical standpoint, Civita would be one to cut due to the time and effort to get there and back. Another possibility to skip is Assisi, again due to less "convenient" transportation.

A few thoughts on your Itinerary.....

• May 26 / 27 - I'd suggest inbound flights to Milan / MXP, as there will be more flights available at a better price than by flying to Verona. You'll be able to get direct flights from YYZ to MXP (one possibility is Air Canada AC894), but flights to Verona will probably mean another flight segment via FRA or another European airport (although I haven't checked). Travel time from Milano Centrale to Verona Porta Nuova via high speed Freccia train will be 1H:23M (you'll first need to use the Malpensa Express to get from the airport to Milano Centrale).
• May 28 - a day trip to Venice is fine if you're not that enthused about it (I was back there again in September and I'm also somewhat ambivalent towards Venice). If you use one of the high speed direct trains, it's an easy trip. Note that your destination station will be Venezia Santa Lucia.
• May 29 - a short day trip is possible, but you could also spend the day touring Verona. Leave lots of time for dinner and getting to the concert as the Amphitheatre is huge and you'll probably want to be there at least an hour prior to the concert as it will take awhile to get everyone seated.
• May 30 - One route that you could consider is Verona > Florence (with day trip to Siena or Lucca) > Cinque Terre (you'll have to decide which of the five towns to stay in) > Orvieto > Rome. You could also visit Orvieto as a day trip from Rome.

If you haven't travelled in Italy before, there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit. If you need more information, post another note.

You may also find it helpful to have a look at the Italy 2016 guidebook as there's an enormous amount of information there that will help plan touring, as well as hotel and restaurant suggestions.

Good luck with your planning!

Hi, since you mentioned that you would like a relaxing trip, I also recommend that you narrow down your list of towns. Try to stay 2 nights at each location or you will be traveling & packing/unpacking more than enjoying your real vacation time. I would pick either Siena or Lucca - not both. Same for Orvieto & Assisi.

Don't be surprised if being in Venice changes both of you! We're returning this year for our third time. : )

While you're in Rome, you might enjoy walking through Ostica Antica - we loved it, and the transportation links are easy.

Just saw your note about a cooking school. We went to cookingclassesinrome and thoroughly enjoyed our time with Chef Andrea! We learned so much from him and enjoyed the whole experience.

Relax in Venice on arrival, don't rush to Verona.

May 27th: Arrive in Venice - 2 nts
May 29th: Train to Verona - 2 nts (evening concert at 18:30)
May 31st: Train to Cinque Terre - 2 nts
June 2nd: Train to Florence - 3 nts
June 5th: Agriturismo in Umbria - 3 nts (look for cooking school options here)
June 8th: Train to Rome - 4 nts
June 12th: Fly home

A car may be useful in Umbria depending on where you choose to stay and your preferred touring options to Civita, Orvieto & Assisi. Perhaps ...
June 5th: Train to Orvieto. Pick up rental car. Drive to Agriturismo near Todi
June 6th: Drive to Assisi
June 7th: Drive to Civita
June 8th: Return rental car in Orvieto. Train to Rome.

To start in Verona, you do better to land in Milan or Venice. I do like Verona very much and there are a lot of sights. If you get bored, you could also take a day trip to Padua.

May 30-June 7/8 . . . I would skip the Cinque Terre because it uses up too much travel time. I think Orvieto/Assisi is a better use of your time. Base in Florence after Verona, and day trip to Siena and/or Lucca, then train to Assisi, then to Orvieto, then to Rome. For a night or two in Assisi (1 was enough to see the best, I would have been happier with 2), leave your luggage at the train station and go up with an overnight bag. I'd spend at least 2 nights in Orvieto, then take the fast train to Rome.

Florence is all about Renaissance art and architecture with an emphasis on sculpture. If that floats your boat, you'll want at least 3 days just to do that, add more for day trips. If not, you can see the highlights in one day.

Glenn,

Many of the other posters have suggested that the number of towns may be a bit ambitious, especially if you want a relaxing trip. In regards to the Cinque Terre, if you are avid hikers, make sure that you keep the CT on your itinerary; 2 nights or even 3 nights. Regardless of your desire to hike, the CT should probably stay on your agenda as it is much different that the rest of your itinerary.

I do think that probably the best option is to stay at a central location in Tuscany and do day trips from that location. Florence is great if you do not want a car; a small town between Siena and Florence is great if you want a rental and are ok driving to the sites.

I did notice that you are interested in food and wine. We were in Verona earlier this year and regret that we did not have more time to visit a winery. The Amerones are amazing; I cannot find the quality back home in Chicago without paying much, much more. If you don't have time to visit wineries (I think in the Lake Garda region), there are a few restaurants in Verona that have unbelievable wine menus. If I remember correctly, there are wine tours that leave from Verona.

While in Tuscany, you will want to visit local wineries. Verrazano (in Greve, 25 miles south of Florence) has a beautiful winery and grounds and does wine tours, wine lunches. I have been there twice and while the tour was great, the lunch was really special.

Montepulciano or Montalcino are other great wine towns to visit. My preference is Montelpulciano.

In Verona I had a fantastic lunch here in 2012 ... http://www.ristorantelorologio.it/
Still vivid in my mind - octopus salad, then gnocchi with blue cheese sauce.

Thanks to everyone for the replies! Much appreciated!

Nick wrote:

While in Tuscany, you will want to visit local wineries. Verrazano (in Greve, 25 miles south of Florence) has a beautiful winery and grounds and does wine tours, wine lunches. I have been there twice and while the tour was great, the lunch was really special.

I couldn't agree more. We just returned from a week in Tuscany and Verrazano was our home base. We were the only guests at their agriturismo and we were treated like royalty. We took their wine tour combined with a food and wine tasting that was a major highlight of the trip. The tour started at 11:00 and we sat down for the tasting at 12:30. We didn't leave until 4:00! They were test tasting their new vintage and the owner of the winery brought over two different wines for us to taste in addition to their regular tasting. The regular tasting started with Prosecco to wake up the palate. That was followed by their Super Tuscan, their Chianti Classico and then their Chianti Classico Reserva. After the two extra tastings, we finished with Vin Santo and biscotti.

The food was equally impressive, with wild boar salami, great cheeses, a salad and roasted meat.

There are also cooking classes in the nearby town of Greve.