Hi Lovely World Travelers, I am hoping for a bit of guidance. I havevery suddenlyfound myself in a job that puts me in a suburb of Bologna for the month of June. My partner will be meeting up with me for about 10 days-2 weeks of that time, and we are trying to put together an itinerary. I'm just beginning the process, and would love some help. Here are the basics(and YES, I'm downloading the RS Italy guidebook today :) 1)we are not wealthyaccommodations are more about cleanliness, kindness and safety than luxury. Feeling most drawn to agriturismo options at present. Not sure where to stay in Switzerland. 2)we live in New York City, so traveling tends to be more about AVOIDING overcrowded cities. We're more drawn to outdoors, rural culture, arts, architecture and history of a region than the shopping/posh restaurants. That being said, we know there are certainly some can't-miss urban delights that can't be written off! Would love to know your favorites. 3)Standouts right now are Hill Towns/Cinque Terre/Pompeii/Tuscany/Florence. We're also really interested in popping into Switzerland a bitparticularly to Luzern area/alps. Is that realistic in our time frame? I have a tendency to overbook my itineraries, and I'd like to avoid that pitfall this time!
4)cars/trainsdo we need both, or should we just stick to one? To those of you who read all of my chatter, I am very grateful! And thank you in advance for sharing your collective wisdom! Warmest regards
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16231 posts
Not sure if you'll have a car in Bologna, since your job sent you there, but in any case you can reach many places faster by train. Florence is only 37 min. away by fast train (one hour won't be enough by car). Florence would be best visited by train, since you won't want to have a car while visiting Florence. Do Florence (city only) as a 2 or 3 day trip from Bologna (by train) or as a couple of separate day trips. If you intend to visit the Tuscan hill towns and countryside (the most famous places are located roughly south of Florence) driving would be better. Maybe you can visit them in a separate trip down to Tuscany (when you don't visit Florence). Within two hour drive from Bologna you can be in any of the most famous Tuscan towns (Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra, Val d'Orcia, Cortona, Arezzo). If you drive during a long weekend for a few days, you can hit several of them in one shot, just find accommodations somewhere between Florence and Siena to be central to most of them. Stay out of big cities like Florence when you have a car. Pompeii is far from Bologna. It's about 40 min south of Naples by train. The fastest way is a high speed train from Bologna to Naples (about 3h 40min), then commuter Vesuviana train to Pompeii. It's a 4.5 hr journey altogether, therefore it can't be done in a day. You should spend a couple of days there. Maybe on a long weekend, and you can add Amalfi coast and Capri to the visit, which are nearby. The Cinque Terre are generally best done by train, since a car is not needed when you get there, but from Bologna is faster to drive (2 and 1/2 hours drive). If you have a car during your Bologna stay, I would drive to Riomaggiore or Monterosso, park the car there for a couple of days while visiting the area.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16231 posts
I'll let others chime in on Switzerland. For now I can tell you that the train ride from Bologna to Luzern is 5.5 to 6 hours (1 to 2 train changes in most cases). For train schedules and tickets to any destinations in Italy (and Switz) you can visit:
www.trenitalia.com
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
While I'm a fan of Rick Steves Italy, you'll see once you get it that he does not include Bologna, or indeed any other part of Emilia-Romagna except Ravenna. So, you should get another guidebook for these. From Bologna, you can easily visit Parma, Modena, Ferrara, and Ravenna by regional train as daytrips. I consider each of these a "must see" since you'll be in Bologna for a month. Ravenna's mosaics are certainly special, and none of the others get too many tourists. In Bologna, be sure to go up in the tower. I was fascinated by the fact that the city has a totally intact medieval street plan, and from the top of the tower, you can see its "bicycle wheel with spokes" layout very clearly. A non-posh but wonderful restaurant (on the outskirts of Bologna, but easily accessible by city bus or taxi) is Trattoria da Gigina: http://www.trattoriagigina.it/
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17595 posts
Tami, you are talking about two opposite directions ( Tuscany hill towns, etc. v. Switzerland) which would be tough to do justice to in 10 days. But with 2 weeks, it could work. Maybe 9 days south and 5 days north? I will try to help with Switzerland. The fastest connection to Luzern from Bologna is 5 hours. Luzern is lovely, but it is not budget-friendly, and it is not IN the Alps. I can suggest a couple of places we really like, less travel time from Bologna, and noton the RS radar. They are close to one another and you could spend 2 or 3 nights at each. The two places are Bettmeralp and Kandersteg/Oeschinensee. Both are with 4.5 hours of Bologna ( via Milan) and within an hour or two of each other. Both are In the Alps and offer wonderful hiking and scenery. Take a look at photos on these websites: Www.bettmeralp.ch Www.oeschinensee.ch And if they interest you, let me know and I can make lodging suggestions which meet your " clean and kind" requirement, as well as your budget.