Hi Everyone! I will be in Italy for 2 weeks and I am looking for itinerary help. Ive been to Italy before, but my husband has not. So I will be revisiting Rome and Florence for him. We will not have a car, so will be depending on trains and buses. Amount of nights are still TBD.
We will be flying in and out of Milan. Since I've been to Milan, I do not want to stay again upon arrival. Instead, I thought to take the train to Bologna and stay 2-3 nights. (never been heard its the food capital of Italy) Then head to Rome for 4 nights . (must visit for the hubby). We also want to do 4 nights in Florence (again for the hubby). Now since we have 3 larger cities already on the itinerary, I'm looking for a small town, where we can just eat, drink, and take in that small town feel. We love narrow, winding, cobblestone streets, with cafes etc. Some places that seemed beautiful are Lucca, Assisi, Parma, Brisighella, and Vicenza (which all seem to have trains/buses from Florence, Rome, and Bologna). I'm not even sure if these places are considered cities or not, but I assume really small towns do not have great train or bus access. Any opinions on these places? and recommendations welcome. I've been to Siena and Pisa so will not be going back this trip.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6017 posts
When is your trip?
Ravenna is close to Bologna and has the amazing mosaics. It's a quiet little town with some very good restaurants.
Other towns in region are Modena, Ferarra.
Orvieto is about an hour from Rome- easy to slot in on your way to or from.
If you don't want to go all the way to Bologna on arrival- consider Bergamo- upper town.
We did 2 nights in Orvieto, Ravenna and Bergamo- enjoyed them all..
Another lovely spot is Santa Margarita Ligure. We didn't see any Americans at all. Very good restaurants, great views, easy day trips to Portofino, Camogli, etc.
Have you been to Venice?
Padua is also very nice.
Posted by
OP
New York
50 posts
Thanks for the response!
I just looked up Bergamo and it is beautiful. But Bologna must have a high speed train because although further away, they both seem to only be 2 hrs from the airport.
I will definitely look into your other recommendations. I forgot about Ravanna! That was also on my list.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6017 posts
True- fast train to Bologna from Milano Centrale is about an hour.
Regional to Bergamo- about an hour then you have to get up to Alta- it is lovely though- no tourists.
If you don't care to stay in Milan at end of trip either you could go to Stresa- on Lake Maggiore. It's actually closer to MXP so you can stay there last night. Airport bus is direct and easy from Stresa.
We didn't care much for Milan but The Last Supper and Duomo rooftop was worth it.
Posted by
OP
New York
50 posts
Thats the one thing I want to see in Milan. The last supper. I missed it my first time so might just spend the last night there and book a reservation. But Stesa looks beautiful, so now I have a lot to think about.