Lake Como, Venice and Rome

Albergo Milano for Varenna-everything is close in this town; Nicolas Inn on Via Cavour in Rome easy walking distance to Forum and other sites as well as train station; our stay in Venice was wonderful, but not inexpensive.

Do you have the RS Italy 2011 book yet? If not, it's worth its weight in gold, especially for first time travelers. You need to get crackin' for May. :-) Best wishes.

We like Ai Tagliapietra in Venice, http://www.aitagliapietra.com/. Lorenzo is a wonderful host and the location cannot be beat.

We stayed at the Orange House in Varenna (Lake Como) and enjoyed it very much. It is very clean, reasonably priced and is located near both the train station and the ferry. If you are looking for an activity to do in the area, I highly recommend the cooking class at Il Caminetto. In Rome we stayed at Downtown Accomodation, located on Via Cavour. It is only a couple of blocks from the Colosseum. It was clean and inexpensive. If you want to use the AC they charge extra. Ask for a room in the back, as Via Cavour is pretty noisy. I don't think the words Venice and inexpensive generally go together in the same sentence. We stayed at Pensione Guerrato. For Venice it was an okay price. We are budget travelers. Of the 8 places we stayed during our trip last September, Rome was the least expensive, with Varenna only 3 euro more. Venice was considerably more than anywhere else we stayed. Have a great trip!! All 3 of these places include breakfast.

For Lake Como check out Eremo Gaudio Hotel in Varenna. Best view in town and air conditioned rooms! Dinner on the terrace overlooking the Lake and town and sunset was a highlight. Varenna is a great little town away from the beaten path. Check it out on youtube - "Two Days in Varenna" by FrametoFame.