Looking for a place to relax

If she wants to be on the water, Lake Como is much closer to Milan than Lake Garda. But March may not be the best time for the lakes. I would suggest Bergamo.

Bergamo is lovely

Why not a few days in Milan?
She will want to be in Milan nite before departure

Nice and relaxing town + near Venice (her last stop with friends), plus with its own airport or close to a city with an airport = Treviso, Verona, Ferrara, and either Modena or Parma. Check into departing from the Venice, Verona, and Bologna airports. Or stay in Venice but move to a much, much less touristed part of town like eastern Castello.

The lakes are definitely not welcoming in March. Verona would be a good choice. It's youthful and relaxed; lots of history and good walks available; and it's a straight shot on the train between Venice and Milan.

We had a very pleasant 3-day stay in Ferrara at the end of our trip this last March and flew home out of Bologna. Check out flight times, though, as many departing flights from Bologna seemed to leave very early morning to make ongoing connections. I think we boarded our airport hotel shuttle at about 4am in order to make our flight and then connect in AMS.

Varenna could be a lovely place to relax before catching a plane out of Milan especially if it’s toward the end of March.

And there is of course walled Lucca, every connoiseurs favourite and the secret destination of Italians in the know. Just the right size, just the right sense of calm, and just the right amount of small old-world palazzo museums. Ferrara, Padua and Parma are also worth considering.

Verona should be avoided, as Insight Guide Italy describes the city as a "citadel of consumerism" (page 199).

I'd strongly recommend considering Lugano. The lake is prettier than Como, there are far fewer tourists (with therefore much less crowded streets and trails), and lodging is generally cheaper (though everything else is much costlier, given, you know, Switzerland). But we found it a delightful and beautiful place to relax and enjoy the scenery. It's also an easy train ride to Milan.

Verona should be be disregarded based on a guide book entry. If you are looking for a relaxing, pretty and less sight heavy in northern Italy Verona is all those things. I think Piazza Erbe is objectively one of the prettiest piazzas in Italy. Yes, it has food a tourist stalls in the center but the statues, the faded medieval murals and the variety of the buildings in always charming. It has a cafe culture feel to it and the core of the old town is shopping - some high end - but so is Paris and Venice and Milan and...

Just saying,
=Tod

Thank you for all the suggestions. Bergamo is a good location for flying out of Milan. I don’t know anything about it though. I’m looking at all your suggestions. Between Verona and Varenna, which do you prefer?
Kathy

I think that being near water in March may be too chilly as someone mentioned.

For me Lake Como is about the views of and from the lake, plus the gardens and villas. I'm not sure what condition the gardens will be in, in March, and I think not all the villas are open at that time of year.

I'd choose Verona in March, a time of year when one must accept the risk of chilly, rainy weather. Verona has a lot of indoor sights if it's not pleasant being outdoors. The average low temperature in Como, at the south end of the lake, is 39F in March, and it rains on average one day out of three. According to Wikipedia, temperatures in Verona are similar, but there's likely to be only about half that much rain.

So... is Verona posh/ritzy/chic compared to most northern cities... or most Veneto area cities... or isn't it? One would guess that Insight Guide Italy describes a vibe that is present and palpable, of the stylish Amalfi/Capri kind, which could prevent some travellers from getting some of the desired relaxation they seek there. RS comments that the fake balcony Romeo and Juliet courtyard sight was invented in the 1970's, which is off-putting. All the rest of the sights seem very similar to what you can easily get in the south of France. Enlightening insights are very welcome.

At the threat of highjacking this thread by debating Verona as a destination I will make one more post about it and then stop.

I am currently posting from Verona - it been very rainy lately BTW - and have spent a total of nearly four weeks here over several visits. I was surprised when I first arrived how pretty, arty and cosmopolitan the town felt. The old town is based around the old Roman core tucked in the bend of the river Adige with bridges surrounding the mostly pedestrian core filled with medieval buildings - many with the remnants of medieval decorations or murals. They host opera during the summer in the old Roman arena and vocal performances in the old Roman theater on the hill. There are two main piazzas - Bra with the Roman arena and Erbe which is more the people's piazza. The streets between these places is packed with stores and shopping and some of that is very high end - Valentino and major designers. The streets are mostly marble, the strolling is pleasant and the vibe is very cafe culture with restaurants scattered around. There are several interesting churches - large and small - and glimpses of the old Roman city still in the core area.

Yes, the Romeo and Juliet thing is complete fabrication - both for Shakespeare and Verona - but is easy enough to ignore unless the line for "the balcony" is clogging the street in front of it. You can look inside and see the balcony walking past for free, check it off and move on. But this also makes Verona a destination wedding location which only enhances the low impact, pretty, romantic feeling of the city.

But also just off the main streets there are style old cafe's, smaller independent shops and funkier places. Just across the river are the neighborhoods of San Zeno and Veronetta which are much more "lived in" and local feeling than the obviously glitzy core. But both of these neighborhoods are just few minutes walk away from the city core. There are a couple of small museums - one mixing really modern art museum and ancient art together and an archeological museum with surprising amount of Etruscan and pre-Roman artifacts.

I think Rick's summation of it is pretty good: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/verona-italy-city-of-romance
for a short visit. The city offers a pretty experience with enough sites to occupy your time but without the blockbuster "must see" sites of cities like Florence. To me that could easily provide a relaxing break from busy "touristing". Stroll the pretty city, window shop, cross the river, take some photos, visit a site if you feel like. Land at any place you're near when you feel like sitting down and have a spritz and/or a panini and unwind.

Having spent some time here I think city bears up to deeper appreciation if you want to explore and offers the advantages of a larger city - 250K+ people - without the "big city" feel of traffic and commerce. But most people come for a couple of day, stroll, spritz and then get back to "vacationing" in Florence, Milan, Bologna or Venice. But I'm not a member of the Verona tourist board - this is just my take on a city that I have enjoyed but I think has been overlooked for its more famous neighbors.

Piazza Ebe: https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4430718,10.9970083,3a,75y,6.28h,87.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sY6kP3kf302BXHxZkkQFHWA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Piazza Bra: https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4389257,10.9932263,3a,60y,39.8h,86.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6xb6J_AqlE7Wi9-He93llQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

If Verona sounds like the experience you are interested in then I encourage you to give it a couple days at some point.
=Tod

Thank you for this compendious summary of all things Verona! The text resembles an excerpt from a guide book, and possibly you are considering writing one. Your love for the city really shows. You are very much staying on topic since what was asked for was a relaxed town somewhere in the vicinity of Milan and Venice.

There was no contradiction to be found, as the Insight Guide argument that Verona is upper-crust when compared to other Italian cities has been strengthened. I will avoid going to Verona, as material things, among them upper-class shops, are less relaxing to some travellers, including me, than communing with nature, and also taking into account that there was no hint of an "obviously glitzy core" in Bologna or Pisa when i went there, and neither have been described as having that component as part of their character. Verona seems to be a close cousin to Milan and will now conclusively join it at the bottom of my wish list. RS words about "young fashionistas" quickly settled things. But I will look up that Piazza Erbe, as walking through Piazza Cavalieri in Pisa last month unexpectedly taught me to never underestimate any Italian plaza.

A town constantly inundated with weddings is not necessarily a boon to each and every traveller. Weddings can be complicated tense affairs (as in Whitney Houstons case) and are not always as genuine as by-standers wish them to be. Insecurity, dishonesty and pressure from the family has ensured that many a wedding throughout history has been a mournful occasion, followed by a calamitous relationship, and even today they are not all voluntary. When walking past a public Verona wedding you look at the participants expressions. If they are happy and content; fine, but if slow food, harmony and relaxation is on my agenda, I would never choose to be subjected to an unending stream of exhausting weddings of strangers, when one every week would be more than enough, and there are other reasons for a trip to Italy.