March 2025, 2 couples, Venice, Bologna?, Tuscany agriturismo, Florence...

I've not been to Bologna, so my thoughts must be taken with a grain of salt, but I would do 3 nights Venice, as you will otherwise only have one full day. You can then decide to leave early am for Bologna if you have had enough Venice. Also, just my own personal preference, why not drop a night in Florence and add it to your agriturizmo? Your friends are not city people, so enjoy the countryside?

Thanks Lisa. I have been debating about extending the agriturismo for a 4th night and making Florence 3 nights. I'm a little concerned that from the agriturismo we have already booked is pretty remote and would make for longer day trips. It's on the border with Umbria about 1.5 hours SSE of Florence. We can definitely do day trips in that area (Montepuciano , Montalcino, etc) but it makes more sense to base ourselves closer to Florence for the days we want to visit Lucca, Pisa etc. On the other hand, the hotels in Florence are much more expensive so it's a trade off. I really want to be in Florence, or within an easy (>30 minutes) drive to the airport for our flight out our last day (noon flight.)

I could also look for a more centrally located agriturismo that would make it easier for day trips in every direction. I just liked the description and reviews of the one we've booked so far. Anyone have a recommendation?

Between Venice and Bologna, I think I'm still leaning toward Bologna for 3 nights after researching what there is to do there and knowing my friends' interests, but I'll talk with them and explain the options.

Arrive late afternoon Venice, stay 2-3 nights near the train station.

Since you arrive late in the day, 2 nights will only give you one full day and perhaps part of the arrival and departure days. With 3 nights you get two full days. Even two days will, in my opinion, be short changing one of the most unique places in Europe. I know you said the group "is not city people", but Venice, as you know from a prior visit, isn't your ordinary city. Suggest you consider 4 nights for Venice and even then you will just scratch the surface. Just food for thought.

Check out the Italian Days full day Bologna tour. It's great; you'll visit makers of balsamic vinagar, parma ham, and parmesan cheese. Lots of food and lots of wine served all day. https://www.italiandays.it/

Another plea for more time in Venice. I do not like cities, either, and rarely go downtown in my own city. But imagine a city in which everywhere you turn there is something beautiful or interesting to see, and every building is unique and most are hundreds of years old. Where there are no traffic lights, no cars or trucks or buses, no motorcycles, no car exhaust, not even any bicycles. There are no streets or sidewalks, just places where people walk and eat meals and drink coffee or wine and play music and shop. And kids play. Lots of small bridges and a few large ones. The scale is a human scale, no towering buildings --- just some actual towers. And all the water, in all the canals and surrounding Venice, while not exactly "nature," gives a different look and feel to life.

Yes, there will be crowds in a very few places, and you can either avoid those and go see something else, or you can experience the famous spots early in the morning or in the evening. If I were you, I would skip Murano and go to Torcello in the morning and walk along the canal and the farmers' fields until you get to the bridge with no railings (stand on it) and then the tower (climb it) and the church (see the mosaics inside). Burano is an easy stop on your way back. The Accademia art gallery is not at all crowded and there is art in situ in many churches. Your friends might enjoy a lagoon tour, if there are some in March. Or learn to row a Venetian boat with one oar while standing up (Row Venice). Anyway, there are tons of things to see and do that are not the Rialto Bridge.

Where would I steal a couple nights from? We just got back from five weeks in Florence (after six weeks on two previous trips), so you know we love that city, but given your interests, I would say take a night or two from Florence and cut back on the day trips. [We had a great apartment in Florence, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a washing machine and dishwasher, a 17 minute walk to the train station (16 minutes by bus), and in a neighborhood with exactly the kind of casual local restaurants we like within a 10 minute stroll: San Frediano. About half a block from the city gate.]

I don't give you suggestions about the number of nights in one city or another: is too personal and every place is wonderful.
About Bologna (and Emilia-Romagna) in my opinion worth doing a stop to food producers, not only taste Bolognese sauce. You could rent a car the last day from Bologna and arrange a tailor made tour visiting a Parmigiano-Reggiano dairy, a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar producer and maybe a winery (the wines in Emilia are completely different from the ones you'll find in Tuscany). All of these producers are located in the countryside and the car is greatly suggested! After the tour you directly go to Tuscany.
About Synagogues in Emilia-Romagna there were very big Jewish communities, so they left several footprints and of course there are still working and historical synagogues. The biggest and oldest is the one of Modena. Another important place is the MEIS, the Italian Museum for Jewish culture located in Ferrara. Both Modena (Ferrari, Estense galleries, the Cathedral, Pavarotti museum...) and Ferrara (the Fortress, Schifanoia palace...) deserve a full day of visit. The synagogues to be visited must be booked in advance, so you must contact the local Jews community or book a tour through a local tour operator. Emilia Romagna Tours do this kind of tours (cultural, food, motors...).

We enjoy both Venice and Bologna, and I will say that March is a pretty ideal time to visit both. I strongly recommend 3 nights in Venice, as you will need a bit of time to recover from the long flight and readjust your body clock. Tell your friends who are not “city people” that Venice does not feel at all like your usual city. The complete absence of cars gives it a completely different atmosphere, one far more pleasant than a city with busy streets and traffic noise. Of course Venice can be crowded with tourists, but there are ways around that, and by staying 3 nights you will have more time in the quieter mornings and evenings, when the day-trippers are gone, to truly experience the magic of this place.

We are not “city people” either, but have happily spent as long as a month in Venice, and have returned several times since for days of 3-5 days, which for us is a minimum.

Bologna is also more pleasant than your usual Italian city (i.e. Rome), as the famous porticoes provide nice walking out of the hot sun or rain, and well separated from traffic. And on weekends, the main streets around Piazza Maggiore are turned into traffic-free pedestrian/bicycle sones, including Via Independenza and Via Ugo Bossi. This makes for a festive air,especially during the evening passsegiata (which felt almost like a neighborhood block party when we were there on a Saturday).

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/other/other/limited-traffic-area-ztl-en

Photos:

https://www.thatch.co/places/360718/via-dellindipendenza

Good luck finding good, “authentic” Bolognese. “Many are called, but few are chosen” is how my husband described his quest. The supposed “original Bolognese”, the recipe for which is registered with the Bobolna Chamber of Commerce.

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/other/recipes-and-typical-products/ragu-alla-bolognese-2

https://jackslobodian.com/ragu-alla-bolognese/#:

Note that this recipe is made with white wine, not red, and like all Bolognese contains milk, but absolutely no garlic or herbs. My husband’s Italian tutor suggested he seek out this “white” Bolognese in Bologna but we were not able to find it; everything was made with red wine. But it was still very good. (But honestly no better than the “white” Bolognese we have been making at home, from the Cook’s Illusttrated recipe).

I just noticed the part about “stay near the train station in Venice”. Assuming you accept the recommendations to stay 3 nights in Venice, I will suggest better places to stay than near the train station. That area is busy and crowded, and far from the best sights. You will enjoy your stay more if you pick a better location, such as Dorsoduro, our favorite.

I highly recommend getting an apartment in Venice; there are many nice ones available from highly reputable agencies, and it will cost you considerably less than 2 hotel rooms if you share a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment. Plus you can have fun shopping at the Rialto market and cooking a dinner “in” one night if you are interested. We rarely go out to restaurants when staying in Venice ourselves, as excellent restaurants are hard to find, and I enjoy cooking—-especially with the opportunity to shop for fresh veggies and seafood at the Rialto market each day.

I will post an example of the apartments available with an agency we like, Views on Venice. They can book a water taxi to pick you up at the airport if you like, and take you across the lagoon and through the canals to a dock as close as possible to your apartment. A representative of Views on Venice will meet you there and walk you to the apartment to hand over the keys, show you around, explain the trash collection system, etc. and just generally help you get settled. ( Note: the water taxi is an extra cost, but for 4 people not all that much more than the public transport options from the airport. And certainly a whole lot easier).

This apartment in Dorsoduro is in a central but quiet location, off the tourist paths. It has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and the price for the random mid-March dates I chose came to around €960 for 3 nights—-about the cost of one double room in a mid-level hotel.

https://www.viewsonvenice.com/rentals/apartment-venice-ca-dell-artista-with-balcony-and-terrace-271902.html

This apartment is also offered by Views on Venice on AirBnB if you prefer that platform.

Now I will go and look for a similar one offered by the other company we like, Venice Red House, just for comparison. There are of course other options available from both companies so you should look around both websites.

This one from Venice Red House is also in Dorsoduro, near the apartment we rented last visit’ which we liked very much. It has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but no terrace so is less expensive than the other one. For the same random dates in March it comes to €630.

https://veniceredhouse.com/apartments-in-venice/kandinsky-house-apartment/

Thank you everyone for all the great info. Obviously, 12 nights isn't anywhere near enough time. I know I will be back again, although I'm not sure if our friends will be, just because they have a different list of places to go. I totally agree that Venice deserves more time and doesn't feel at all like a city, it's more like a fun maze to get lost in but never get worried, you can always pop out at a canal and jump on the vaporetto! I was just looking at my timeline from our trip to Venice and it looks like a spaghetti plot (complete with evidence of all the pasticierie we stopped at!) I will talk to my friends again. We've already decided to cut Florence down to 3 nights, including the last night before flying out, we added the extra night to the agriturismo.

Venice apartments - thank you for the link, I will definitely check it out. I was talking with a friend today about taking the water taxi from the airport, so that's a good plan.

Bologna - food tour, OMG that sounds wonderful, thank you for that link. I'd love to do that.
Also thank you for the info on the synagogues, that will be very helpful.

The idea of renting the car in Bologna on departure from the city is a good one, I'm just looking at the maps to figure out how much driving that would be in one day. I am still wondering about our agriturismo location (Agriturismo La Terra, https://www.agriturismolaterra.it/) it's a perfect match for us, but I'm just worried it's so remote.

The problem is too much to see and do, not enough time to do it.

Thanks all.

But imagine a city in which everywhere you turn there is something beautiful or interesting to see, and every building is unique and most are hundreds of years old. Where there are no traffic lights, no cars or trucks or buses, no motorcycles, no car exhaust, not even any bicycles. There are no streets or sidewalks, just places where people walk and eat meals and drink coffee or wine and play music and shop. And kids play. Lots of small bridges and a few large ones. The scale is a human scale, no towering buildings --- just some actual towers. And all the water, in all the canals and surrounding Venice, while not exactly "nature," gives a different look and feel to life.

Nancys8, WOW! What a fantastic description. And it explains so eloquently what we love about Venice. Thank you.