Hello,
For my sabbatical
I'm planning on touring Italy with my family for 2-3 weeks from Sicily all the way to the top and hitting a bunch of the sites (I've pretty much got this part mapped out already).
And then we will take one month and pick a spot to stay in. Ideally somewhere with a beautiful view and walking distance to cafes, great food, wine, etc.. Not sure where would be a good place to camp out. This is our first time to Italy.
We'll be there May and June
Suggestions?
Sicily is quite large and has great sights all over. Truly, it needs at least two weeks if you have a car at your disposal, and you'll be making painful decisions if you only have 14 days. It's also not a place that can be seen from one base, so don't be tempted to spend your month in a single spot in Sicily.
Even leaving Sicily out of the mix, two weeks won't do much for you if you intend to cover the length of the boot. With just two weeks the usual recommendation is to see Rome, Florence and Venice, with maybe a day-trip or two. The glory of Italy (and the challenge) is that there are interesting places just about everywhere. Puglia is good for at least a week; the Amalfi Coast for about that long, Tuscany for a week, the lake district, the Dolomites... I could go on. And then there are the lovely cities.
What time of year will you be in Italy? That will affect people's suggestions. A good chunk of Italy is pretty much guaranteed to be miserably hot in the summer, and much of the rest can be unpleasantly hot, though it won't necessarily be that bad every single day. If yours is a summer trip, you'll need to be strategic in your choices.
You will get many replies indicating that you simply do not have enough time, but I think your plan is fine. Not sure what is on your list of sights or what your interests are, but here are two wide ranging plans:
Start in Sicily working your way North, spending at least two weeks in the region from Sicily to Naples. This will give you an overview of Sicily and decent time in Naples and the Amalfi Coast, but not much in between. From there, move North, Maybe some time in Rome, but maybe pick a spot in Umbria/Tuscany/Florence or Bologna for your month. From there, you can explore much of Northern Italy as Day or overnight trips, being only a couple hours from about everything.
The other option would be to reverse it, but in that case I would devote most of a Month getting to Sicily, winding up with 3 weeks to chill and daytrip.
Do not feel you need to see everything, my first time in Rome was 3 nights, first time in Venice one night, first time in Florence..a day trip, did I see everything...No...did I have a great time and see the highlights, you bet, did I go back, yeah, several times.
I have to agree with the others, you really need at least 2 weeks just for Sicily and that's with a car. It would help to know who is in your family (small kids, teens, parents) and how many you are. What are your interests? What do you want to accomplish on this trip? Places I've been that had great views were the Dolomites, Assisi and Orvieto. I'm sure other hill towns have good views too. You can find excellent food, wine, and cafes all over the country, but I can't think of anywhere with great views that I'd want to spend a month, especially on a first trip, unless my purpose was to learn Italian. I'd never run out of things to see and do in Rome, probably not in Florence and I'm pretty sure I could spend a month in Venice and not get bored with its charm.
i would do
2 weeks in Sicily
1 week in Sorrento
1 week in Rome
1 week in Florence
1 week in Venice
You can side trip to orvieto, tuscany vineyards or hill towns, amalfi coast, capri, pompeii, padua....that would be a dream vacation :)
Absent a compelling project to work on (which may well be part of the sabbatical plan, I realize), a month in one place doesn't fit with my concept of a first trip to any country, unless the chosen destination is a major urban one with a great deal to do, as Chani proposed. A month means a lot of days for day-tripping if you're in a small town, and those day-trips will have to get longer and longer as the nearby possibilities are ticked off the list.
It's not that it would be unpleasant to spend a month in Orvieto, for one example, but rather that there are so many fabulous places in Italy that would be outside reasonable day-trip range. I'd much prefer to choose multiple bases so I could hit a greater percentage of my list of top destinations. I love the idea of plunking myself down in one spot for a month, but then I think about all the places I haven't yet seen and the limitations imposed by the Schengen Zone rules.
Thanks for all the replies guys. I may have been a little unclear. I am not looking for suggestions on where to tour per se. I know that Sicily could use two weeks just by itself. We are just visiting one church/town down there where my wife's family is originally from. Then pretty closely laying out Rick Steves' plan for seeing Italy in 2-3 weeks.
After that we are going to pick one place and stay for a month for the sabbatical portion. Just a good place that is beautiful and peaceful and yet still able to get some good food/wine. I have a 10 and 9 year old.
There are literally thousands of options. Do you have some way to narrow it down--geographically or otherwise?
Just understand that you won't be "seeing Italy" in 2 or 3 weeks. You will be spending 2 or 3 weeks in Italy. Don't mean to be pedantic, but you can't even "see Italy" in 2 or 3 months. Maybe you can do a decent job of it in 2 or 3 years. What Rick tries to do is suggest a very good use of time for a typical American traveler who has only 2 or 3 weeks available--not the same thing as seeing the country.
Now that I know about the two young children, a month in one place seems more logical, though it will seriously affect the extent of what you'll be able to see. Not having kids, I don't have any specific suggestions, but with the likelihood of hot weather, I think access to a pool or other water source would be a great idea.
I would stay in Lucca. It’s a lovely town, nearly car-free, so that you can walk or bike nearly everywhere. As the home of Puccini and the site of a music school, there are concerts at reasonable prices nearly daily. Food and wine are great. The city walls constitute a circular city park, with a wide area for strolling or biking, which would be fun for your family. It’s not far from other small interesting sites and well connected to local transportation.
I would choose Stresa or Cannobio on Lake Maggorie up North close to the border with Switzerland. Beautiful views of the lake and mountains. Lots of boats travel the lake and docks at islands where you can eat, visit museums and houses and gardens.
Second choice would be Lucca. Great town for walking, biking and running (on the ramparts), good food and I took a great cooking class there. I would stay inside the walls for the best experience. PM me if you would like hotel or restaurant recommendations and enjoy your time in Italy.
I'm thinking a location in Tuscany or Umbria, but it depends on whether you'll have a car or prefer to rely on public transit. You need to provide more information.
