My husband & I have seen a lot of Italy during our 3 trips there. We're planning our final trip before retiring (lack of funds then) for next year (May). We are in love with every area we've been too....Rome, Venice, Florence, Orvieto, Civita, Cinque Terre, Lake Como, and Amalfi Coast. Now in our upper 60's with bad legs, we need to go somewhere where we can just relax and enjoy the atmosphere & views. No more all day sightseeing anymore for us. We were considering going back to Lake Como and spend more time ferrying around the lake to see other villages. Stayed in Varenna for 2 nights previously but as beautiful as Varenna is, it has no night life. I was thinking Bellagio would be more active. We would stay a week. Wondered if doing a day trip one or two days somewhere would be perfect. Wondered if there are places worth going to (time wise) considering we would have to take the ferry to Varenna to catch the train to go to Milan, in order to catch a train to wherever would be suggested. Not interested in Milan. Thinking some hill towns like Lucca or San Marino...if trains go there. Would love to go back to CT but feel too far and hard to get to for just a day.
Anyone have any suggestions or advise on these plans.
Appreciate any ideas or criticism. Linda
Posted by
Washington DC
27142 posts
Bergamo has a lovely walled old quarter up on a hill, accessible via funicular. Some train connections take as little as 75 minutes from Varenna; all seen to require a change in Lecco.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
Sorrento is wonderful and not to be missed. Or perhaps Capri. Gee so many wonderful places. Consider these great places.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
But also, remember that after retirement you have less money, but more TIME ... so you can take multiple days in the less-expensive areas (which reduces your transportation costs for one-day visits.) And your time is more flexible (no need to jump through hoops to arrange vacation schedules) so if an amazing airfare sale comes up, you can jump on it, or go off-season.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
Lucca. It's level, has many restaurants and interesting nooks and crannies. Some night life.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
The city of Como has connections to the towns on the lake.
Lucca is also a good choice, connections to other cities and several things to do there, Puccini concerts almost every night.
Ravenna, Ferrara or Bologna would work, too.
Salerno can connect you to some of the Amalfi Coast towns, plus Paestum and Pompei, by bus, train, and/or ferry. The train station in Salerno is next to a pedestrianized area with shops, restaurants, and hotels. It's about 5-10 minutes from the tourist port.
My first choices would be Ravenna, Ferrara or Bologna. Fairly flat in themselves, good connections to other cities.
Posted by
Coraopolis, Pa, USA
1018 posts
We can second the recommendation for Bergamo. We spent three nights there last year and really liked its amenities. La Citta Alta is particularly interesting and an easy place to browse. We stayed at the very upscale Hotel Petronilla in the old section and it was exceptionally nice. The sofa in our room was shaped like a baseball mitt.
We found San Marino so nice in 2014 we returned in 2015 to spend more time. We were there in May and August and never saw the tourist hordes others have mentioned. It is very old and unique, plus it is an independent principality inside Italy.
Padua is also a nice destination to spend a few days to explore. At night during the summer the main piazzas are full of tables with diners enjoying the night air and eating al fresco. There was much life here and we enjoyed participating in it.
Buon viaggio,
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
I would definitely make an extended stay in Bologna, a larger city, but with fewer tourists.
From Bologna you can easily visit Ferrara, Ravenna, Parma, Modena, Padova and Verona.
Posted by
OP
Somonauk, Illinois, USA
400 posts
Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. I plan on looking into all of them. Especially have me interested in Bergamo. Linda
Posted by
Sacramento, CA - Calif, United States
339 posts
If you drive, the Dolomites and Sicily were wonderful for us. We are mid 60s. We did fine there. And they are doable with public transportation. We had cars there and they were easy places to drive.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15820 posts
Linda, we enjoyed Bergamo very much: highly recommended.