We are thinking of touring northern Italy, not the Alps, for about 10 days or so. This is an add on to another adventure in a different European area. We have only visited Rome and Sicily and the Dolomites, so not repeating them.. We like agriculture, hiking, art, food, wine, seas. I guess there isn’t much we don’t like. I’d appreciate some advice from travelers who have traveled during this time frame. I will end my previous tour in Lithuania. There are so many possibilities, but they require quite a bit of planning. I would really appreciate comments about locations that have impressed you during the late October timeframe.
Posted by
Atlanta
3319 posts
Last fall (October/November) we spent time in northern Italy and spent 4-5 nights in each city. We flew into Venice and took a shuttle to Treviso . Except for Torino, they were all new to us and excellent in different ways. There are many palaces, archeological sites, options for hiking, and excellent restaurants.
After our stay in Treviso, we went in the following order to:
Bassano del Grappa
Chioggia
Padua
Mantua
Cremona
Torino
P.S. I just attended a high school class reunion in Iowa this past weekend!
Posted by
133 posts
Perhaps consider the Prosecco Road (Prosecco HIlls) which you could couple with trip to Venice. We did it leaving Venice, spent a night and had pre-booked private tours in a few of the wineries. I remember an incredible restaurant that was suggested to us and we ate outside looking at the beautiful hills. This was Salis https://www.salisristorante.it/?lang=en These hills are different than in Tuscany, and have small snail hills. A really beautiful and different location! You did said "wine"!
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
2246 posts
We've spent several weeks in Italy in late October during 5 trips, but when I looked at my google doc I was surprised to see that 4 of the trips were in the south: 3 times to Puglia and once to Naples. The 5th trip was a month in Florence that started in late October. So, not helpful to you.
Two northern trips starting in early November were to Liguria (Genoa, Camogli, Dolceacqua) and to Umbria (Orvieto, Perugia, Gubbio, Spoleto, Norcia, Narni). Loved all those places we stayed and their day trips, but Orvieto was the stand-out town. Liguria has the sea, Umbria is landlocked.
Most favorite towns and cities in the north where we've stayed in the off season: Treviso, Padua, Ferrara, and Ascoli Piceno. I'd put Venice as #1, but judging by how heavily touristed Florence was in late October, Venice would be, too. Although there's plenty of Venice in shoulder season that is not crowded. And water, water everywhere.
Posted by
New York
188 posts
Did you say you are flying to Italy from Vilnius? If so, maybe we can help. We’ve hopped from Vilnius to Florence, Vilnius to Bergamo (Milan) and Vilnius to Rome.
Posted by
Washington, DC USA
1011 posts
In early to mid October 2024, I traveled to Milan, Ortisei (Dolomites), Padua, a week in Bologna with day trips (Ravenna, Parma, Faenza) , and Varenna (Lake Como). I found mid-October a very pleasant and uncrowded time to spend a few days in Varenna. It was also a good time to stay in Bologna and visit nearby towns in Emila-Romagna. One possible inconvenience is that in recent years there seem to be a good number of transit strikes in Italy in October, but I was able to work around them.