Northern Italy in Late October

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!

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"!

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.

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.

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.

Hi 👋 Late October in Northern Italy can be stunning — a little rainy, though less and less so in recent years.
It's definitely not high season in the Dolomites, which is why a lot of accommodation up there can be closed. But it's the perfect time to visit Venice: far fewer tourists, and you can still catch some lovely sunny days.
Don't miss the chance to pop over to lovely Treviso — it's an easy train ride from Venice (check the timetables on trenitalia.com) — and to explore the Prosecco Hills a bit. You can get from Venice to Conegliano by train, or you could rent a car. There's plenty of gorgeous accommodation in the area and the food is incredible.
For a selection of events, winery tastings and local happenings in general, take a look at prosecconow.it. Let me know of you need more specific info

I highly suggest Torino. We went there in early October last year. After being in Ortisei, Venice, and Florence, we were pleasantly surprised by how few tourists we encountered there. We felt like we had the place all to ourselves. It was the only city where I got to try using my basic Italian without someone immediately responding to me in English.