Northern Italy Itinerary Help

Where are you flying from to start? That make a difference.

If Flying from NYC, you could get nonstops to Venice on United from EWR or Delta from JFK.

Treviso is wonderful.
We loved our 3 days there last September.
We were just discussing our "magical moment" in Italia and decided it was in Treviso.

Bologna makes an excellent base and it worthwhile in its own right.

Udine is about an hour from Trieste and two from Venice by train, a relatively small city with some beautiful buildings, not full of tourists and with a very Italian feel.

You might also consider the Dolomites. There are many lovely small towns and awesome scenery.

We will either fly out of Phoenix or Tucson.

Davebarnes you mentioned a bologna as a base. Where do you recommend staying that is relatively inexpensive, such as €80-€100/night? What do you recommend to visit there?

Surprisingly, flying out of Tucson saves you about $100 or more per person. You can do it to Venice with a single connection, but if you fly to Trieste, you will need to make 2 connections along the way.

There is a direct train every hour at 51 past the hour from Venezia Mestre station to Trieste, taking just under 2 hours and costing about 13 EUR per person. There is frequent direct bus service from the airport to Mestre station, or you can take a taxi. You could get a train to Treviso on the way back from Trieste, then other towns reachable from Venice by train are Padua, Vicenza, Ferrara, and Verona.

Thanks for everyone's reply so far and for the input about flying out of Tucson which works better for us as that's where we live. We're looking for recommendations of places to visit between and around Trieste and Venice. Bologna is south of Venice and we were hoping to stay west or north of Venice. We will be spending time in Venice and likely want to end our trip there. Please keep the recommendations coming. We appreciate it!

Another option to get to Trieste is to take the FlixBus directly from the airport. (Buy tix on line for about $12 in advance.) No need to get to Mestre station and it drops you at the rail station in Trieste. Takes the same time as the train. My friend and I did this last year and it was very easy and comfortable.

Consider staying in Padua. From there, rail connections to Treviso, Vicenza and Verona are cheap, easy and quick. If you look at what each of these four towns has to offer, I think you could see how interesting they are. The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, the canals in Treviso, Palladian Villas and Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza and the amphitheater in Verona are just a few of the many sights in each of these cities. If your husband likes small, then stay in Vicenza. The Hotel Campo Marzio Is a short walk from the rail station and was recently refurbished. It is on the edge of the Centro Storico but is a short walk to anywhere in the city.