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Overnight stop driving from Venice to Florence

My husband, myself and another couple will be traveling to Italy in late September/Early October. We are renting a car after our stay in Venice and driving to Florence. I thought I'd break up the trip with an overnight stay in San Marino. My dad went there many, many years ago and said it was beautiful. I'm wondering if this is the way to to go, or if there is another town between Venice and Florence that might be better.

Here is the rough itinerary I'm considering:
Fly into Munich and take a train to Innsbruck - on night in Innsbruck
Train to Innsbruck to Venice - two nights in Venice
Pick up car in Venice and drive to San Marino - one night in San Marino
Drive from San Marino to Florence with a stop in Santa Sofia (where my biz Nonna was from) - 3 nights in Florence
Drive from Florence to Lake Garda with a stop in Bologna to eat - 3 nights in Lake Garda and nearby village of Tiarno di Sotto (I have family there)
Drive back to Venice and return the car. Flight from Venice/Treviso to Munich.

Posted by
338 posts

One time driving from Florence to Venice I spent the night in Mantua and recommend it. Another time driving from Venice to Florence I stayed a few hours in Ravenna and wish had stayed the night instead. So look into Ravenna and Mantua.

Posted by
872 posts

Look up Ravenna mosaics on google images. The first part of your trip makes little sense; train time from Innsbruck to Venice about 7 hours. You can’t fly to Venice, stay there once at the end?

It is assumed you are cognizant of ZTL and other driving issues; IDP required or not based on where you live. Leave nothing of value in the vehicle when parked. The Hotel David in Florence is handy for those with vehicles, seeing how you can’t really drive in the center of Florence; there are places to park without violating the ZTL. Trying to drive into Bologna there is a similar problem.