My wife and I are planning a portion of our first trip to explore the Veneto region and would like some advise from prior travelers as to what town or area should we use as a base to explore Padua and Vicenza and possibly the surrounding sites on our way between stays in Venice and Verona. Our itinerary is open right now so any recommendations on how long and where to stay would be most helpful. Should we use Padua or Vicenza as a base, as we will be traveling mostly by train and buses, when needed. Thanks - James
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1388 posts
Hello jmleonard18, and welcome to the forum!
Just to be clear are you saying you're staying in both Venice and Verona and are thinking of also staying in either Padua or Vicenza? These cities are pretty close to each other and so you should be able to explore the area very throughly staying at this many places in succession.
I would generally Padua/Padova over Vicenza based on size, places to explore and amenities. Vicenza is easy to reach from Padova and I would recommend exploring it that way.
Verona can be used as a base for exploring Lake Garda and I would also recommend checking out Brescia which I really liked and especially recommend it if Roman ruins interest you.
This area is flat and well connected by trains except for the upper areas of Lake Garda require a bus to reach since the train only services the lower part of the lake which is really touristy.
Hope that helps, have a great trip!
=Tod
Posted by
Washington DC
28945 posts
I'd choose Padua because from my perspective it has more local sights of interest. I enjoyed my day trip to Vicenza from Padua, but I wouldn't plan to stay in Vicenza.
Padua's also a good base for seeing Ferrara (31 to 54 minutes away by train), which sounds like a very interesting place though I haven't yet managed to see it.
Treviso is as little as 39 minutes away from Padua by cheap regional train, and it's an attractive town.
Bassano del Grappa--another place I haven't yet been--has been recommended on this forum, and I see that it's about an hour from Padua.
I spent multiple nights in Brescia and agree that it's a good day-trip option from Verona, though I spent multiple nights there and easily kept myself occupied.
I'm a slow traveler who likes to walk as many of the streets in a town's historic center as possible, and I hit all the local art museums. I'd want at least 3 nights in Padua with no day trips. I spent 3 nights in Verona earlier this year and had time to pop into only one church; that was frustrating. I missed so much stuff in Verona that I'll definitely have to return; there's a lot to see there even if (like me) you skip the Arena and the Romeo-and-Juliet sights.
Note that hotel rates in Verona seem to go quite high during opera season.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2163 posts
We enjoyed our few days in Padua for its own sights as Acraven suggests. We made easy day trips to Vicenza, Verona and Venice. It was a while ago but we were very happy at the family run Hotel Al Cason, minutes away from the train station. Spacious rooms, modern ,not cozy Old World but great hosts. Restaurant on site was convenient when we made several day trips.