R&R near Venice

We went to Verona last year and absolutely loved it. We're going back next year. A friend of mine just returned from there and she loved it as well. She said, "I could really see living here." Here are a few photos I took in Verona, if you're interested: Verona in May 2011

Plenty to do in the Veneto Region without even going to Emilia-Romagna where Ravenna is. For example: Padova (minutes from Venice) Palladian Villas near Vicenza Verona and Lake Garda Abano Terme (Thermal Baths) and Montegrotto near the Colli Euganei (Colli=Hills)
Dolomites Check them out online (wikipedia probably has articles on each). Of course some destinations (like the Dolomites) are easier if you have a rental car. Enter each of the above on Google Images and see the photos to decide what you like. My first choice among the above would be to rent a car, drive through the Palladian Villas on the way to Verona. Visit Verona. Then relax on the nearby Lake Garda, a pearl. If you go to Garda, visit Sirmione on the Southern shore, Limone on the western shore and Riva on the Northern Shore. From Riva you can also take a quick drive to the Dolomites mountains which basically start from there. If you meet anybody in Riva who's last name is Santorum, s/he might even be related to the former Republican candidate to US President. His father was from Riva and there are lots of Santorums in that town.

If you do go to Ravenna (I go every year), it's a beautifully relaxing town with people who seem happy to live there. A good hotel in the city centre is Hotel Centrale Byron, or its sister property, Hotel Bizanzio. A ten-minute bus ride out of town is the church of Sant'Apollinare in Classe; in Ravenna itself are San Vitale, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the two baptistries, Dante's tomb, the recently uncovered museum of mosaic pavements. Roberto's recommendations for the Veneto area are very good, too. You would be well positioned to spend some time in the lake country (Garda, Maggiore, or Como).

Lake Maggiore or Lake Como are too far from Venice though.
Lake Garda is the place to go if you don't want to travel far from Venice.

Thanks for all your suggestions. We visited Lago Guarda on our first visit to Italy 7 years ago. Has anyone been there or in the Veneto region genally in early October? I'm wondering how the weather will be then.

I really enjoyed Verona and was disappointed that we couldn't fit in a trip to Lake Garda. You might want to base yourself in Verona for better rail connections and take a day trip to Lake Garda.

Judi, to see what the weather is likely to be someplace in a certain time period, you'll get better info from the various weather websites than you will from random anecdotal data from posters. Good luck.

October is nice here, not too hot, not too cold.

We were in Verona this past August for 3 nights and really enjoyed our experience. It was a great place to kick back and take a break from our vacation. Buon viaggio,