Hello, Community!
My wife and I (physically fit/good eaters/early 60s) are getting ready to join our niece and nephew for the Italian portion of their 10th wedding anniversary trip. We are flying into Venice and out of Zurich. It’s a shorter trip than we’d like, but that’s life on a working ranch.
I’m in charge of filling out the itinerary and could use a little assistance. We haven’t been to Venice since the late 1990s, and I was last in Turin and Switzerland as an intrepid student in 1981.
Priorities are:
-relax and share experiences with the “kids” (in their 30s)
-enjoy good food and drink
-walk and hike
-see interesting art and architecture
-take in local culture
Current Itinerary:
10 Oct - Land a.m. at VCE (booked for four nights into a VRBO in Dorsoduro on Rio del Carmini near Ponte del Socorro)
14 Oct - Train to Turin (planning two nights there but haven’t yet booked)
16-18 Oct - Somewhere by train between Turin and Zurich (thinking Lucerne, Lausanne, Zermatt, Chamonix, or an Italian mountain location)
19 Oct - Fly home from Zurich
The way we experienced Venice the last time was walking all over every sestiere and allowing ourselves to be surprised and inspired - grab an espresso, nibble cicchetti, peek at frescoes in neighborhood churches. Planning a similar approach this time.
Things I could use help with:
[] A destination meal in Venice (not elegant; just memorable food)
[] Hotel in Turin (budget ~$250/night)
[] Whether it’s worth a r/t train ride to Vercelli to eat at Costardi Bros when we only have 1.5 days and two nights in Turin
[] Dining recommendations in Turin
[] Signature thing(s) to do in Turin (Egyptian museum, auto museum, Piemonte wine tasting are on my possibles list)
[] Where to stop for 1.5 days and two nights “between” Turin and Zurich in mid-late October, keeping our priorities in mind
I know this itinerary seems in tension with my stated priority of relaxing, but time as a group sightseeing on trains will be relaxing, and we don’t intend to fill our days with many scripted activities.
Appreciate any help I can get from this impressive and generous community.
Mike L