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Second Trip to Italy Itinerary

Posted by (Sacramento, CA) on

The boyfriend and I will be in Switzerland for 1 week then Italy for 2 weeks this September. I've been to Italy in 2015 and visited Milan, Venice, Florence/Pisa, Rome, and Naples/Pompeii. My boyfriend has never been so we plan to still do Venice, Florence, and Rome. He's not very into artsy galleries so I'll be cutting out some stuff I know he wouldn't be interested in seeing, but I'm trying to fill in the rest of the time with new experiences for the both of us.

Here's my loose itinerary, if I could get some feedback that would be greatly appreciated!
Bellagio/Lake Como (2 nights) from Wengen, Switzerland
Venice (4 nights) with day trips to Verona and Murano/Burano
Bologna (2 nights)
Florence (3 nights)
Rome (3 nights) and fly home out of Rome

  1. I'm a little torn if we should go out of the way and go to the Amalfi Coast instead of Lake Como.
  2. Also wondering if Bologna is a good place to spend 2 nights or if we should stay somewhere in Tuscany.

Thanks so much for your input in advance!

Posted by
11838 posts

Looks like a decent plan. I like that you are spending 4 nights in Venice.

I am not a big fan of Bologna so be sure you know the sites you want to see and make sure that it is worth your time. There is great food everywhere; Bologna does not have a lock on it.

Lake Como is a lovely place in the fall and by contrast, Amalfi is a long journey south, so save yourselves the time and stick with Como. In fact, I might cut Bologna and add a night each to Lake Como and Rome. There is never enough time in Rome.

Posted by
12043 posts

Agree with Laurel, Amalfi Coast is a long way out of the way.

If not Bologna, perhaps Lucca or Orvieto for a 'not heavy on museums' stop? Staying in Lucca makes Pisa a nearby visit.

Posted by
7958 posts

Hi, if you're taking the train from Switzerland to Italy, consider Stresa on Lake Maggiore instead of Lake Como. We did that same trip, and the train route runs down Lake Maggiore, so you don't need to go to Milan and then back up to Lake Como. Stresa has Isola Bella, Pescatori, etc. that are beautiful to explore.

Since you've been to Florence, and he's not interested in art galleries, personally I would select Siena, instead of Florence. It's a fun town, and you could add a wine tour, etc. to explore more of Tuscany while you're based in Siena.

Bologna is not my favorite. How many days are you in Wengen? You won't want to leave, so if it's not at least three days, add a day there and give the other day to Rome.

Posted by
16895 posts

I have no problem with traveling all day from Wengen to Lake Como, but do you? Have you seen train schedules or this thread from this week about the connection options on that route?

Stresa on Lake Maggiore is an Italian lake alternative. But you can already see lakes in Switzerland, if you want to. Traveling all the way to Venice or the Cinque Terre region in one day doesn't take any longer than Lake Como.

Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it.

Posted by
2429 posts

hey sheenyb
hi neighbor
sounds like a fun trip. do you have hotels/apts reserved yet? what are your dates for italy. If interested i can send you a few things us friends did while there.
aloha

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks everyone for your input!

Laurel, I could cut out Bologna and split up the nights in two cities we'll already be in, but I was hoping to do a another new city instead of spending more time in a place I've already been (i.e. Rome, although it is indeed a wonderful place).

Joe, thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely look into Lucca and Orvieto!

Jean, since my boyfriend hasn't been to Florence he wants to stay there. I did see a few very interesting day tours from Florence though so thinking we'll try that out! I guess Bologna doesn't have a very popular opinion so definitely rethinking that. We'll be in Wengen for four days :)

Laura, yikes I knew the trip from Wengen to Lake Como would be complicated but I'm thinking it may still be worth it. We're already doing a scenic train within Switzerland so we'll probably leave early from Wengen and try to take the quickest route. I did look into Cinque Terre but was a little unimpressed with how people made it seem. Thanks for the great links!

princess puple, we do not have accomodations booked yet as we're still nailing down exactly which cities and how long we want to stay in them. We'll be in Italy Sept 10-24 :)

Posted by
111 posts

I'd vote for a town in Tuscany (with a wine tour, olive grove, and perhaps a cooking class!) - we prefer seeing more of the countryside, ruins, natural sites, rather than art galleries and solely big cities, but your itinerary does have a good mix of locations. Another option is staying near Bologna and make a day trip to cheesemaker in Modena or Parma - we stayed in an awesome B&B vineyard in mountain area between Bologna and Modena - and brought back a huge amount of parmigiano reggiano! And olive oil.

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