Suggestions for a few days around Ravenna. Flying into Venice.

You could take the train to Cesenatico (25 minutes) and see the outdoor ship museum with boats floating in the canal and also fishing houses out on the coast.

Or take the train to Faenza (33 minutes) to see the town itself and the International Museum of Ceramics and the ceramics shops.

Or even to Ferrara, even though it's an hour and a quarter by train --- it's become one of our favorite towns in Italy.

Or, if you like the mosaics in Ravenna, see more of them --- it may take more than two days:

Museo Nazionale (close to the next four places)

Basilica di San Vitale………..**Mausoleo di Galla Placida

Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe (must take bus to it)

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (near train & bus station)

Museo Arcivescovile (near the next two places)

Neonian Baptistery

Duomo (quick look at floor)

Padova and Ferrara are on the way to Ravenna

I was thinking of renting a car to drive there but have been told if we want to stay in the city center it is better to drop the car off due to parking issues in the zone. The more I read these posts…some of them old I think we are better flying in….staying a night by a car rental place and just take the boats through Venice and leave and spend our time in and around Ravenna. Venice has changed so much and the authenticity of the smaller towns sound like a better idea now. We have been to Italy any times and a usually drove from Venice to Sorrento stopping along the way here and there.

Thank you.

Another thought is to see the places you recommend and then drop the car for our time in Ravenna. Just thinking out loud. Too old now to deal with the trains…..we did that many many times with a lot of luggage years ago. We flew into Milan once…left luggage in the train station…trained to Zermatt…picked up luggage …trained to Switzerland…Salzburg and then back to Nice dropping and picking luggage up in train stations. Those days are gone. It was great though!

We found Ravenna to be a port city famous for their mosaics. When our cruise ship landed there, we took a city bus to the train station. We left the city on a Bologna bound train and got off 1/2 hour later. We then connected to the next train that came along that carried us into Venice.

We just find that other cities easily gotten to are more important cities than spending a couple of days in Ravenna. I am talking about Bologna or Venice. Florence is an hour south of Bologna by train. The same train that takes you out of Ravenna goes straight to Milan, and Lake Como is just 45 minutes north of there by bus or train.

Thank you David. We will actual spend two days in Venice. We have been to Italy many many times and have seen Venice change so much through the years, we have driven through Italy as well several times and have been to Florence over five times. That is the reason we are looking to visit the smaller places. Mostly because we are sailing out of Ravenna. In fact I believe we were one of the last sailings allowed to go through Venice before they switched to Ravenna.
We will also be back after our cruise as we will have ten days to spend when we fly back from Athens. I am looking to spend some time in Lucca as we have not been there. Probably a few days in Rome as well. Another place we have seen several times. We have traveled a great deal the past 34 years.

Good suggestions though.
Karen

Ravenna is definitely worth two nights. There are mosaics everywhere! We even saw remnants of a floor mosaic outdoors near an apartment building-looked like it was "just" a part of someone's yard;). There's a mosaic museum in a former church, with beautiful displays and information on the "how's" of mosaic art. We found Ravenna to be a great city for walking and enjoyed delicious food, including aperitivo on one of the squares and lunch in a hotel near the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe.

If you end up having a car for Ravenna, Comacchio is very nice: both the town and the nature area:
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/12/comacchio.html?m=1

As a mad fan of wetlands, I long to get to the Po delta one day and see Chioggia. If I was driving, I would do that.

Chioggia is easy by buses from Lido in Venice, but that’s a different trip to the OP’s.

From Ravenna we took the train to Rimini for the day.
It was market day , the stalls went for miles in each direction.
There’s a very old Roman bridge, still in use, and a little neighbourhood with colourful fishermen’s cottages.

I had to push hard to see all the mosaic sites in Ravenna and the city's art museum in two days (three nights). I didn't have time for the newish history museum out in Classe.

Thank you all for the suggestions. We will definitely be spending three nights in Ravenna and will drive there from Venice before we sail out.
I know the historic center is a problem with a car. Are we better dropping the car and exploring Ravenna without it. Since we only have three days to play with is it better to explore the city from within or look for a place with parking outside of the historic zone.

All great responses.
Thank you.

I've never rented a car in Europe, so I can only say that I walked everywhere in Ravenna. I took a bus out to Sant'Apollinaire in Classe, one of the key mosaic sites; I believe there's also some rail service. I didn't attempt to reach the Classis Ravenna museum in Classe and don't know how practical that would be without a car.

I know the historic center is a problem with a car. Are we better
dropping the car and exploring Ravenna without it. Since we only have
three days to play with is it better to explore the city from within
or look for a place with parking outside of the historic zone.

The car can serve you en route, not once you are there. I am not sure what your plans are for the in between, but there is probably somewhere on the edge of town that you could stay with a car if you intend to do day trips with it.

We kept our rental car in Ravenna for 5 nights because we had three day trips to make and the rest of our locations to drive to after Ravenna --- the historic district is teeny-tiny and from the perimeter is just a few short blocks to all of the various sites except the out-of-town one. Look at this ZTL map for Ravenna: https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/italy-mainmenu-81/emilia-romagna/ravenna-ar

Again thank you all for the suggestions. Still have a few months to plan. Might keep the car depending upon the price until the day before we sail.
Just beginning to look at hotels.
Still deciding inside with no car or outside city center with car.
Decisions decision. More freedom with car if we decide to drive elsewhere once we arrive from Venice.
These boards are great and have always helped especially with people who drive in other countries.
K

Classis Ravenna museum in Classe and don't know how practical that would be without a car

Very practical. We took a bus and then walked maybe ten minutes with a group ranging in age from five to seventy-five years old. The museum was fantastic and I highly recommend it. I agree that two full days is tight for a thorough visit to Ravenna. Three would be much better and four wouldn't be wasted.

I am not the original poster yet I want to express great appreciation to everyone who had a suggestion. For every person who posts a question, I’m sure there are dozens of people, or more, reading all of the replies so thank you for the creative suggestions from someone who hopes to get to Ravenna someday soon.

It is me again. We are now looking to book at Casa Masoli for two nights in Ravenna. I believe it might be in the historic zone so it might be better dropping the car and using it just to drive from Venice to Ravenna. Has anyone stayed or heard about this BnB. I like the reviews and just want to be in a central area.
Thanks Again
Karen