For our 25th anniversary, my husband and I have airline tickets to Rome for late July. We are bringing my Dad on the trip; he's a seasoned traveler, speaks Italian and has encyclopedic knowledge of everything we see, but he can only walk a mile or so per day and doesn't like steps. The plan is to head straight to Capri upon arrival; I have a "senior friendly" hotel booked for three nights. At the end of the trip I booked a hotel in Rome with an airport transfer. What is the best plan for the six nights in between? My Dad read your Italy book and has his heart set on visiting Bologna. We've thought of Bologna as a base to take train trips to Venice, the Lakes or Tuscany. We've also discussed renting a car. Should we avoid Cinque Terra completely? Any ideas?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
CT is out with Pop. If he wants to go to Bologna, that's as good a place as any, and day trips are possible.
Decide on renting a car after you make the final decision on where to go -- it won't do you much good if Venice or Florence are on the list.
Posted by
Morrison, CO, USA
893 posts
I'm thinking that Venice might be better for Pop than many other places. The Vaporetto stops are very convenient, and you can actually get around without many steps.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
You need to work with a map on this... Bologna is a wonderful town to visit; miles of covered sidewalks in town, the region is the food capital of Italy, and the surrounding towns such as Parma are a delight to visit and are easily reachable by train. So as a focus on its own it is well worth it. However it is not at all close to Tuscany, and will burn 3 hours round trip to Venice, not even including the time to get to/from the train station in Bologna with someone who probably doesn't walk too fast.
How about something like Capri to Florence, Florence for 3 days (perhaps including a bus tour of the Tuscan countryside), then 3 in Bologna exploring that town and vicinity?
It's really nice of you to be bringing your dad, so why not ask him what he wants in addition to Bologna... Is it scenery? Museums? People-watching? Sight-seeing bus trips? Rides on boats? Great food? Canals? Sitting in a cafe and chatting with locals? It will help guide your decision. I'm not sure how much traveling you've done, but a lot of people fall into the trap of trying to do too much / see everything. With just 6 days, and with someone that can only go 1 mile per day, less really can be more.