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Veneto/Lombardia

Posted by (Vancouver, WA) on

We are finishing up our 13-day itinerary for visiting the northern lakes region of Italy. I want to share our thoughts of an itinerary and ask for input. Please be kind if it looks like we are biting of more than we can chew. Also, we will be traveling by train (no car rental!!), and don’t want to venture south (ie CT, Florence, that is another trip). If I misspelled or mislabeled something, I apologize in advance!

Here we go…….🤪

We will be starting in northern Croatia...

Trieste - on the way to Vince

Venice - (4 nights?) day trips to:
Padua
Bassano del Grappa

Vicenza (maybe overnight?)

Verona - (4 nights?) day trips to:
Lazise
Sirmione
Limone sul Garda
Rovereto
Brescia

Bergamo (maybe overnight?)
Milan (only want to see a few things)

Lake Como (3 nights?)
Gravedona (staying here)
Varenna
Bellagio

Then on to Tirana and the Bernina Express into Switzerland to meet family.

I know everyone’s opinions differ about how long to stay places, would just love you personal input, and we’ll figure it out! TIA

Posted by
6888 posts

Have you been to Venice before? If not, I do not think you will have time for day trips there.
And I am not sure about stopping in Trieste, because in high season (when are you going?) there are direct ferries from Istria (Pula, Rovinj, Piran if I remember correctly) to Venice, which are more convenient than overland options. Not sure about current status with Covid, but have a look maybe?
I do not know much about Verona and Vicenza, so I cannot comment on that part.

Posted by
27096 posts

I also think you've got too many side trips penciled in from Venice. I haven't been to Bassano del Grappa but did like both Padua and Vicenza. There are lots more sights to see in Padua than in Vicenza. It's very close to Venice, but its lodging rates are a lot lower, so if you had more time in that area it wouldn't be crazy to spend some nights there.

I haven't been to Verona or Brescia or seen much of Lake Garda. Bergamo is very picturesque and means a not-awful train/bus connection to Gravedona. Or do you plan to see a bit of Milan in transit from Bergamo to Gravedona?

Posted by
3594 posts

I agree with those who think you are short-changing Venice and Padova. Bassano del Grappa is a lovely town, but nowhere near Padova in the number of interesting sites to visit.

I also found Verona less than compelling, except for the church of S, Zeno. The major sight seems to be the fictitious home of the fictitious Juliette. Really!!? Unless you plan to attend the opera, the Roman amphitheater is not so exciting. There are so many of them scattered all over Europe that, if you haven’t seen one before, you can easily have that experience on a different trip.

Posted by
3833 posts

Where in Croatia are you starting from? Opatija, Rovinj, Poreč? I’ve been to Trieste a few times (shopping trips) and there isn’t much to see. One beautiful home, they describe it as a castle but it is a large house, on the water called Castello di Miramare.

Posted by
362 posts

Not sure where in Croatia yet, and that part might change since the family we would meet is from Germany, and Germany considers that area high risk. They don’t want to have to quarantine when they return home. But we all know how quickly things can change

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