We are flying in and out of Venice starting in late September, 14 day trip. Staying in Venice the first 4 nights. Could tack on more days in Venice at the end of trip. Have tentative reservations at an agriturismo near Asolo, but may chicken out on the car rental required for that. Any advice on special destinations in the Veneto? Don't want to get too close to Switzerland/Austria, I think it may 'dilute' the Italian experience (silly I know). Trying to hold down number of moves between lodgings, don't want to spend long hours on trains (last time we did Rome to Sicily). Or driving, if we go that route (that's another whole issue - car or no car). Day trips could be lovely. We are charmed by small towns, don't have to have big museums/destinations to enjoy ourselves, though we love those too of course. In fact gardens large or small would be fun. And don't mind having part of itinerary unplanned and 'winging it'. We have done that before but that was 14 years ago, have times changed? T
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15193 posts
While you are in Venice a car is not needed of course. While there you could also take a day trip to Padova (Padua) by train.
Northeast Italy offers a lot beside Venice. In addition to the cities of Padua, Verona, Vicenza (each can be visited as separate day trip), there is the entire Dolomites mountain region and the Lake Garda region. From lake Garda you can visit Verona and the Valpolicella (wine region).
The area is vast and it would be difficult to visit from one base only. It's better to divide your stay into a couple of places. For example one near lake Garda (for example Malcesine) and one on the Dolomites (for example Val Gardena or Val Badia).
As I mentioned a car isn't needed in Venice and Padua can be easily visited from Venice. However, outside of cities, in my opinion a car is an absolute must, therefore I would rent one on your way out of Venice (Piazzale Roma) after your four days there. You can return the car at the airport when you depart or, if you plan more Venice at the end, at Piazzale Roma.
Somebody has to explain to me why Americans, the people most addicted to the automobile on this planet, are so scared to drive a car outside of their own country. And It's not that in continental Europe one has to drive on the left side of the road. And in Europe you don't even need to know how to read. All road signs are symbols based on the International Road Sign system, some of which have been adopted in America as well.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32795 posts
Do you like the works of Canova? We do and loved the museum way out in the country above Padova http://www.museocanova.it/index.php?lang=en
We used Vicenza for a base one year and found all sorts of things to keep us busy for over a week, and needing to return.
As Venice-aholics we had to have several days there that trip, too, but we always work in a week or two each year.
This way, because that whole area is the Veneto, you would not only not dilute the Italian flavour, but not the Venetian either.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8150 posts
If you want to get the most out of your trip and see more of the region, a rental car is the most efficient way to travel. Roads are well paved and easy to navigate. Just be aware of the radar-cameras on the causeway coming out of Venice that don't give you even 1 mph leeway. Traffic's relatively light, however. With a rental car, the places to stay and cities within range are endless.
And I just love driving the roads north of Venice up on the Austrian border. It doesn't bother me that they speak both Italian and German.
Posted by
Atlanta
4856 posts
Padua, Verona, and Vicenza are all worthwhile day trips (and can be done quickly and cheaply by train) but not at the expense of missing some of the things in Venice such as Murano and Burano which can use up a whole day. However, with 4 nights (= 3 full days) in the beginning and adding another day or so at the end that should not be a problem.
Posted by
OP
georgia
31 posts
I love this feedback, very helpful!
Posted by
North Carolina
2454 posts
Notable gardens in the area include the Giardini Pubblici in Venice, the Orto Botanico in Padova, and the Giardini Giusti in Verona.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Also consider Ferrara, beautiful town. Small towns in the north might include Este, Arqua Petrarca.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
This hopefully fills your brief for a minimum number of moves between lodgings.
Northern Italy is rich with delights in some of the country's less crowded visitor centres.
Distances are not great, and trains fast and frequent.
Day 1-4 Venice (4 nts)
Day 5 To Verona (4 nts)
Day 6 Excursion to Vicenza
Day 7 Excursion to Padua
Day 8 Excursion to Mantua
Day 9 To Bologna (4 nts)
Day 10 Excursion to Parma & Modena
Day 11 Excursion to Ravenna
Day 12 Excursion to Ferrara
Day 13 To Venice (1 nt)
Day 14 Depart Venice
Posted by
Kamloops, BC, Canada
405 posts
It's harder to 'wing it' in Italy these days as the numbers of tourists have increased quite a bit in the past 14 years. It will still be quite busy in September. But if you stick to smaller towns, you will probably find them less crowded. If you do decide to rent a car, you might enjoy visiting one or 2 of the Palladian Villas on the Brenta Canal, near Padova: Villa Maser (check on-line for schedule as it is not open every day; gardens were closed last summer), Villa Pisani in Stra has a hedge maze on the grounds and the villa's interior is lovely. There are also river cruises of various villas along the Brenta.
Villa Pisani: http://www.villapisani.beniculturali.it/?lng=en
Villa Maser is smaller than Villa Pisani: http://www.villadimaser.it/en/
Others: http://www.villevenete.net/portalVV/faces/public/viven?portal:componentId=portal&portal:action=changeLanguage&portal:language=en
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15585 posts
Seconding David's suggestions, Bologna is an excellent base to visit other towns by train. The only really long train trip is to Ravenna, but so worth it to see the 5th-6th century Byzantine churches and their beautiful mosaics. It's a charming place to stay and places like Padua and Ferrara are easy to explore from there. Verona is one of my favorite towns in Italy.