Verona and ....?

since Italy is very definately made up of very distinct regions, it may be hard to find "quintessential" Italy. However, you will be very near Lake Garda in Verona and may enjoy the lovely towns surrounding the lake.

Google these places to get a feel for the spots.

Malcesine, Bardelino, Torri del Benaco, Salo, Riva del Garda, Sirmione, Gardone Riviera are all spots on the lake.

We will be visiting Varenna, then to the Verona area on to the Dolomites. So, I don't know if visiting more lakes region would be desirable or not. I guess when I say I'm looking for quintessential Italy, I wonder if Vareena is influenced by the Swiss and the Dolomites by Germany/Austria. I'm hoping for an old town (like Siena)that feels like Italy and not too much influence from other countries. I don't even know if that makes sense.

Any other villages around that area that are old and nice to visit? Also, how much time would you suggest staying in Verona?

I personally think that all the lakes are different from each other. Lago di Garda is not the same as Lago di Como. Seriosly,;-), take a look at the spots I've suggested, in particular, Bardolino, Torri del Benaco, Malcesine and Sirmione can all be done as daytrips from Verona since they are on the eastern shore.

But if they don't appeal then either stay in Verona or take a look farther east in the Veneto to these spots. Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza, Castelfranco Veneto, Asolo, or Cittadella.

Most of the area of the Dolomites feels more alpine to me. You'll see more Chalet style homes than the houses you'll see on the Veneto plains.

We enjoyed visiting Padua & Bologna a few years back. Both towns are nice. Bologna is a college town so I don't know how crowded it will be in June but I would guess probably not as crowded as Venice. In fact, I was watching a Samantha Brown show about Bologna today and was reminded what a neat town it is. Wish I'd had more time there. Your itinerary sounds interesting so far; what's the rest of your itinerary?

I think Vicenza and Padua (Padova in Italian) are both very nice cities in between Verona and Venice. I have stayed in both places. Padova is a little more lively being a university town. Both are much less crowded than Venice, and have some of the same sort of architecture. They can both be done as day trips from either Verona or Venice if you prefer.

Thank you both for your ideas. I really appreciate specific towns/villages so I can do more research. So hard to know what you want when you haven't been to a place! I really value your suggestions.

Our trip (as of now, but it seems to keep changing!) is to fly US to Zurich go to Gimmelwald for 5 nights, to Varenna for 3, Verona and area for 4, Dolomites for 3 then on to Austria/Bavaria. We will probably go to Ramsau, then onto Hallstat or area, maybe Melk back towards Munich area Rothenburg and end in Frankfurt to visit friends we met on our last trip. Still haven't nailed down Austria/Bavaria. We will probably rent a car for Austria but probably need one for the Dolomites too. Trying to stick with more "small town" Europe as much as possible.

And I was wondering about over-doing lake areas...guess we are over-doing mountains!

We are going to be in the Dolomites next June 4-11. Staying in Tscherms. It's about 30 minutes NW of Bolzano in the Dolomites. Have you decided where you will stay and what you will do in the Dolomites? We are still exploring our options. According to google, Verona is about 2 hours away and we thought we might day trip it there unless someone tells me it takes much longer than 2 hours on Italian roads.