My wife and I are both in our mid 60s and are planninf a trip (our first) to Italy. We are experienced travelers but this is our first trip to Italy. I am retiring at the beginning of October and this is a "dream trip" for me. We have booked a Rick Steves Rome tour beginning October 9, 2016. We will arrive on Friday October 7, 2016 to get over the jet lag a bit before the tour begins..We have also booked a week at a resort about 25 miles east of Florence beginning October 15, 2016. We plan to take the train out of Rome to Orvieto on the 15th, spend some time there, pick up a rental car and then drive to the resort later that day.
We plan to spend a couple of full days in Florence and would like some feedback on this and other places to visit and experiences for our week in Tuscany. Assisi, Sienna, winetasting, and just enjoying the countryside by car appeal to us but we would like input from others that have been in this area.
We have 12 more nights after our week at the resort before we fly out of Venice. Our tentative plan is to spend 4 nights each in the Cinque Terre, Lake Como (with a day in Milan), and Venice. We invite suggestions about alternative itineraries but would like to limit our stays in any one place to at least 3 nights. My wife isn't fond of cities in general and prefers the countryside but understands that some cities offer so much they cannot be missed. I like both.
We also invite suggestions of places to stay, eat, and things to see and do. My thought right now is to drive to Pisa on October 22, 2016 when our stay at the resort ends and see the tower, baptistry, and cathedral. Turn in the car and travell the rest of the time via train or bus.
We thank you for your help in advance.
Michael
Posted by
Phoenix AZ
635 posts
Assisi is divine. We spent five nights there a couple of years ago, and hated to leave. Don't shortchange yourself with just a daytrip; the magic is at night after the daytrippers leave.
We enjoyed Hotel Pallotta. A nice feature is the upstairs common sitting room, with windows on all four sides for great views. The same family also operates Ristorante La Pallotta, down the street just off the main square.
Photos here.
Posted by
6 posts
Sounds like a wonderful itinerary.
Regarding the Cinque Terre - you are going at a great time as the large tourist hoards will have already departed. We stayed in Monterosso in November and just loved exploring the 5 villages (Rick gives excellent directions in his Italy book).
Florence: since it appears that you will be driving ... make sure you mind the ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato" or Limited Traffic Zone) - you need a permit to drive in the historical city center. Map of ZTL zones:
http://www.serviziallastrada.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=430&lang=en
Florence is a very walkable city - I would park the car & explore on foot. Among my favorite places to visit in Florence are:
Accademia, Uffizi, Duomo - Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiore & Baptistery, Santa Croce, Basilica San Miniato al Monte, Piazzale Michelangelo (great views overlooking the city), Piazza della Signoria & Loggia dei Lanzi , Palazzo Vecchio, Museo di San Marco, Ponte Vecchio. Pitti Palace & adjoining Boboli Gardens, San Lorenzo & Cappelle Medicee (don't miss the Michelangelo sculptures in the Sagrestia Nuovaon - tombs of Guiliano & Lorenzo), Galileo museum (if you have an interest). Oh, so much to see in this amazing city! I recommend the hotel David - lovely and centrally located.
Posted by
OP
Bakersfield
37 posts
Thank you for your input. We would love more people to give us their opinions.
Posted by
St. Louis, MO
251 posts
From Florence you can easily take a day-trip or two into Tuscany either by car or tour. Last summer I did a tour with "Fun in Tuscany" and it was simply amazing. I would recommend experiencing a day in Florence since it's very easy to walk around and there is so much to see. Siena would make a lovely day-trip from Florence since it's very easy to get to by train.
I think your idea of spending 4 nights in Cinque Terre, Lake Como and Venice sound great. That will give you enough time to experience each city. Rick Steve's videos on Cinque Terre will give you great suggestions of places to eat and thing to see. Some places to eat could be "Nessum Dorma" in Manarola and Rick suggests the Blue Marlin Bar in Vernazza. Some hotel suggestions in Monterosso: Hotel Albergo Marina or Hotel La Spiaggia.
Posted by
Washington DC
28487 posts
I believe your wife will enjoy Orvieto, which is a rather small city. Allow plenty of time to wander around and go into the cathedral--as close to a full day as possible. There are other sights to visit, but I think most would consider the cathedral #1.
You have an nearly unlimited number of attractive day-trip options from your Tuscan resort or enroute to it or from it. I'd opt for a variety of places, not spending every day in a charming little hill town. These are places that I happen to have visited myself; I don't claim that they are the "best" destinations.
Assisi is a good-sized but not overwhelming city and is physically beautiful. Plus you have the gorgeous basilica and other St. Francis sites. It's very worthwhile even if you can only go for the day and are not religious. I saw at least one very prominently marked large parking garage. This is close to Orvieto, but you really can't even pretend to do the two cities on the same day.
The nearby Cortona is much smaller and beautiful, though touristy and popular with the semester-abroad crowd. I was there 20 years ago, at which point it was not as overrun as San Gimignano.
Also within striking distance is Ravenna. It's extremely pretty, not too large, and has many churches with unbelievable medieval mosaics. It's very manageable as a day trip and is one of my highest recommendations for Italy, even for those (like me) who are not religious. I was there in mid-July and was stunned at how under-visited it was.
West of Florence you have San Gimignano and Volterra quite close together. If you decide to do S.G., try to find time for Volterra as well.
And over near Pisa is the lovely walled town of Lucca. Another favorite of mine.
Incidentally, I met two residents of Pisa on the train last summer. They bemoaned the fact that tourists only go to the tower and nearby area. They claimed the historic part of the city is lovely. I'm certainly going to research that before I return to that part of Italy.
Posted by
CA, USA
1272 posts
there are plenty of hilltowns in the Tuscany/Umbria area. The RS book covers a few of them, but there are many others delightful for a visit. Other guidebooks focusing on the region will cover more of them. And don't discount serendipity. Driving along we have several times seen an interesting looking town and pulled in to take a look.
We found that 2 per day was a nice number. Drive to 1 in the morning, if we liked it stay for lunch and then go to another, or if not push on and have lunch the 2nd place. Sometimes you find enough to do or just don't feel like going anywhere else and 1 is enough. My advice is to plan options before your trip, then play it as you go.
I strongly recommend bringing a portable GPS that you have practiced with at home. And look up info about the dreaded ZTL so that you know what the markers look like and can avoid pricy tickets.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I think you would like Ferrara, on the way to Venezia. It's a pretty town with interesting history. Same for Ravenna, with beautiful mosaics. Both towns have several nice piazze to enjoy watching the life of the city.
On your way to Pisa you could stop in Lucca and walk the walls surrounding the town, and have a nice meal (harder to do near the Campo dei Miracoli in Pisa).
If you are in any of the places mentioned on a Saturday, the city hall and several churches will have wedding after wedding party posing for photos. In Ferrara, I saw at least three weddings, all different, outside the city hall while I sat at a cafe. This is truly part of local life.
Posted by
Fredericksburg, VA
245 posts
Michael: Congratulations on your upcoming retirement and wonderful trip to Italy. While we were in Florence, we took a day trip by train to Pisa and by bus to Sienna--both very manageable as day trips. Ditto on the previous comments about Assisi--a beautiful and relaxing place. We had great meals in Florence. We used the Trip Advisor city guide and researched restaurants. We looked for small, mom & pop restaurants that had good reviews which were current. Combining guide book recommendations for restaurants with the latest reviews has worked very well for us in selecting our restaurants. We generally knew which area we were going to be in that afternoon / evening, and would either call to make reservations for the following evening or just drop by early that day to make them. Good luck and safe travels.
Posted by
OP
Bakersfield
37 posts
Thank you all for the suggestions. We will make them part of our planning!
Michael