I am going to Italy in June '17 and would like some input on the best areas (not hotels) to stay in the following cities:
Bologna, Modena, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso and Milan.
Would like to have access to restaurants, bars and shops that are good areas to walk in the evening.
thank you
The historic area of Vicenza is very walkable. Zoom in on the map I've linked (if necessary) until you see four icons for historical monuments. That's the pedestrian area. I think the main shopping street is the one the Palazzo Trissino-Baston is on.
Bologna is much larger and it would be easier to end up outside the most convenient area in that city. Again, zoom in on the map if necessary until you see a roughly round area surrounded by major yellow roads. The core of that area, mostly peach-colored on the map and full of little streets, is the heart of the historic district. It's really quite large. Conveniently, that is also the area to go for bar-hopping and general nighttime wandering. I stayed near the train station because I was taking a lot of day-trips, but that's a fair walk--maybe 20 minutes--and not where you'll want to be. I suspect street noise could be an issue in the historic district, so I recommend traveling with earplugs. Always a good idea, anywhere.
That's very helpful...thank you.
Check out this current thread about Verona .
Vicenza is a great little city. I stayed at the Hotel Campo Marzio which was convenient to the RR station and an easy walk to restaurants, bars and sites. I had a wonderful meal (truffle season!) at Al Paradiso Contrada Pescherie Vecchie 5 - I'd suggest reservations. The main Street is the Corso Palladiano. It has shopping, restos and bars as do the streets branching off to Piazza Signori and Piazza Erbe.
Another interesting restaurant is the self-service Ristorante Righetti located in a palazzo on the Piazza Duomo loaded with locals. You walk in, grab a place mat and silverware, choose a table and set your place. You can then go to the pasta station or the wood-fired grill and place your order. Get your beer, wine or soda from the tap. Just pick up your pasta, grilled fish, beef, chicken - whatever - and enjoy yourself. The only thing I ordered from the staff was an after dinner caffé that was brought to my table. All this is on the honor system. When you leave, go to the register, tell them what you ate and they'll tell you how much you owe. I had rigatoni amatricana and grilled branzio and was very satisfied and had a unique experience.
Thank you for your input although not my focus.
If you are planning day trips from Bologna, look for something that's somewhere between the train station and the historic center, so you'll be about 10 minutes' walk from either. In Verona, there are a number of places roughly between the Arena (Piazza Bra) and the Piazza delle Erbe (market square). Anywhere around there would be walking distance to all the main sights. In Milan, I'd try to be near a metro station.
Great tip...thank you.
Are you going to Treviso and Vicenza for any specific purpose? The reason I ask is that you can stay in Padua and easily visit Vicenza and Treviso as day trips. In fact, Bologna and Verona are also just an hour away by train. Even Milan is only about two hours by train from Padua...
You should be able to find nice accommodations, like an apartment, close to the train station in Padua and use the tram to reach the historic center when desired. Or find a place in the historic center and use the tram to get the train station... At any rate, with all these locations so close and easily reached by public transport, you might want to consider picking a central location as a hub.
Hmmm, excellent tip...thank you.
I used Padua as one of my base cities last year and liked it a lot. I remember that the walk from the train station to my hotel started out not very attractive, so I might lean toward staying somewhere other than right at the train station.
re the station, great tip...thank you
