My husband and I are driving from southern Germany to Italy in June (yes, soon). We have four kids, ages 5 to 10 who can keep up well and who like new places (and love Italian food incl. "tomatoe, mozzarella", "parma ham", "salami", Parmesan Reggiano cheese). The kids grandparents will join us (with separate car). They are both physically fit (one likes straighning activity, the other very interested in history/art/culture). Our idea was to drive down via Lake Como, and include a stop there. Then spend 7 to 10 days at a rented house, with possibilities for some trips to nearby towns/sights(wine tasting/castle?), as well as getting a chance to bike, hike, ride, swim (satisfying the need for physical activity) or paint... or just hang out together. On the way back we plan another stop (Venice?). Any recommendations on 1) places or areas to stay (or not stay), 2) what to see/do (or skip). Any other tips that may be useful is also welcome. THANK YOU. (We are wanting to balance between seeing some sights, but at the same time also enjoy the Italian laidback lifestyle, beautiful country and good food, and perhaps some memorable encounters along the way.)
Posted by
Athens, GA, USA
14 posts
How far into Italy will you drive? Many of the agriturismo accomodations look great for longer term rentals. Some are fancy with swimming pools, others are smaller.
With a car, you could visit nearby towns- the hill towns of Tuscany seem amazing for hiking and exploring and relaxing. (I've only been to Siena)
And of course Florence has many possibilities for museums/exploring/climbing the Duomo or bell towers. You could park at a train station, and take the train into the city.
Sounds like a wonderful trip! The vinyards and olive groves and horseback riding available in Tuscany might be perfect.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
We came through the Brenner pass.
First stop Verona. It was great, excellent town center and Roman/medieval buildings. I would have liked to have seen an Opera in the ampitheater but we missed the season (October).
Second stop, Venice. We loved Venice, rented an apartment from Hotel d'Art that worked well for us and wasn't expensive. Made a mistake of parking in Venice; lots of lost time and expensive. We should have parked on the mainland and trained into town.
Next Modena, we were planning on driving to CT but the trip was too long so stopped in Modena for the night. I would replace this with Bologna if I did the same thing over.
Parked in La Spezia (near naval base rather than questionable parking near train station) and trained into Vernazza. Rented a small apartment there that we found by asking at hotel.
We stopped at Pisa for a couple of hours and at Lucca for a few hours. I would skip Lucca next time because it's not really a hill town.
We really liked Siena and San Gimignano.
We stayed in the Hotel Aldobrandini in Florence center and my wife almost revolted. Noise from the street, noise from the TV down the hall, cigarette smoke coming under the door, worn out bed, shower head over the toilet. We parked a good mile from the center to avoid possible limited traffic zone violations and carried our luggage to the hotel.
The food was just okay in Florence. If I had to do it again, I would stay outside Florence and take public transport in for the sites.
We then headed down to Rome. We stopped in Orvietto on the way and really enjoyed it.
I hope you can pull some useful hints from our experience.
Posted by
Vicenza, Italy
319 posts
Based on the fact that I've never been to Lake Como....
I would stay a week in Tuscany at an Agratorusimo like the first person suggested. Many of them have pools and they are on farms so kids will have space to play and roam. There is also easy parking! There are so many great small towns to see in the area. I think Siena would be a good town to capture kids imagination. You can catch a train from a small town into Florence to see the sites there.
As for a second week...Venice is great, but not for an entire week. You can stay at a beach town nearby and realy enjoy the relaxed Italian vibe. My friend just spent the weekend in Caorle and loved it. From a town like Caorle you could take a day trip to Venice, Trieste, to Cortina to see the mountains or you can go into Slovenia Lipican to to see the Lipizzaner Horses. There is also a Predjama Castle not too far from Lipica. You can take a tour of the natural caves and the tour ends in a castle.