Where to go in Northern Italy

"Northern" Italy is still a pretty big place. It would help to know how much time you have.

Think of the area as several tiers from North to South: The Alps and Dolimites; below that the Lakes from Orta/Maggiore to Garda; the northern Po tier - Milan, Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Venice. The Southern Po tier would be Parma, Modena, Bologna, Ravenna. And then you drop into Tuscany...

All have their characteristic cuisines and unique history. In September you should be missing the height of the tourist season but still enjoying decent weather for hiking.

Both Rick's Italy book and Lonely Planet have good introductions to most of these locations. Check guidebooks out of the library first to help you narrow your choices and then buy the current version of the ones that fit your travel style and focus on where you want to go.

Doug is "spot on". Take his advice.

Staying north of Florence, I recommend: Venice, Lake Como, Verona, Lucca, the Cinque Terre. You could go to Florence for your art and culture, then to the others for their charm, small town-ness and walking possibilities. There is good food all over Italy. Check with a tour book for details.

Thanks everyone. Good suggestions. You're right, "Northern Italy" is a big area. I guess I was thinking the northern fringes next to Austria/Switzerland. We will definitely look at the books, but I'm always interested in what people's experiences and recommendations are.

Susan, I just returned from a 3 wk trip to "northern Italy" from Sept 13-Oct 3. I charted my itinerary based on Ricks suggestions and found the allowed time to be just about right. The farthest south I went was Siena. Flew into Milan (2 nights) train to Varenna on Lk Como (3 nights)with a day trip while there to ST Moritz Switzerland. Train to Bolzano then bus to Castelrotto in the Dolomites (3 nights)which was fantastic for hiking and scenic vistas. Then train to Venice for 3 nights (LOVE LOVE Venice). Next train to Florence for 2 nights to do the galleries, bus to Siena for 3 nights, then train to Vernazza (Cinque Terre) for 4 nights. Lots of opportunities for hiking here on the trails. Back to Milan for 1 night before flying out. I have lots of suggestions, email if you want particulars. The time of the year was perfect by the way. I too like the smaller towns. I have pictures here http://www.flickr.com/photos/slcook52/sets/

I have a favorite area I enjoy on the Swiss-Italian border of which I base out of Locarno, SW or Porto Ronco, which is at the northern end of Lake Maggiore. There is a nice youth hostel there, clean, but stark. Much nicer and more expensive is Casa Moscia (Porto Ronco), a Christian run place, just south of Locarno. I don't how to describe it, as it is much nicer than a hostel, it is not a hotel, and it is not a B&B. They do have beautiful views of the lake, white tablecloths at dinner, fluffy down comforters, immaculately clean, beautiful semi-tropical gardens and German run. From here there are 3 valleys to explore that dead end at the Alps, the Centovalli, Valle Verzasca and I can't think of the other. There are so many cute villages, stone from top to bottom. A car is a must. In the Centovalli there is a place I am determined to stay someday in Rasa. It is run by the same organization that runs Casa Moscia. It is a little village, pop 75 (maybe), that can only be reached by funicular, no cars.

You traverse way above a valley below, and actually run the funiculare yourself, yikes! From here you can take hikes to nearby villages. We had so much fun exploring. I believe Lonely Planet is the book we used on this area. The Lake region is beautiful, Como and Maggiore. The Dolomites are most interesting and beautiful and the large Alpine meadow that RS writes about. We just knocked on a door in Castlerotto that advertised B&B. It is at least a 6 hr drive from Dolomites to lake region. If you haven't seen the Cinque Terre area and you like to hike, I would include that. But explore outside the CT, like ride the train north 1 hr to Camogli and Santa Margherita, hike Levanto to Monterosso. Also there is a beautiful hike looking over Lake Maggiore, a short drive south of Casa Moscia from Cannero to Cannobio, just south of the SW border in Italy. As for the food, in the Dolomites and north of Locarno it is German, in the Cinque Terre and lake region, Italian.

Beautiful photos Sylvia. What type of camera do you shoot with? You have a good eye.