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Where to go next?

Posted by (PA) on

We had our first trip to Italy last year and visited Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Siena, San Gimignano and Venice. We absolutely fell in love with the country and were just amazed at everything there is to see and how different each city/town felt. My grown kids are now asking to go back next May or June and I'd love some suggestions on where to go next.

I think the things we genuinely enjoyed the most were the culture, the food, the architecture, the gorgeous colorful buildings in Rome (Florence felt a bit drab compared to Rome if I'm being honest - the medieval, colorless buildings just didn't compare to the brightness of Rome for us, but the food in Florence - YUM!).

Our last trip we assumed would be our one and only to Italy, so we rushed around A LOT and we want to avoid that this trip. Ideally, we'd stay in one location for a week (we can only stay 1 week this trip). We would love to find an area that would meet most of our "wants:"

  • Great food with lots of gluten free options - both of my kids have celiac and it was an absolute dream for them to have access to so many restaurants with tons of options. CT was the only place we had any difficulty at all.

  • We'd love a combination of city/town + nature. Is that possible? We don't want the hustle and bustle of a big city. We're looking for more of a relaxing trip, but we do want to be near things where we can ideally walk to dinner, take meandering strolls through villages, etc.

  • Outdoor activities like hiking would be a plus.

  • Being on/near any body of water would be a plus.

  • Within 2 hours by train of a major airport.

I was considering Lake Como, but I read the food there is not that great and also appears to be quite expensive. I also thought about Lake Garda. It's just so huge I'm not really sure where to start.

I've been contemplating somewhere in Tuscany, but I don't know if any of the towns would be large enough for us to enjoy a week there with enough to do. San Gimignano was by far a favorite of my kids when we were last there. Bonus here is we could easily go to Florence for a day just to go back to our favorite restaurants there!!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Posted by
8298 posts

You could fly into Venice, rent a car and run over to Lake Garda and Verona. Then head north into the Dolomites.

From there, it's not very far to Slovenia and Croatia on the other side of the Adriatic.

Start by going on Google Maps and seeing how far it is between cities that might interest you.

Posted by
7118 posts

You could take a look at Bologna. Large enough to have plenty to do and known for it's fabulous food. Easy day trips can be done to Ravenna, Padua, Verona, Modena, Parma and even Florence.

Posted by
17225 posts

The Dolomites are not a good choice in May or early June. And as my husband likes to say, they are most Austrian than Italian——in both food and language. We love that area, and are returning next year for the 4th time. But I would not recommend it for your trip.

I would, however, suggest Lago di Garda, for both the scenery and the small lakeside towns. You can easily reach Desenzano by train from Milan and spend 2 nights, visiting Sirmione and the Roman ruins by ferry.

https://museilombardia.cultura.gov.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CatulloINGLESE-1.pdf

Then take the ferry up the lake to the more scenic northern end. forum members can suggest their favorite village—-Bardolino, Riva, etc. We will be going back to Malcescine next month:

https://www.visitmalcesine.com/en

From Lago di Garda you can move to Verona, and then work your way to Bologna or one of the smaller towns nearby such as Parma or Modena. This region is known for its fine food products, particularly the prosciutto and parmigiano. Also fast cars (Ferrari factory and museum).

Other places nearby I would recommend include Ravenna for the mosaics and nice small town feeling, and the hill town of Bergamo.

https://mandalameadow.com/ravenna-mosaics/

https://www.turismo.ra.it/en/follow-your-way/mosaics/

https://www.visitbergamo.net/en/

Bergamo would fit on your way back to Milan if you fly into and out of that airport. You could also spend 2-3 days at a small town on Lago Maggiore, which is close to MXP.

Posted by
371 posts

May or June makes a difference. The weather in May in the north of Italy can still be unreliable. May this year and last were both wet. For May I'd be looking at Puglia, or Sicily.
In June the weather in the north is usually more settled and warmer so the suggestion of Lake Garda could be ideal. Maybe the eastern side - hiking on Monte Baldo, day trips to Verona, and other places on the lake by ferry or bus

Posted by
2085 posts

Maybe Lake Bracciano which is only about an hour ride NW of Rome. It has many villages around it. Then you could also spend more time in Rome which continues to offer endless sights, discoveries and food.

Posted by
1227 posts

The Adriatic side of Italy is less visited by American tourists although quite popular with Italians. From Bologna you can reach places like Rimini (larger town) or Pesaro (small, pedestrian-only center) by public transit in less than 2 hours. Both are on the coast. With a car places like Urbino are less than an hour away. You can look online at Marche-area hikes to see if they are what you're looking for.

I don't think you're going to find any small or medium town in Italy with enough to do for a week. You'll need to take daytrips to see places in the vicinity and in that sense San Gimignano is just as good as anywhere else for a base. And when you write "take meandering strolls through villages" I assume you mean villages you drive or take transit to visit?

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