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Road Trip Northern Italy

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Next April/May 2020

1) Start in Milan want to go to Turin for sure to lookup area family came from. Open after that for suggestions. We have three weeks.

2) How to pick places to stay outside larger cities and where to park the car safely....while visiting a city for a day or two. (this is a big concern since driving and parking in larger cities is tough)

3) Want scenic country/mountain drives and also to spend time in cities along the way. Air B&B,small cheaper hotels, etc to stay in.....had enough of the big fancy places to stay.

4) Slower travel is better than rushing to a lot of places. (Plan on staying in a location for a few days then moving on)
Thanks in advance for any help!

Posted by
27062 posts

Who constitutes your traveling group? Any children? If so, their ages will help.

April sounds sort of early for northern Italy, weather-wise, but I have a particular hatred of chilly, wet weather.

Posted by
6883 posts

In three weeks at a slow pace, you can loop around the following areas
- Milan and lake Como and/or Maggiore
- Turin and Piedmont wine region (Langhe / Barolo area). Extremely scenic countryside drives in the latter.
- Liguria coast between Genoa and 5 Terre

Spending about a week in each area - maybe a bit less on the coast and a bit more in the Lakes if you want to see both Como and Maggiore.

Alternatively, Tuscany can replace the Liguria coast - itinerary then becomes busier but still manageable. However, April would be too early for the Dolomites.

By April/May, high mountains aside, it shouldn't be chilly in that part of the world, but chilly is relative.

As for safe parking in cities: underground car parks are safest, at a cost. And WATCH OUT for traffic-restricted areas (ZTL) in Milan, Turin and probably other cities in the region: if you accidentally enter them without authorisation, you get fined with the help of cameras. And yes, they will chase you and request payment all the way back home.

Posted by
2815 posts

If you're into slower paced travel and scenic drives consider picking up a copy of the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide "Back Roads Northern Italy". Lots of ideas in there for off the beaten track excursions. Can usually find used copies on Amazon for just a few dollars.

Posted by
11131 posts

Since you’ll be in Turin, go to Alba and use it as a base for visiting the scenic Piedmont wine villages. Beautiful, a less crowded area of Italy.
Liguria, base in seaside Santa Margherita Ligure or Camogli.
Italian Lakes-Lake Maggiore,Lake Como, Lake Garda- whichever works best with your itinerary. Lake Maggiore is very near Milan MXP
Dolomites, base in Ortisei- beautiful mountain scenery
Venice

Posted by
2 posts

Wife and I will be traveling! 63 years young! I am an avid road trip person! Love planning the trips, finding the side roads, towns, people, etc.

Thank you to everyone that has responded so far!

glroadtrips.com

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