Just finished an 18 day trip across northern Italy. I travelled with friends of mine, who had never been to northern Italy, all of us seniors. One of my adult sons also joined us for a few days. I planned the journey and all went off well. Temperatures were cooler than expected and crisp but sunny, with only one day of rain. We travelled by train from place to place but did hire a driver twice for daytrips. We used 5 hotels, 1 B&B and 1 Air B&B. Walked 4 - 8 miles a day.
We all flew in from different countries and met up in Milano. I had never been to Milano but I am not a fan of big cities, so only stayed there one night, enough to see the duomo and surrounding area. From there we went to Brescia, which for me was my favorite stop of the trip. What a pretty town! The historical center is delightful. We stayed two nights at a lovely small hotel right on the main cathedral square in an old building and were busy the whole time visiting the churches, the ancient Roman ruins of the original Brixia, the museum and the castle. We attended Palm Sunday Mass in the old cathedral built around 1100. Very few tourists and even fewer Americans there.
Next stop, Trento, for 3 nights. It was my second trip to Trento, and I chose it as a base to further explore the area. I like pretty Trento! Not so many tourists. We were there during Holy Week leading up to Easter. One evening there, as we were strolling the streets, we heard beautiful music coming from a church. We entered and there was a free concert going on with an orchestra and a local choral group. It was a lovely, serendipitous experience. From Trento we caught the train and spent a day exploring Bolzano. Many tourists here. For our third day in Trento I had arranged a private driver to take us to see northern Lago di Garda. I found the car service online and it worked out well. We went to Limone sul Garda, Riva del Garda and Malcesine. We stopped at these places and were able to have time to walk around and explore and eat, a full 8 hours. It was a beautiful day, crisp but sunny, and the scenery was spectacular. Since the cost of the trip/driver was divided among four of us it was really quite reasonable.
Next on to Verona for two nights. Our hotel here was in the historic center and the staff, breakfast and location were excellent. Verona was quite busy with lots of tourists. There was a free Way of the Cross and Prayer for Peace service in the arena on Good Friday however tickets were sold out but you could hear it in the Piazza. From there we went to Florence over Easter weekend. Firenze was crazy busy with tourists and crowds, but I had spent Easter in Firenze before and fully expected that. I am probably not in agreement with most on this forum, but I'm not very fond of Florence. The day after Easter, “Pasquetta,” we did a daytrip to Siena and San Gimignano. We hired a driver and also did a two hour guided tour in Siena. For this Siena tour we used Anna Piperato who I had seen with Rick Steves on his January travel series. Excellent day. Both towns are beautiful. Both were very crowded with visitors.
On to Ravenna! We took the slower regional trains from Firenze to get there and they were very cheap. Ravenna was chosen because we wanted to see the beautiful mosaics and they are indeed gorgeous. Ravenna was not crowded and is easily walkable, spent 2 nights. We bought the ticket which allows you entry to five key sites. So happy we went there. I had not been before. Our final stop was Venice for 3 days. This was my 4th trip to Venice but my friends had never been there so it was a must see stop for them. Here we stayed at a lovely 2bedroom 2 bathroom apartment I found on Air B&B in Santa Croce. In Venice, go to the Basilica S, Maria Gloriosa dei Frari to see the artwork. We visited many churches on this trip and were never disappointed. Venice was so crowded, I hate to think of what it will be like in summer!
Posted by
San Diego, California
5604 posts
Thx for sharing, I enjoyed reading your insightful comments.
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
488 posts
Thanks for sharing.
We went to Florence WAY back in 2007, and loved it, but it was crowded with tourists and lines then, and from a trip report from a friend, is moreso now. Florence is a balance between being massively over touristed, but also home to some of the highest highs in stuff to see. We want to return, but I want to be very very smart about it, and make an effort to skip lines and miss crowds with early arrivals, scheduled entries, after hours tours (if available), and whatever other cheat codes I can apply. I thought I was slick with scheduled entry to the Uffizi and the Accademia in 2007, but 2023 me knows that was just entry level smarts.
Posted by
City of Seattle
1951 posts
I liked Trento too. It's a little grubby in a way, and not a "wow" tourist town at all turns. But very real and user friendly. The frescos in the castle are really beautiful. The valley to the north is shockingly dramatic and beautiful, like Como or Garda if there wasn't any water, just the sheer white cliffs running to the valley floor. Coming from the north it's the first city that really feels like "Italy" - Vespa's, old local men chatting all day over sidewalk espressos, Italian not German the dominant chatter. It's big enough to have several cool squares, churches and shopping districts. I like too that it's Marvin Vettori's hometown, so the place is capable of producing one of the baddest men on the planet.
I'm on team lukewarm Florence too. So much to see, so many many people seeing it. Once you decide you aren't in for the hustle there are better places.