calventeng

Hi there, my friend and I are planning to visit Northern Italy mainly for getaway, food & beverage. We will be flying in and out from Milan. I expected to spend 1-3days in Milan, 4-5days in Cinque Terre and 3 days in Bologna, and the rest I wish to cover Turin, Genoa, Parma, Verona, probably Lake Como as well. I've thought of Stresa but it seems quite a complicated travel to Turin (2 changes with 3-4hours ride in total I think, I can't remember).

Could anyone suggest roughly how many days I should spend for those cities? Which should I do more days and which should I skip? We are not the fans of tourist sight-seeing, just much more interested with vineyard and local cuisine.

Thanks~~!!

PalenQ

4-5 days in Cinque Terre? Not many vineyards there and except for hiking between the villages not that much to do for that long - better go to areas more conducive to what your are looking for.

Stresa to Turin is a snap - 2:12 by frequent connections and one easy change of trains - in Milano Centrale station. Stresa is a cute lakeside town on Lake Stresa (a k a Lake Maggiore) - a lovely lake - base in Stresa and take lake boats around the lake - especially to the famous Borromean islands just off shore from Stresa.

Are you traveling by car or train - all the places you mention are easily reached by train and Italian cities these days are not very car friendly with wide swaths of them being off-limits to cars - many hotels may not offer parking - parking can be very expensive when found, etc.

So consider the fantastic Italian train system: For lots of info on Italian trains check - www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com. Check www.trenitalia.com for schedules - if traveling that much check out the Italy Eurailpass.

You do not mention Venice on your list - if you have not been there go - to me the most gorgeous city in the world - several days can be spent there as a base - with day trips possible to Padua, Vincenza and even Ravenna and its fantastic mosaic-carpeted churches.

sandralist

Contrary to what has posted above, the hills of le Cinque Terre are covered in vineyards. That is why the towns are there, and why the hiking trails are there. For growing grapes on the terraces. The vineyards are why the area has been a designated UNESCO site. Also, the area of the Riviera has one of the most delicious cuisines in Italy.

If you are not interested in tourist areas, then I see no reason to go to Venice, which has no vineyards and generally poor food.

For the trip you are planning, I would suggest that you land in Milan and immediately go first to another city, or to le Cinque Terre. Then work your way back to Milan by car or train. You are trying to cover a lot of geography, so unless you cut back your time in Milan & le Cinque Terre, you will be rushing through the other places. If you don't want to rent a car, you can visit Verona and Parma as a day trip from Bologna.

PalenQ

4-5 days in the vineyards of the Cinque Terre? One day for each virietal or each town's vineyard - there are many more places in Italy with a lot more extensive vineyards thatn the Cinque Terre, which in tourist season is a complete mob scene.

vincenzo32951

I won't get into the debate about vineyards in the Cinque Terre, but 4-5 days seems like a lot there, unless you have a definite plan about visiting vineyards, etc.

You can cover the main attractions in Milan in two days. If seeing the Last Supper, make sure to book tix ahead. Hotel rec: Hotel Star. The main entrance is in an alley, but that's misleading. Good location, just behind La Scala and a short walk to the Duomo area. Nice rooms -- not huge but ample -- and a good breakfast.

If you're interested in vineyards and you're in the north, I have a rec: Alice Relais in Vittorio Veneto. Great B&B in the middle of prosecco country, run by nice people. The owner gives tours of the winemaking operation. The downside is you'll need a car to get there. Might be worthe renting one for a day or two.

In that part of Italy, we also like Vicenza. Interesting little city. Another B&B rec there: B'Charme. Very nice place, friendly proprietors, good location.

Mimar

What time of year are you planning this trip? Makes a big difference.

Do you want to visit vineyards, see the grapes growing? Or do you want to visit wineries and maybe taste some wine?

If you spend 3 days in Milan, 5 days in the CT, and 3 days in Bologna, that adds up to 11 days. Not much time left in 2 weeks for all those other cities.

You're going to have to cut down your number of destinations considerably. What kind of wine do you like? That might help you whittle this down into a do-able itinerary.

zmzm917

can you modify your schedule and add Santa Margherita, Camogli, and then take the ferry to Portofino and or San Fortuso?

Cinque Terre is a tourist trap and if your trip is about dining and drinking, I think it does not match up to what Santa Margherita can offer you. I think you allocated too many days for Cinque Terre and even during harvest season, the vineyards are not like Rioja or Bordeaux.

calventeng

Hi there,


Thanks for all the replied~! We've been to Milan and Venice before, this trip is more for relaxing, some scenery and mainly for food and beverage. The main reason we chose Cinque Terre just because of the scenery and we never been there before(maybe hike a little, lol) and day trip to Portovenere....

Is it worth to spend a day at Portovenere, or half-day? I've read some forums they said Portofino is very expensive and would suggest Portovenere instead?

Thanks for all the advises~! If that case I shall cut the Cinque Terre to 3days perhaps, or 4days if Portovenere is worth to go.... By the way, we are going by end of June, and by train all the way perhaps. We don't have a specific vineyard/grape variety, probably just along the trip if any vineyard available.

Vincenzo mentioned "Vittorio Veneto", it sounds a good idea as we both love prosecco but seems above Venice, which I guess it isn't too close to other other destination?

Awww... 2 weeks are just too short for Northern area, LOL~ How I wish we could have more time, but, that's all the time we have, bout 14days in total...

Due to some schedule crashed in between, we gotta stay at Milan for the first night no matter what... What if let's say Milan 3D, Bologna 4-5D (with a day trip to Verona & Parma), 3-4D CT, and Genoa (Santa Margherita) for 3D? What do u guys think? It seems no way I could cover Turin & Stresa.....

Thank you guys~!!

calventeng

ps: or should I consider Turin instead of Genoa?

PalenQ

Having been to both as cities they are both superb! Genoa being a port seems to have a more romantic overall feel and the warren of tiny lanes near the old port is exceptional, even for Italy.

vincenzo32951

cal: The Vittorio Veneto area is only a slight detour in your itinerary. Only you can decide whether it's worth it. I suggested it because of your interest in vineyards and because it would present a nice break from the cities you're visiting.

Portovenere is worth a look. The ferry stops at all the CT towns and ends in Portovenere. That's a nice trip when the weather's good. Take a walk up to the point and get a view of the harbor.

calventeng

Sigh... my friend just called off the trip due to her health issue.... Now I have a week extra (my ended point would be Milan) to spend by myself... Cinque Terre seems bit far from Milan (3.5hours ride with 1 train change)... I have bladder problem and goto toilet quite often, would it be safe if I travel alone with a big suitcase?

I really love Cinque Terre, lol~~~ Don't ask me why, I just fall in love with this place from photos online~ lol~ or would you guys have a better suggestion?

sandralist

Camogli is a shorter train ride, if you don't want to travel all the way to le Cinque Terre. You really shouldn't have a problem traveling alone and getting assistance with watching over your luggage while you use the loo. You just ask the nicest-looking person near to you. They will understand your request, but it really isn't a problem anyway. However, you should always take your purse with you, and know the trains that travel between Milan and the Italian Riviera are some of the very oldest in the Italian system, and the have the most basic loos, even in first class. They are cleaned, but they show all their years of use-- and always bring your own loo paper!

If you would like all your train trip to be very short, and if you don't mind switching hotels often, you could pack light and do a scenic road/train trip after you leave Bologna, stopping in many charming towns.

Starting in Bologna, you could travel to Parma for one night. Sightsee in the afternoon, have a great dinner, next morning ask the hotel to hold your luggage while you sightsee some more. Get on a train after lunch, travel by train another hour to the special little Tuscan town of Pontremoli. Take a taxi from the train station to your hote/b&b, have a walk about and coffee, have a delicious dinner of testaroli, a good night's sleep, and the next morning, go to le Cinque Terre (about 90 mins or less, with a train swith in La Spezia). Stay there a few days, but also consider going an hour up the coast for one night or two to Camogli or Santa Margherita Ligure. Depends on how many days you have

Last day, take the 40 min. train ride to Genova, stow your luggage at Brignole station, go have a walk around --- or skip Genova and keep on going to Milan or Turin. Both are about 2 hours on the train from coast, less if you are coming from Genova.

To make that kind of trip work, you really need to pack light.

Mimar

All the trains have toilets at the end of the car. Trains are much better for frequent pee-ers than cars or buses.

PalenQ

Most trains have WCs at the ends of each car - getting up and out is a pain on a packed bus if you aren't near the aisle - have to be a little more urgent to ask someone to get up just for you to get out - same on trains but there is much more leg room on trains typically than buses.