Invested

My wife and I are spending 10 nights in Rome and Florence/Tuscany. We arrive in Rome April 5 for approximately 4 nights, and travel by train to Florence for 4/5 nights. Our flight leaves Rome very early April 20. We enjoy great food, wine, and nature walks with an experienced guide who can show us Rome. Any suggestions on how to select a guide for Rome/Florence or where to stay in Florence is appreciated. Neither of us likes big crowds so Easter mass at the Vatican is out. We are coming from USA with a stop over in London for five nights. The Borough Market sounds great! Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

neckervd

"Neither of us likes big crowds"

May be difficult to avoid as tons of Northern European tourists invade Italy over Easter.

michelhuebeli

According to your schedule, by the time Easter Sunday April 16 and Easter Monday 17th roll around, you’ve completed your stay in Rome and also your subsequent stay in Florence, and you don’t have to be back in Rome just yet.

Perfect!

I would take evasive action and flee into a mountain village for a few nights - just to relax, do walks, eat well, watch the picturesque small-town Easter procession from afar (or not), recharge batteries and preserve sanity.

Many many options of course. Just one suggestion: Borgo San Lorenzo.

In a broad valley not far from Florence, surrounded by hills (“mountains” depending on where you come from...). I stopped there once on the way to Ravenna and liked it a lot.

A short drive from Florence, could be worth getting a car for the weekend.

There is a local train company, called “La Faentina”, that goes from Florence (S.M.N., the main station, also stops at Florence Campo Marte and/or Florence S.Marco Vecchio) to Faenza, fifth stop is in Borgo.

It is slow, takes about 1:10hr for a not-so-great distance. While you’re in Florence you can swing by the station and find out more - it’s a cheap ride, no reservations needed.

If you google Borgo San Lorenzo and zoom in repeatedly you end up seeing several lodgings that you can then google individually, like the Park Hotel Ripaverde. If you then go to street view you see an impressive entrance to their property, with flags flying etc. Satellite view also looks good. Who knows, might be just the ticket.

Although the website (www.ripaverde.it) makes mention of a nearby motorcycle racecourse - that could require more inquiries, you don't want to have your time spoiled by motorheads if they race over Easter weekend...

Anyhow, there are many other towns like that - if this get-away-from-it-all idea appeals for what can be a crazy weekend.

sundriedtopepo

Not quite understanding...you arrive on April 5, four nights Rome, 4-5 nights in Florence...are you planning more nights in Rome before you fly home?

Invested

Yes, we are flexible on the nights spent in Rome and Florence. In other words we can stay longer in Florence, but we must be back by the evening of the 19th in Rome. Very early departure. So much to see in such little time, but we are excited to see Italy without rushing from town to town. It's possible we could return to Rome sooner thereby shortening our stay in Florence.

bvlenci

I've never found Easter weekend to be that crazy. On Easter Sunday, most people will be having lunch with family. (Although there's an Italian saying, "Natali con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi". (Christmas with family, Easter with the one you love.) Most tourist sites are open that day, and I would bet that's an excellent day to visit them.

The week after Easter there are school holidays in many parts of Europe, and it's often the occasion for family trips. If Easter is early enough, it may be the last chance for a skiing holiday. For some hardy northerners, it may be the first chance for a seaside break.

I've been in Rome the week after Easter, and it wasn't terribly crowded. A good part of the crowds in places like Florence and Rome recently consists of tourists from Asia, and I don't think they'd be more likely to visit Europe at Easter than at any other week in April. Likewise, the tourists from northern Europe will usually stick to the iconic sights, and any place a bit off the overly beaten tourist trail should suffice to get you away from the hordes. This includes many parts of Rome and Florence.

Where I live (in Le Marche) there are no Easter processions, although there are Good Friday processions, and processions for Corpus Christi (usually in June). The Good Friday processions are usually very solemn and not at all folkloric; in southern Italy, they tend to be more "picturesque".

PodereArgo

Hello,
I'm Italian and live in Tuscany, in Maremma. Easter in Rome and Florence are very crowded periods, so I suggest you to stop on your way from Rome to Florence in my area a beautiful and still little known area of Tuscany, Maremma just 1 hour and a half from Rome, you'll need a car and you can visit wonderful places and less crowded than big cities: old towns like Pitigliano, Sorano, there beautiful natural and free spas like Saturnia, etruscan tombs and monuments. Wonderful and genuine food and wine. If you need other information don't hesitate to ask me, I own a Farmhouse I rent.

Invested

Thank you for the terrific information that will most certainly come in handy. We will most likely spend our extra day in Tuscany. Perhaps Maremma? Our schedule is flexible, and we are in the early stages of planning our itinerary for Italy. Regardless, of where we stay its still a romantic trip that we will cherish forever.