Julielynn85

My husband and I are planning our 20th Anniversary. Our trip is from Sept. 21-Oct. 5. We have not been to Austria or Italy. We fly into Munich and out of Genoa. We are in good health and especially want to spend time in Northern Italy. We only want to spend 2-3 days in Austria then get to Northern Italy, maybe Venice then to Tuscan area and finally Genoa and surrounding areas. I am unexperienced with planning this, prefer car rental and trains. We are most interested in food, countryside, old architecture and history, and the people. Prefer not to be in highly tourist areas. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm a little concerned we bit off too much by trying to include Austria.

zeppole

I assume you know that Venice is a highly tourist area, not noted for its food and wine, that most of the people there are not Venetian and cars are forbidden -- but are including it for old architecture and history.

Most of the Italian Riviera near Genova has been developed for visitors, but the towns of le Cinque Terre and Portofino have suffered the greatest impact from mass tourism. If you are bringing a car, they are also difficult places to park, but if you have rented a car to tour Tuscany, I would suggest you keep your car so you can drive yourself to the airport in Genova. You might consider pretty towns like Moneglia or Camogli instead of one of the foreign tourist magnets, and make sure your hotel has parking. Use the coastal train line for daytrips. For food, wine, people and architecture, have a lunch or go food shopping in the town of Chiavari.

Julielynn85

Thank you Zeppole for your suggestions. All good advice. My husband wasn't too keen on Venice for the same reasons you stated. We really want to try to enjoy Italy off the beaten path.

jgg

May I suggest you look at staying in the Piedmont region in Northern Italy. Beautiful countryside, not as touristy and fabulous food. We stayed in Acqui Terme at Bauer B&B (www.baurbb.com) and had a wonderful time.

Not sure why you have incl. Austria, where were you planning on staying there? We have only been to Salzburg and Innsbruck, wouldn't make a detour for them - I've heard Vienna is fabulous, but a bit out of the way from Munich and Northen Italy. You might want to consider the Dolomites, which will give you that German/Austrian feel in Italy. We just returned from there (Trip report coming soon). There is stunning countryside there and incredible hiking (not too hard) from the gondolas. It is touristy - it is a hiking/skiing location for Europeans, so a lot of Italian/German/Austrian tourists but very few Americans.

bobthenavigator

Are you aware of the steep drop charge for cars picked up in Germany and dropped in Italy. One solution for you would be to train to Salzburg for your Ausrian time and then train to Bolzano to get your car. Or, you could train all the way to Venice[ no cars anyway] and get the car when you leave there.

zeppole

If you take jgg's excellent suggestion to tour Piemonte, you can have the best of both world's when it comes it to the glories of non-touristy enjoyment of Italy: You can have wines that rival and even surpass those of Tuscany, plus some very beautiful wine country, and you can enjoy the glories of the Itaalian Riviera in towns like Noli or Camogli, and easily make your flight to Genova. I would not pick Acqui Terme as a base, nor would I pick a lodging that doesn't serve dinner or produce its own wine, but that's just me.

Whether drop-off fees are "steep" in the context of your overall trip is best decided by first finding out what they are, and looking at the costs of the alternatives, and coming to a determination about whether Venice will remain in the itinerary. It's a good idea to call rental companies directly and ask about the fees. They are sometimes negotiable.

pja1

Hi,

"I'm a little concerned we bit off too much by trying to include Austria."
It's pretty hard to get to Italy from Munich without going through Austria. Two nights in Austria would make sense to me. Depends of course on how much time you want to take from Italy.

I have to agree with "bobthenavigator" if you only want 2 or 3 days in Austria.

If you really wanted to drive (and the drop off fees are steep), you could look into renting from Munich airport, stay two nights(?) in Austria and drop the car in Garmisch, Germany (1 hr. from Innsbruck/@1:30 min. from the Italian border) and train to Bolazno and get another car.

I also agree with jgg about "substituting" the Dolomite region for Austria. This area was part of Austria until the end of WWI and still retains an "Austrian atmosphere". German is generally spoken first in many areas. Quaint villages, nice old towns and spectacular scenery. The Dolomites are quite unique (mt. scenery wise) and are one of our favorite places to visit.

Paul

franco

Almost all of northern Italy is non-touristy, except for, as zeppole said, the Ligurian coast and Venice. Piemonte is certainly an excellent suggestion, but also Lombardia rarely sees tourists, and you'll even have the Veneto region for yourself if you choose to visit; in this case, you could combine it with a short stay in Venice (think 3 nights), and see whether you like it and would come back another time. Venice gets throngs of tourists, of course, and yet it's one of the great sights on this planet as far as art & architecture. And the surrounding region has world-class sights without any crowds: the Palladian villas all over the place, Vicenza, Padova, Verona, Montagnana, Bassano del Grappa: truly worth visiting. But I'm not saying that Piemonte or Lombardia are lacking first class art & architecture - on the contrary! Torino, for example, is one of the most beautiful baroque cities anywhere; Lombardia is full of wonderful, very little visited towns like Mantova, Brescia, Bergamo (which gets more visitors than the others), Pavia... Food-wise, Piemonte wins hands down, Mantova running a close second.
But please note that Tuscany is not northern Italy but central Italy; and of course, many Tuscan places are at least as crowded as Venice.

Julielynn85

Thanks again for responses, very helpful. I included Austria because I have been to Switzerland and have heard Austria is similar if not better. My husband has never been to Europe and we want to only experience new things. Salzburg & Innsbruck were my thoughts on Austria but I really like the Dolomites suggestion. I like the idea of Vienna but think it might take us too far out of the way. I will check on car drop off fees and weigh my options. Staying in Piedmont region also sounds like great advice. One more thought based on friends opinions that you have to see Rome (my husbands not so sure if it's too touristy and out of the way). Is it worth a fast train trip from Florence to Rome to a couple days? or save it for another trip? Thanks for any and all advice. Julie

Julielynn85

Sorry, one more question. We are traveling Sept. 22-Oct. 5th. I've heard it's less crowded then. Is it worth considering not booking hotels and kind of winging it or is that just crazy? Or maybe book just the busiest cities (ie. Venice, if we go there)

franco

Frankly, I think it would be crazy to include Rome if you are coming from Munich and leaving from Genova. I'd leave it for the next trip. Same goes for Florence.
Of the places that have been discussed on this thread, anywhere but Venice is perfectly fine without hotel reservations. Of course, if you want to get a room at a certain hotel, book ahead; but if you are fine getting a decent hotel room without being too picky, there's absolutely no reason why you should book in advance. Venice excluded, let me stress that again.

LJ

One suggestion is to check out Trieste...I agree that Venice can be overwhelming.

zeppole

People seem to come up with all sorts of rules about what other people MUST SEE simply because they happened to mention they are going to Italy. Rome is place you don't want to see on frantic bomb-through. It's the worst way to see it. So save it for another trip is my advice.

I agree with Franco you don't need to book hotels in advance except for Venice.

yestravel

I 2nd franco's suggestions. We spent 2 successive vacations in NItaly and went to most of the destinations he mentioned. They were all fabulous. The only really crowded one was Bergamo. Enjoy your trip.

Julielynn85

Thank you everyone, I feel more confident now in planning our trip. I'm certain it will be incredible. Julie