Le Marche is an area I have wondered about from time to time - - here's a pretty good (looking) web site http://www.le-marche.com - - that might entice others to look into this region of Italy which does seem to get a bit "neglected" (by Americans; I think plenty of Italians vacation on the Adriatic there).

But I'll put in a good word (again, not my first time) for its adjacent neighbor province Rieti - - it's what I imagine Tuscany might have been like 70 years ago before it got "discovered" and started its transformation into "Chianti-shire".

Best wishes,

Rex

I replied to this before I actually read it, and I must say, it's well written and it makes all five sound VERY enticing.

Fodorites' trip 2005 anyone?

Too ping-pong to incorporate all five. Start with the first two?

Thanks for posting the website. It is a nice article. I guess I am tired of seeing the 'same-o, same-o' here so this was refreshing!

I have been very curious about the Marches region, as well as Languedoc. This is just more reason to visit, as crowds are a big turnoff for me.

The article on Ljubljana was interesting. I wondered if they had really visited here. The restaurants mentioned were a bit past their prime (exc. for As...but the price was definitely too low) and the description of the architecture was off. Rococo? One of the similarities between Prague and Ljubljana is the architecture. Joze Plecnik was a major contributor in both cities. There is a wonderful energy here and many music festivals through the summer. And yes, we are being discovered...but not by so many Americans yet.

Cheers,
Jan in Slovenia

When I was in Le Marche in summer of 2001, I was constantly asked if I was English or American. At THAT time, seems Americans were more exotic and we were warmly welcomed. I was told there were slews of Brits who come to the Adriatic beaches in the area for vacation. Also, real estate is heating up. Apparently, the area is not undiscovered, but it is not on most Americans' travel radar.

Thank you for the websites! My husband was invited to speak at a symposium at the University in Urbino so we will be there for 5 days. This is an area that is not covered very well in the tour books so the article and Le Marche website help.

Wonderful! I am spending several days in August near Cadiz (in El Puerto de Santa Maria).

Americans in Le Marche are truly few and far between. There are quite a few German tourists nowadays. I didn't realize there were as many British tourists, eliztrav.

Anyway, I think that one day Le Marche might end up being as touristy as Umbria and Tuscany, but I would say that the Marchigiani people might protest for a while. It's very much what you imagine central Italy to be, but without the tourists.

SloJan,

I didn't read the article and I'm not really a budget traveler anymore.

What restaurants would you recommend? I'll be there in September.

Ljubljana was featured in an article in "The Times " in June and we liked the sound of it so much that we've booked a long weekend there in August.

Jackie, I'm a little hazy on the details now as it has been awhile, but I think I was told frequent cheap Ryanair flights into Falconara are responsible for some of the fair weather "Brit beach" crowd....which inevitably led some to explore inland & even to buy/rent property which is priced much less than Tuscany, etc.