Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Help in determining 2 weeks in Florence, Rome, and TBD location(??)

Help in determining 2 weeks in Florence, Rome, and TBD location(??)

Old Feb 5th, 2016, 08:53 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Help in determining 2 weeks in Florence, Rome, and TBD location(??)

My husband and I will be in Montreux for a week performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Since we will be in Europe to begin with and I've never been to Italy, we wanted to try to get down to Italy for ideally 2 weeks (we can add a day if needed for travel). We are planning two spend most of our time in Florence and Rome (No Venice; I've never been to Italy, but he has and Venice was his least favorite and I'm not hellbent on only hitting the "Big 3").

We are going to be there in the mid-end of July. We wanted to see a good amount, but also know we need some extra time because of the heat and tourists, plus we don't want this to be a stressful "checklist" kind of trip. We want some occasional time to wander or have the luxury of seeing where the day takes us (while also getting the most out of it, knowing that we don't have ALL the time in the world).

I was thinking of the following:

5 days in Florence (maybe including one or two day trips consisting of Piza, Siena, or Lucca)
3 days in TBD
5 days in Rome (which would include a day for the Vatican).
1 or 2 days for travel in between areas.

My problem is with the TBD location and also where to include it in the trip. Do we train straight from Geneva to Florence, and then maybe hit a Tuscan hilltown or Cinque Terre before Rome? Do we maybe do some place in between Switzerland and Italy (like the Italian Dolomites or some other area in Northern Italy) and then head to Florence and then Rome? Or do we Maybe do something entirely different, fly into Rome or Naples, hit Capri or Sorrento, then do Rome and end our way up north in Florence?

Some areas that seem fascinating to me to stay two or three days in are:
-Val D'Orcia (maybe base in Montalcino)
-Cinque Terre (although maybe more trouble than it's worth in July?)
-Some other place on the Italian Riviera that might be a little less crowded than the usual spots
-Capri (the blue grotto looks gorgeous and figure it might be a little cooler by the water-guessing it's crowded though)
-Ponza
-Val D'Aosta (that national park looks amazing!)
-Orvieto
-Ravello or Praiano

As you can see, there's a lot of directions this trip can go in. In terms of interests, I'm interested in seeing the main art, architecture, and sights (without being on a tour that's going to rush me through like herding cattle), but don't need to spend 3 days seeing every painting in a museum. Husband likes to kick back and relax. We both like wandering around streets, having some occasional nightlife like jazz clubs or live music, and I personally love being outside and seeing the greatness of places that I've never been to (whether natural or man-made). I like doing things a bit outside of the usual (i.e. i'd rather bike ride around tuscany instead of taking a planned bus tour or take a cooking class at a local farm or agriturismo rather than going though your everyday cooking class in the city). So with that in mind, any input on the TBD places (and which would be best in July) would be appreciated!
sbrosnan813 is offline  
Old Feb 5th, 2016, 11:18 PM
  #2  
kja
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,089
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I, personally, would not try to go to Naples, Capri, or any where on the Amalfi Coast – wait until you have time to do that area justice.

The Cinque Terre could, indeed, be mobbed in July, but your time frame makes including it rather easy.

I must admit that I’m a bit surprised that nothing in Switzerland has caught your interest. It offers so much!

You don’t have BAD choices, you have DIFFICULT ones. I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Only then can you decide what options actually work for YOU.

Good luck!
kja is offline  
Old Feb 6th, 2016, 02:47 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 6,534
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The Dolomiti are really "out of your way", maybe especially if you are not going to Venice -- but a lot depends on the actual Swiss train routes, and it is worth digging up the details to find out if that is workable, because the Dolomiti are an extraordinary site and July is one of the few months that reliably get good weather. Maybe check out how long or complicated it would be to take trains from Montreux to someplace like Bressanone or Bolzano and rent a car. You can get rid of the car in Trento or Verona and take a train to Florence afterwards.

Otherwise, one logical and beautiful route from Montreux into Italy would be to come down through Piemonte and the Italian Riviera. Check out the options for taking a train to the marvelous town of Aosta and picking up a car there, or go to the Italian Riviera entirely by train. Piemonte is not a great hot weather destination, so I would just drive through (maybe an overnight for a meal there), and then head to the Riviera.

Choices for great stops that are not overwhelmed with tourists in July are Bogliasco, Zoagli, Chiavari, Sestri Levante, Bonassola. Both Rapallo and Lerici are big enough to have lots of hotels and enough space that you won't feel packed into a sardine can being there even though they are popular seaside destinations in July.

If you take a car to the Riviera, make sure any hotel you book has guaranteed parking. Depending on where you stay you might want to drop off the car in Rapallo, La Spezia or airports at Pisa or Florence before taking public transportation into Florence.
sandralist is offline  
Old Feb 6th, 2016, 02:59 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 57,091
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
I like Sandralist's general idea - get the train to somewhere in Italy, pick up a car, drive down through the Italian riviera to Pisa, return your car to the airport there, spend a night there to see the Tower etc. [fabulous at night when all the tourist buses and the touts they attract have disappeared] then get the train to Florence, then train to Rome.

more than enough to fill the time you've got and reasonably easy logistically.
annhig is offline  
Old Feb 6th, 2016, 03:03 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 6,534
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
By the way, I meant to add that the national park of the Gran Paradiso is amazing, as is the town of Aosta, so if that is what you want to do (and the weather and flowers are wonderful in July), then I suggest taking a train to Aosta to spend the night so you can see the wonderful town (there will probably be concerts in the Roman arena as well), then rent a car to go out to the Gran Paradiso -- although it is possible to take a bus out there. I would recommend the town of Lillaz over Cogne, even though it is a bit further from the official entrance to the park.

The neighboring glacial valleys are also beautiful if you have a car. There is also the famed Montebianco multi-stage cable car ride if you are interested.

But after your tour in val d'Aosta, the easiest way to Florence is to take the train to Milan or Torino, and then fast trains from there to Florence.
sandralist is offline  
Old Feb 6th, 2016, 04:26 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
If it were me I would spend a few day in the Italian lakes. We did one road trip in which we spent 3 day in Stresa (Lago Maggiore) right off the plane to do some relaxing from very stressful jobs before heading into the more active parts of the trip in Switz and Germany.

Other areas might worked as well depending on your exact interests - but this was perfect for us - lots to see/do but not super crowded and plenty of chances of relaing cafe sitting and just enjoying watching or taking bot trips around the Isles Borromeo.
nytraveler is offline  
Old Feb 6th, 2016, 10:42 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 6,534
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Just one added detail: If you find an appealing train route to the Dolomiti and decide to go there, then see if it is possible to get off the train in Brunico and rent a car right there. That way you would have only a short drive to the Alta Badia area of the Dolomiti -- to my eyes the most beautiful -- and then you could drive to Bolzano to drop off the car and take the train to Florence.
sandralist is offline  
Old Feb 21st, 2016, 07:27 AM
  #8  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank all of you for your input! Of course, now we're deciding if we should hold off Italy for one more year so we can devote at least 3 weeks to it next summer. That being said, I love all of the input and regardless of whether we go this year or next year, I want to look into all of the places you told me about (and maybe with the extra week, we can do both Val D'Aosta AND the Riviera!)
sbrosnan813 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Beth202
Europe
11
Aug 1st, 2017 06:30 AM
luv2ndhalf
Europe
15
Nov 18th, 2015 11:10 AM
Lenkaya
Europe
22
Sep 7th, 2012 12:04 PM
didi
Europe
11
Feb 12th, 2006 07:44 AM
James_P
Europe
14
Feb 16th, 2004 06:43 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -