lynsu

I just booked an apartment in the Corte Grimani for four nights but realized too late, that I really needed five nights! We are booked into a hotel in Florence but are one day short. Can any one suggest something wonderful for just one night? Town and place to stay would be so appreciated. Train accessible a must.

bobthenavigator

Verona or Bologna.
I would prefer Verona.

ira

Hi L,

What is "wonderful"?
What is your budget?

lynsu

Moderately priced small, quiet, old rather than modern. Now looking into Ravenna. Any lodging suggestions?

zeppole

Ravenna is a wonderful place, but are you sure you want to so alter your original plans? This could either be a wonderful happy accident or maybe you had a reason for booking 5 nights in Venice. (I'm not a Venice booster, I'm just raising the question.)

Are you sure your apartment landlord can't give you another night? If he or she can't, might you prefer another locale in Venice?

If you decide to embrace the happy accident and go to Ravenna, begin by looking on venere.com for the date you need and your budget. You'll find user reviews there too.

uhoh_busted

Open ended requests for lodging rarely get the best/most helpful responses in online forums. Now that you are looking into Ravenna, does that signal a preference or is it adding to the "mix?"

You may want to look at what is available in your price range and for your dates in, say Ravenna and Verona, and then ask for feedback on a couple of choices you now have in those cities. That way people have a good idea of exactly what you mean by "moderately priced" (for some people, moderately priced means 80 - 100 euro/night, for others it is 120-150). Use what we all use: Expedia, Orbitz, venere.com, hotels.com, etc. I like TripAdvisor for a general search because you can choose a place based on feedback and how it looks on the web, and then get prices from several sources.

Then you can come back here and say "I'm considering Hotel X and Guesthouse A in Onecity, or Hotel Z and B&B W in Anothercity." Can anyone recommend any of these?

Sometimes a couple of us may have a place we've stayed at several years ago that was moderately priced then, but now is up to 200euro/night. However it was such a remarkable experience that we'd suggest it on those merits alone.

Joliefleur

Why not go to Pisa? Nice quiet little town and there's a train station.

Floridacouple

We stayed in Verona at the Hotel Aurora about 10 years ago and loved the city. The hotel is small and is in a building from the 12th or 15th century(ah, what's 300 years anyway). Not luxurious, but I was looking for charm, not luxury. Conveniently located and easy to walk around the city. Great restaurants and ambiance.

We were traveling by train and found this to be a convenient stop between Milan and Venice.

annw

Ravenna is a great spot! Incredible world class mosaics. Google some images of San Vitale Basilica there and you'll see what I mean. But also wonderful food, few tourist crowds (many come in for the day to view the mosaics), great passagiata, and more.

It's slightly off the main train corridors but well worth it IMO.

Lodging: Palazzo Galleti Abbiosi is reasonable and about 5 minutes from the train station in the direction of town; here's my TA review

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a_Romagna.html

Right smack in the Ancient Centre is Hotel Centrale Byron

I've stayed at both; the first is less expensive but good location between the train station and ancient centre and a cross between hotel and guest house; the second has somewhat better location for most visitors.

Many good dining options.

annw

This one's getting good reviews too:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a_Romagna.html

lynsu

Thank you all for all of your help. We decided on Ravenna and had some trouble with reservations. Made a tentative one at Hotel Italia. Waiting for a response from M Club. I tried all of your other suggestions. Looking for close proximity to train station. We will be leaving for Florence the following morning.

annw

If the first one I mentioned works out, I easily walked it with my rollerbag from the station. Not familiar with Hotel Italia; anyway hope you have a great time in Ravenna -- post if you want more specific suggestions.

PalenQ

ravenna is sweet but it is a cumbersome detour if going by train from the main Venice-Bologna-florence mainline. bologna would be my choice - said to have more historic medieval buildings in its center core than any other city in Italy, Verona is great too but Bologna is just an hour or less from Florence.

zeppole

Don't fret too much about easy access to the train staton in Ravenna in picking a hotel. The town is very compact, and a taxi from and to the station is quite likely to be well within your budget.

Although I have a lot of fun in Bologna, Ravenna is one of Europe's most spectacular art sights, and a real treat if your eye has been caught by the glasswork of Venice. I wouldn't regret the extra time on the train to see it. It is also a wonderful contrast and prelude to fabulous church interiors of Florence, most especially the bapistery.

If you have time, pop into the church of San Francesco in Ravenna. It has no Byzantine mosaics, but if you put a euro into the box that lights up the area under the altar, it is an interesting surprise.