macy2014

I'm planning a trip to Northern Italy/ Lake Como area with my mother & would like to get some of your advise as to where to go & where to stay. We have never traveled to this part of Italy before but not quite sure if this is the best place to visit since my mom is a senior & doesn't have the stamina she did 6 years ago when we traveled to Greece & Cinque Terre & walked everywhere! We have visited the large cities before(Rome, Florence,etc) I also want to take my mom to Switzerland since it's so close to Lake Como. Any ideas? We have 2 weeks for our trip & have a moderate budget. Thanks!

sandralist

You don't have to walk as much in Lago di Como as you do in le Cinque Terre. You can take boat rides and flat paths. There are also hikes but you can skip them. There are hills but steep ones like le Cinque Terre.

But what time of year are you going? By the middle of October the lake air can get pretty cod and by November things are shutting down and you start to get the possibillity of lots of rain and soon comes snow. It doesn't really get to be nice weather for tourists until April.

Have you seen Verona? Combining it with Lago di Como might be nice. It is flat and very pretty. There a not long lines for huge museums or monuments but instead lots of small and unusual gems and pleasant old streets with cafes and interesting shopping.

sandralist

I would not recommend the Dolomites for a senior traveler who doesn't have stamina. I would especially not recommend it at times of the year when it is snowing or when cable cars are not running.


macy2014: I noticed I made a typo in my post. I meant to say about Lago di Como that "There are hills but NOT steep ones like le Cinque Terre.:

macy2014

Thank you sandralist & didi2111 for your recommendations.
We are actually planning to travel at the very end Sept/beginning of October. Verona looks promising. The Dolomite Mountains are beautiful judging from the pictures but my mom does not walk long distances anymore. My mom is actually in her 80's & in fairly good health. She & I love to travel & would enjoy strolling the cobblestone streets of small cities. We have traveled to Europe in the past via train but I'm wondering if this time around it would be a good idea to rent a car. I like traveling by train because that way I have no worries regarding parking, driving in a foreign country, etc.. but I like the idea of just getting in the car & going to nearby cities for day trips. What do you think? This may sound strange, but the last 2 times we traveled in Europe(October), we did not have any hotel reservations. We would get off the train & head to the tourist office & get a recommendation or we would just walk a few blocks from the train station & find a reasonable, comfortable,clean hotel room. We don't need anything fancy, just a comfortable bed & a bathroom with shower in the room. Is this still a good idea if we plan to visit Verona & nearby cities? What other cities/towns near Verona do you recommend?

macy2014

Hi sandralist, I just read your reply to the couple planning a 3week trip to Sicily. What are your favorite cities/villages in Europe? My mom & I have been in Europe only twice. The first time we flew into Madrid where we stayed 2 days then took train (8 hour ride back then) to Barcelona for 2 days, then took train to Florence, Italy, but stopped in Girona, Avignon & Nice along the way. We also went to Rome then back home. On our second trip, we flew to Athens, Greece & stayed there 2-3 days then took a ferry to Santorini(3-4 days) then to Mykonos (2 days) then flew to Milan & took train to Rapallo & from there visited Portofino,Genoa, & Santa Margherita Ligure, then train to Cinque Terre, then to Pisa & Rome. My mom actually traveled on her own in 2000 when she flew into Madrid & visited northern Spain then Barcelona, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Switzerland & Paris! She traveled solo for 2 months! So what are your favorite European cities/villages (large or small). Have you traveled to the Mediterranean coast of Spain? Mallorca? What are your recommendations? As you can see,I have not decided between Spain or Italy.