lenaelgoldin

Ciao all!

Me and my boyfriend (mid twenties couple) will be traveling to Italy in the beginning of June (8th to 16th). We are going to fly into Venice on the 8th till 10th. Then we are renting a car and driving to Florence (one night) then to Pisa(half a day) and then to Rome (13th to 16th). So I have several questions and I am looking for answers and suggestion to all or some of them below:

1. what is the best route for a gondola ride at sunset?

2. Amazing (NON touristy), romantic restaurant in venice (its my birthday, i want something super special).

3. a. Is it worth taking a city tour in venice?
b. if so, which one?

4. I am looking for a winery along the road from florence to rome....any suggestion of a good one? We prefer white wine but red is good too. - Budget wise we are flexible but saving is always appreciated

5. For anyone who has driven the route....please share any special places that you have seen and consider worth visiting.

6. ****** we are foodies (I am also training to become a chef), we love to eat and love to try anything new so any restaurant/eateries that you can recommend anywhere along the route would also be greatly appreciated.

7. anything else that you think will ADD to our little trip...feel free to mention

thank you and looking forward reading your answers

rosetravels

Are you sure you want to drive? I would just visit Venice and Rome and take a train between the 2. I've been on a couple of road trips in Italy w/ my husband and drives like this are really not romantic. Wandering around cities is lovely but the drive can be a hassle. If you're a foodie Rome is the place. Check out www.theromedigest.com for great food info.

If you do want to drive, I'd rethink Pisa and Florence and stop somewhere like Arezzo or Montepulciano. Pisa and Florence are big, with a lot of sprawl and traffic and no parking. Nothing will suck the romance out of a day like trying to navigate through the outskirts of an Italian city. Places like Montepulciano are lovely and you can have some nice wine without having to drive somewhere afterwards.

MilenaM

For your birthday try L'Alcova (Ca' Sagredo Hotel) on the Canal Grande. Beautiful setting, haute cuisine or cucina alta, expensive.

lenaelgoldin

Rosetravels...yes we are driving (car already rented). I understand that its going to be a bit of a drag with parking and all but taking the trains is going to be just as stressful and it takes out flexiability that we want to have in out trip (ie...drive from one place to another at any time of the day). And as a bonus i dont have to lug laggage everywhere after we checked out of the hotel.

Florence is one of out stops for several reasons....one we are visiting a friend and two well i heard its an amazing place to visit.

Pisa on the other hand is something I been debating about. Its so close to where we are going to be so why not...hmmm tough choice

Thank you for your input, I will check out the site

Sassafrass

Please listen to Rosetravels. Unless you are going to smaller towns/villages in Tuscany or other charming area, a car is a waste and a nuisance. It is especially so for drive from Venice to Florence and Rome. Trains between these are easy and quick. Train from Florence to Pisa is great. If you do drive, make sure you know all the rules about where you are allowed to drive, especially in Florence, and where to park ahead of time.

Jean

I agree with Rosetravels and Sassafrass.

Almost every city and town in Italy now has a limited traffic zone (called a ZTL, for zona traffico limitato). If you drive into the zone, even without meaning to, you're likely to receive an expensive traffic ticket in the mail after you get home. (The towns track you down through the car rental company.) You should learn Italian road signage and carefully study the ZTL map for each city/town you plan to visit, know in advance where you're going to park and how you're going to reach that parking without violating the zone.

Visiting a winery in Italy almost always requires an appointment, so you'd need to research what wineries are located along your route and start sending out email inquiries ASAP.

Italy has more stringent DWI laws than the U.S. and many other countries, and has much lower blood alcohol limits and much higher penalties following conviction.

Lastly, unless you are EU citizens, each driver will need to have an International Driving Permit.

If you want to climb the Leaning Tower in Pisa, you need to make advance, timed reservations.

http://www.opapisa.it/en/home-page.html

So, to review, driving requires a lot of logistical planning, detailed maps, and excellent navigating skills.

In contrast, you could board a train in Venice and be in the center of Bologna in 90 minutes where you could store your luggage while you explore and eat your way through this city. Retrieve your luggage in the afternoon, board a train and arrive in the center of Florence in less than 45 minutes. If you hope to see anything in Florence the next day, you'll need to skip Pisa. But if Pisa is a must-see, you can train from Florence to Pisa Centrale in about an hour, store your luggage while you go to/from the Tower. Retrieve your luggage after lunch, board another train and be in the center of Rome about 3 hours later.

Peter_S_Aus

Tt

Peter_S_Aus

Tt

stevewith

You can avoid the forbidden driving areas of Florence by picking a hotel with parking on the Oltrarno side of Florence. A good, modestly priced restaurant on that side of the river is Alla Vecchia Bettola, so pick a hotel with parking not too far from there.

http://www.florence.ala.it/bettola/

If you go to the Slow Travel website, you can find good directions for driving to the parking lot near the Towers in Pisa that will keep you out of the ZTL areas.

From Pisa, consider driving to San Gimignano and spending the night there at Agriturismo Niccolai, which produces its own white (Vernaccia) wine.

http://www.agriturismoniccolai.it/

The next day, drive the scenic roads to Montalcino and have lunch at Boccon DiVino for its spectacular views and famed onion soup:

http://www.boccondivinomontalcino.it/

From there, drive the scenic roads to Orvieto to drop off your rental car and before you leave for Rome (one hour train ride), stop for a glass of white Orvieto wine at one of the cafes in the main piazza that faces the beautiful cathedral.

It would be easier and probably cheaper if you took the train from Venice to Florence and spend the night there without a car, and then the next day took the train to Pisa and rented the car there after seeing the sights. (You can store your luggage in the train station near the car rental office). Even if you have already rented the car, most companies will let you change the dates and locations of your pick ups and drop offs.

Just make sure if you do decide to drive that you have studied maps that show you where the forbidden areas are.

http://en.comune.fi.it/mobility/driving.html

Ask for help about Pisa on the Slow Travel website.

lenaelgoldin

Stevewith....

Thank you...you have given me and my boyfriend something to think about for sure. This might be the best compromise for my situation.

stevewith

If you decide to go with a car all the way, check out Il Palagetto as a place to stay in Florence

http://www.ilpalagettofirenze.it/dove-siamo.php

But do consider trains part of the way and dropping off your car in Orvieto.

lenaelgoldin

Stevewith...so I did a little research and it turns out that it will cost us almost double to get the car in florence and drop it off in rome (we need to have a car there on the 13th). So I guess we are doing car all the way.

Thank you for the suggestion for the Florence hotel...but we are staying with my friends, so we dont need to rent anything out.

Do you think we should do Pisa or Florence first after Venice?

Or should we just cut pisa out completely?

Thanks

lenaelgoldin

Oh and btw...my boyfriend is French so we dont need any special permits.. yay