Rome to Milan in low season (March 16-30, 2013): New spots to visit?
Jan 2nd, 2013, 10:42 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,509
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Rome to Milan in low season (March 16-30, 2013): New spots to visit?
We arrive at Rome Fiumicino at noon on Saturday, March 16 and depart from Milan Linate exactly 2 weeks later, on Saturday March 30. There are large holes in our plans for how we will spend the 2 weeks that follow our arrival. Probably a few days in Rome - this is our Nth visit to Rome - then travel by train or rented car in one OR two of the regions north of Rome: Tuscany/ Umbria... Emilia-Romagna ....or maybe Piedmont.
I'm looking for Fodorite advice on where to go and what to do on this late-winter trip.
We're a mobile, well traveled older couple who like architecture, history, food and scenery.
We usually rent a car for part of our trip - even driving out of Rome does not faze us. We like renting apartments or houses and often prefer - at least for part of a trip - having one spot as our base, from which we make day trips by car or train.
We've spent a lot of time in S Tuscany, including late October and mid-March visits. But since the weather is uncertain in March, we might be best advised to focus on urban areas.
I'm pretty familiar with the most popular destinations: Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Perugia, Arezzo, Cortona - so I'd like to expand our horizons a bit. For example, I've never visited Bologna, which is high on my wish-list. Friends have also recommended Turin - not a common choice, I think. Any suggestions?
We fly from Linate to Amsterdam at 11h20 on Saturday, March 30. That is the middle of the Easter weekend. We will stay in Milan for 1 or 2 nights before our flight to Amsterdam. My primary purpose is to spend time with an old friend, so the fact that most tourist sites could be closed is not terribly important. But will restaurants be open on Good Friday? Any suggestions on what we might see or do during this important religious holiday?
I'm looking for Fodorite advice on where to go and what to do on this late-winter trip.
We're a mobile, well traveled older couple who like architecture, history, food and scenery.
We usually rent a car for part of our trip - even driving out of Rome does not faze us. We like renting apartments or houses and often prefer - at least for part of a trip - having one spot as our base, from which we make day trips by car or train.
We've spent a lot of time in S Tuscany, including late October and mid-March visits. But since the weather is uncertain in March, we might be best advised to focus on urban areas.
I'm pretty familiar with the most popular destinations: Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Perugia, Arezzo, Cortona - so I'd like to expand our horizons a bit. For example, I've never visited Bologna, which is high on my wish-list. Friends have also recommended Turin - not a common choice, I think. Any suggestions?
We fly from Linate to Amsterdam at 11h20 on Saturday, March 30. That is the middle of the Easter weekend. We will stay in Milan for 1 or 2 nights before our flight to Amsterdam. My primary purpose is to spend time with an old friend, so the fact that most tourist sites could be closed is not terribly important. But will restaurants be open on Good Friday? Any suggestions on what we might see or do during this important religious holiday?
Jan 2nd, 2013, 10:54 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bologna to me is one of Europe's most vstly underrated or neglected cities - said to have more medieval structures than any other city center (when I was there the tourist office map said this) the center is just so so fine - lots of arcades to walk under if as not unusual at that time wet.
Parma was a nice surprise to me as well - really nice town to wander around in for a few hours or a day.
Also loved the Certosa de Pavia - an elaborate monastery complex out in the country - a great few-hour stop when going north.
Mantua was another city that I really loved - the palace and large lake and neat old towns.
Well a few places that do not get all that much ink here that you may want to investigate stopping by.
Parma was a nice surprise to me as well - really nice town to wander around in for a few hours or a day.
Also loved the Certosa de Pavia - an elaborate monastery complex out in the country - a great few-hour stop when going north.
Mantua was another city that I really loved - the palace and large lake and neat old towns.
Well a few places that do not get all that much ink here that you may want to investigate stopping by.
Jan 2nd, 2013, 11:44 AM
#3
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,478
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ted...
You can probably guess my "vote" would be for Bologna, I really enjoyed my week there in 2010 and the food is fantastic.
I also found it to be a good base for day trips via train. I believe there are excellent train connections (regional & inter-city & hi-speed trains)in Bologna. One memorable day trip was to Modena, (we went for lunch at a specific osteria) and another day trip to Ravenna to see the mosaic tile work.
I also have a recommendation for a food tour (visits to a cheese factory/proscuitto factory/balsamic vinegar producer & an incredible lunch at an organic winery) in that area if you are interested.
You can probably guess my "vote" would be for Bologna, I really enjoyed my week there in 2010 and the food is fantastic.
I also found it to be a good base for day trips via train. I believe there are excellent train connections (regional & inter-city & hi-speed trains)in Bologna. One memorable day trip was to Modena, (we went for lunch at a specific osteria) and another day trip to Ravenna to see the mosaic tile work.
I also have a recommendation for a food tour (visits to a cheese factory/proscuitto factory/balsamic vinegar producer & an incredible lunch at an organic winery) in that area if you are interested.
Jan 2nd, 2013, 01:18 PM
#4
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 597
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
March is not optimal for Piemonte, and while Torino is just wonderful, it really can be quite cold there. Emilia Romagna is your best bet, with our without a car. Ravenna is a spectacular world class sight with very few peers, and I would urge you to include it.
There is a lot of terrific advice on Chowhound about touring Emilia-Romagna region with a car and making the most of its food bounty, almost all of which is found outside the city of Bologna. It is not hard to have a car in Bologna if you pick the right lodgings at the edge of the city's walls, or to spend some time in Bologna and then rent a car to go exploring. However, if you only have a handful of sights you want to see in Bologna, you might want to spend just a minimum of nights there without a car, and then rent one and move on.
Be aware that Bologna is a business city with high hotel rates during trade fairs and a scarcity of rooms, so book early. Also be aware that the towns of the Emilia Romagna are not touristic and are still tied to a traditional clock with the exception of Bologna, so "day trips" that have you heading out in the morning at 9am to catch a train to some other town, where you walk to the center of town and thus arrive at 11.30am, leave you with essentially 60 minutes or 90 minutes before things close.
If you don't mind some sort of modified road-tripping in the region with a car, it can not only be better for sightseeing, but also enables you to see marvelous out of the way places in the Emilia-Romagna hills like Brisighella, Torrechiara, Vignola and more. With a car, you can also take advantage of some of the region's extraordinary "alberghi ristoranti" -- restaurants with rooms -- such as Amerigo, Da Ivo, and others. Again, check Chowhound.
It is worth staying some nights right in beautiful Parma because some of its most interesting historic attractions are only open in the mornings. I can recommend Hotel Daniel, which has an exceptionally good restaurant and parking.
If you are ultimately headed up to Milan, passing through Mantova is also a good idea.
You can do all this by train or car or a combination of both.
One of the major reasons most people visit Emilia-Romagna is food. If you are wearying of food-obsessed travel then the E-R is also a fabulous place for art and history. Bologna has an excellent museum of painting and several quite important historical sights associated with its university and Jewish history. Ferrara is the same, although smaller. Ravenna is without peer. Parma has the additional dimension of music, including the nearby towns that are important to Verdi fans. Modena has world heritage architecture (also where Pavarotti learned to sing). The beachside town of Rimini is a shrine to Federico Fellini, plus has startling sights dating back to Roman times. All these are just the highlights.
If you drive beware the legendary fogs and early morning ice in March. Some of your travel days are still in winter.
There is a lot of terrific advice on Chowhound about touring Emilia-Romagna region with a car and making the most of its food bounty, almost all of which is found outside the city of Bologna. It is not hard to have a car in Bologna if you pick the right lodgings at the edge of the city's walls, or to spend some time in Bologna and then rent a car to go exploring. However, if you only have a handful of sights you want to see in Bologna, you might want to spend just a minimum of nights there without a car, and then rent one and move on.
Be aware that Bologna is a business city with high hotel rates during trade fairs and a scarcity of rooms, so book early. Also be aware that the towns of the Emilia Romagna are not touristic and are still tied to a traditional clock with the exception of Bologna, so "day trips" that have you heading out in the morning at 9am to catch a train to some other town, where you walk to the center of town and thus arrive at 11.30am, leave you with essentially 60 minutes or 90 minutes before things close.
If you don't mind some sort of modified road-tripping in the region with a car, it can not only be better for sightseeing, but also enables you to see marvelous out of the way places in the Emilia-Romagna hills like Brisighella, Torrechiara, Vignola and more. With a car, you can also take advantage of some of the region's extraordinary "alberghi ristoranti" -- restaurants with rooms -- such as Amerigo, Da Ivo, and others. Again, check Chowhound.
It is worth staying some nights right in beautiful Parma because some of its most interesting historic attractions are only open in the mornings. I can recommend Hotel Daniel, which has an exceptionally good restaurant and parking.
If you are ultimately headed up to Milan, passing through Mantova is also a good idea.
You can do all this by train or car or a combination of both.
One of the major reasons most people visit Emilia-Romagna is food. If you are wearying of food-obsessed travel then the E-R is also a fabulous place for art and history. Bologna has an excellent museum of painting and several quite important historical sights associated with its university and Jewish history. Ferrara is the same, although smaller. Ravenna is without peer. Parma has the additional dimension of music, including the nearby towns that are important to Verdi fans. Modena has world heritage architecture (also where Pavarotti learned to sing). The beachside town of Rimini is a shrine to Federico Fellini, plus has startling sights dating back to Roman times. All these are just the highlights.
If you drive beware the legendary fogs and early morning ice in March. Some of your travel days are still in winter.
Jan 2nd, 2013, 03:21 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,509
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
These are all excellent suggestions.
I very much like the idea of seeing a number of smaller cities and less frequented towns on daytrips by car.
(One of our most memorable N Italian weekends was spent just outside Cremona, from which we saw a number of historic and utterly untouristy Lombard towns. The wet and foggy weather did not deter us one whit!)
And yes, we are very keen to find and sample good food.
I very much like the idea of seeing a number of smaller cities and less frequented towns on daytrips by car.
(One of our most memorable N Italian weekends was spent just outside Cremona, from which we saw a number of historic and utterly untouristy Lombard towns. The wet and foggy weather did not deter us one whit!)
And yes, we are very keen to find and sample good food.
Jan 3rd, 2013, 04:10 AM
#6
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Have you thought of spending some days in the Campania region? Think about Positana, Amalfi and Naples? We spent 2 weeks over christmas in Italy last year, traveling through Campania, Emilia Romagna and the Tuscany region. You can easily set base at Sorrento and visit the Amalfi coast with a car. Bologna has gotten great train connection to other towns like Parma, Modena, Ferrara and Verona. So doing day trip from here is easy and cheap. You can read up more on my Italy trip report at my blog. http://www.travelathousandmiles.com/italy/
Jan 3rd, 2013, 10:15 AM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,872
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There is a big trade show in Bologna the week just before Easter this year, so you'll want to get in & out of there prior to Monday the 25th if you go there, or else pay triple the normal room rate for hotels (I would suspect same for apartments).
Jan 5th, 2013, 02:33 PM
#12
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,478
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Diggie...
Here is the except from my 2010 Bologna trip report about the food tour experience I had:
Italian Food Days Tour:
There were several activities for our week in Bologna I booked prior to arriving and this was one. I found this tour listed on Trip Advisor as the number 1 activity to do in Bologna and after reading the reviews posted there and a few on Fodors I thought this sounded like a great option. We were not disappointed and it turned out to be one of, if not the best, days we had in Bologna. The Italian Food Days website is here:
http://www.italiandays.it/
This tour was all the website promises and more…seriously, if you are in the Bologna area and are “into” food…please, do yourself a favor and spend the money on this tour. We paid €135 per person and as good fortune would have it, we ended up being the only 2 people on the tour the day we went, so it turned out to be a private tour for us. I’m sure it would be great with several other people, but believe me, the guide, Alessandro Martini had no problem filling in quiet times in the mini-van with really interesting information.
Alessandro met us at our apartment at 7:30am…yes, that early, but the reason was because we needed to get to the parmigiano reggiano factory in time to see the milk arriving and the cheese being made. Yes, we were standing on the production floor watching the 25 vats being carefully tended to by the cheesemaker. This was fascinating and now when I see the price of “the real deal” parmigiano reggiano cheese, I know why it is so expensive. We not only got to taste the parmigiano reggiano we also got to taste the warm fresh ricotta cheese that was made just hours before. The fresh ricotta with little chunks of parmigiaono regiano tossed in, sounds weird, and tasted wonderful was the best breakfast a girl could ask for.
After the cheese factory we were off to an acetaia were the Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (traditional balsamic vinegar) is painstakingly produced. To think the amount of time and effort and not to mention the amount of money these balsamic producers go through to produce such a small annual amount of vinegar it’s no wonder the cost of the product is so expensive. We were able to taste 12 year, 25 years and 100+ year old vinegar and as you might imagine the older it was the better it tasted.
The next stop on the tour was a Prosciutto di Modena factory. Wow! An entire factory floor of hanging pork. Again, the process to produce this tasty treat is mind-boggling, but I, for one, am glad this process continues, because quite frankly I do enjoy some pork products!
As if all this wasn’t enough, the final “leg” of the tour was a lunch stop at the Corte d’Aibo (http://www.cortedaibo.it/eng/index.html), which is an organic winery and agritourismo. All I can say is that when Alessandro tells you it will be a “light lunch” do not under any circumstances believe him! This lunch was a feast that put us in a food coma! For us, because the day was so incredibly foggy, we could not enjoy what must be the amazing view from this winery, but that did not stop us from indulging in a fantastic meal. We started with a sparkling wine and a meat and cheese plate…6 different meats and 6 different cheeses! Honestly, we thought that was plenty for lunch, but then another wine arrives at the table, this time a barbera made with no added sulphates and a huge dish of the best cannelloni I have ever had, stuffed with a combination of veal and pork and bathed in a béchamel sauce this dish was superb. Then a 3rd red wine appears on the table, which I can’t remember the name of because we were so taken with the barbera, we didn’t want to stop drinking that one! Just when we were ready to say, “Basta”, a beautiful coffee pannacotta arrives. I thought, there is no way I can eat this, but one spoonful and I was hooked, I could not stop myself and the thought occurred to me that I really wanted to lift the plate up and lick it clean, but don’t recoil in horror, I refrained! Now we are saying there can’t be any more, when our faithful mini-van driver, Fabrizio, (also known as “the food pusher”) appears in the dining room doorway with a plate full of apple strudel and cookies! We did not indulge in that sweet treat, but we did ask for 2 cups of espresso that appeared instantly like magic and once we had taken the last sip of espresso Fabrizio appears again with a bottle of grappa and kindly tells us the way to get the last drops of espresso from the cup is to fill the cup with grappa and have a coffee “infused” digestive “treat”, not be outdone the crowning touch of the whole meal was a little glass of the local nocino, a green walnut liquor that I could have easily had more of.
Now that we could barely move it was time to decide if we wanted to purchase any of the wines. The barbera was just too good not to take, so we purchased 4 bottles of that along with a panetonne the chef was “whipping” up for the upcoming holidays!
You can imagine the ride back to Bologna was a quiet one, with our eyelids resting at half-mast. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and thought it was a great way to explore a bit of the region outside Bologna. And, now the Corte d’Aibo winery is on our radar for possible future stay in the country-side of the Emilia-Romanga region!
Here is the except from my 2010 Bologna trip report about the food tour experience I had:
Italian Food Days Tour:
There were several activities for our week in Bologna I booked prior to arriving and this was one. I found this tour listed on Trip Advisor as the number 1 activity to do in Bologna and after reading the reviews posted there and a few on Fodors I thought this sounded like a great option. We were not disappointed and it turned out to be one of, if not the best, days we had in Bologna. The Italian Food Days website is here:
http://www.italiandays.it/
This tour was all the website promises and more…seriously, if you are in the Bologna area and are “into” food…please, do yourself a favor and spend the money on this tour. We paid €135 per person and as good fortune would have it, we ended up being the only 2 people on the tour the day we went, so it turned out to be a private tour for us. I’m sure it would be great with several other people, but believe me, the guide, Alessandro Martini had no problem filling in quiet times in the mini-van with really interesting information.
Alessandro met us at our apartment at 7:30am…yes, that early, but the reason was because we needed to get to the parmigiano reggiano factory in time to see the milk arriving and the cheese being made. Yes, we were standing on the production floor watching the 25 vats being carefully tended to by the cheesemaker. This was fascinating and now when I see the price of “the real deal” parmigiano reggiano cheese, I know why it is so expensive. We not only got to taste the parmigiano reggiano we also got to taste the warm fresh ricotta cheese that was made just hours before. The fresh ricotta with little chunks of parmigiaono regiano tossed in, sounds weird, and tasted wonderful was the best breakfast a girl could ask for.
After the cheese factory we were off to an acetaia were the Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (traditional balsamic vinegar) is painstakingly produced. To think the amount of time and effort and not to mention the amount of money these balsamic producers go through to produce such a small annual amount of vinegar it’s no wonder the cost of the product is so expensive. We were able to taste 12 year, 25 years and 100+ year old vinegar and as you might imagine the older it was the better it tasted.
The next stop on the tour was a Prosciutto di Modena factory. Wow! An entire factory floor of hanging pork. Again, the process to produce this tasty treat is mind-boggling, but I, for one, am glad this process continues, because quite frankly I do enjoy some pork products!
As if all this wasn’t enough, the final “leg” of the tour was a lunch stop at the Corte d’Aibo (http://www.cortedaibo.it/eng/index.html), which is an organic winery and agritourismo. All I can say is that when Alessandro tells you it will be a “light lunch” do not under any circumstances believe him! This lunch was a feast that put us in a food coma! For us, because the day was so incredibly foggy, we could not enjoy what must be the amazing view from this winery, but that did not stop us from indulging in a fantastic meal. We started with a sparkling wine and a meat and cheese plate…6 different meats and 6 different cheeses! Honestly, we thought that was plenty for lunch, but then another wine arrives at the table, this time a barbera made with no added sulphates and a huge dish of the best cannelloni I have ever had, stuffed with a combination of veal and pork and bathed in a béchamel sauce this dish was superb. Then a 3rd red wine appears on the table, which I can’t remember the name of because we were so taken with the barbera, we didn’t want to stop drinking that one! Just when we were ready to say, “Basta”, a beautiful coffee pannacotta arrives. I thought, there is no way I can eat this, but one spoonful and I was hooked, I could not stop myself and the thought occurred to me that I really wanted to lift the plate up and lick it clean, but don’t recoil in horror, I refrained! Now we are saying there can’t be any more, when our faithful mini-van driver, Fabrizio, (also known as “the food pusher”) appears in the dining room doorway with a plate full of apple strudel and cookies! We did not indulge in that sweet treat, but we did ask for 2 cups of espresso that appeared instantly like magic and once we had taken the last sip of espresso Fabrizio appears again with a bottle of grappa and kindly tells us the way to get the last drops of espresso from the cup is to fill the cup with grappa and have a coffee “infused” digestive “treat”, not be outdone the crowning touch of the whole meal was a little glass of the local nocino, a green walnut liquor that I could have easily had more of.
Now that we could barely move it was time to decide if we wanted to purchase any of the wines. The barbera was just too good not to take, so we purchased 4 bottles of that along with a panetonne the chef was “whipping” up for the upcoming holidays!
You can imagine the ride back to Bologna was a quiet one, with our eyelids resting at half-mast. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and thought it was a great way to explore a bit of the region outside Bologna. And, now the Corte d’Aibo winery is on our radar for possible future stay in the country-side of the Emilia-Romanga region!
Jan 10th, 2013, 12:13 PM
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,509
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think I'm going to have to cut back on Rome to fit this all in.
Marcy/ LCI: That food tour sounds like something R would love! And you give a wonderful account of the day - I can almost smell and taste all those flavours
Marcy/ LCI: That food tour sounds like something R would love! And you give a wonderful account of the day - I can almost smell and taste all those flavours
Jan 10th, 2013, 12:44 PM
#15
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 20,145
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Another vote for Bologna. Great food, architecture, ease of walking/transport and amazingly beautiful people. Probably the most attractive and well dressed place I've ever been.
We recently spent 3n in Bologna with a day trip to Venus.
We could have easily used a few more days.
I have a few photos on FB if you want to take a look.
My advice - take Bologna in slowly
Enjoy!
We recently spent 3n in Bologna with a day trip to Venus.
We could have easily used a few more days.
I have a few photos on FB if you want to take a look.
My advice - take Bologna in slowly
Enjoy!
Jan 10th, 2013, 09:43 PM
#18
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Low season for Milan and Rome stops around the 15th of February so be prepared for crowds and long lines with the Easter vacation groups that begin the last week of February!
My son studied a semester abroad in Turin the year before the Olympics. My husband and I went over to visit him and we loved the city along with the Piedmont area especially Asti. There are some wonderful museums,shops and restaurants.
My son studied a semester abroad in Turin the year before the Olympics. My husband and I went over to visit him and we loved the city along with the Piedmont area especially Asti. There are some wonderful museums,shops and restaurants.
Jan 11th, 2013, 04:05 AM
#19
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Tedgale,
We always travel in mid-March, and find it to be a fabulous time to be in Italy. The weather is warming up, the trees and flowers are coming out, and the crowds have not yet swelled.
If you want to go south, I would suggest including Paestum as a wonderful, little-known destination.
We stayed a few days at il granio dei casabella a few years ago in Paestum, as part of an easy train trip south from Rome, with stops in Ponpeii, and Herculaneum. You could just as easily include some warm time on the Amalfi coast, or Sorrento which is lovely in March. Paestum has a series of incredible Greek temples which you could walk to from granaio, and their restaurant was divine - artichoke season, and the delicious buffalo meat and cheese which hails from the area. We didn't have time, but the area around Paestum also looks interesting. We stay in an apartment in Rome, and often take these little 2 or 3 day trips, leaving most of our stuff in Rome, and traveling light by train.
If you want to go north, a visit to Tarquinia to see the extensive painted Etruscan tombs is always worthwhile. You didn't mention Assisi, but spending a night or two there can be a magical experience in the off-season. A few years ago we rented a country villa in the Euganean Hills in the Veneto in mid-March. It is a beautiful area with many lovely little towns (eg. Monselice, Este) within an easy drive or local train ride. Ravenna and Bolonga are simple day trips, as are Padua, Verona, Vicenza, and even Venice! Once again, the local specialities are delicious.
Hope it helps - have fun planning!
We always travel in mid-March, and find it to be a fabulous time to be in Italy. The weather is warming up, the trees and flowers are coming out, and the crowds have not yet swelled.
If you want to go south, I would suggest including Paestum as a wonderful, little-known destination.
We stayed a few days at il granio dei casabella a few years ago in Paestum, as part of an easy train trip south from Rome, with stops in Ponpeii, and Herculaneum. You could just as easily include some warm time on the Amalfi coast, or Sorrento which is lovely in March. Paestum has a series of incredible Greek temples which you could walk to from granaio, and their restaurant was divine - artichoke season, and the delicious buffalo meat and cheese which hails from the area. We didn't have time, but the area around Paestum also looks interesting. We stay in an apartment in Rome, and often take these little 2 or 3 day trips, leaving most of our stuff in Rome, and traveling light by train.
If you want to go north, a visit to Tarquinia to see the extensive painted Etruscan tombs is always worthwhile. You didn't mention Assisi, but spending a night or two there can be a magical experience in the off-season. A few years ago we rented a country villa in the Euganean Hills in the Veneto in mid-March. It is a beautiful area with many lovely little towns (eg. Monselice, Este) within an easy drive or local train ride. Ravenna and Bolonga are simple day trips, as are Padua, Verona, Vicenza, and even Venice! Once again, the local specialities are delicious.
Hope it helps - have fun planning!
Jan 11th, 2013, 04:27 AM
#20
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 7,067
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I agree with the other about Bologna - but you'd have to be sure to be out of there at least several days before that trade fair starts. I've noticed that with major festivals, trade fairs, etc that the prices go up and the crowds swell not just the days of the events themselves but several days before and after.
I think Verona would be a fabulous base from which you could do day trips (by train - car also but train works great for this) to Ferrera, Modena, Vicenza, Padua, Venice, etc. If you spend some time in Milano day trips from there that are really worthwhile include Bergamo and Parma (which I was under impressed with but the rest of the world seems to love it, I thought Bergamo was ten times more interesting but you never hear it even mentioned here). Actually from Verona you could even do a day trip to Bologna. Perhaps consider a few days in Rome at the begining, the bulk of your time in Verona with all those day trips, and then a few days at the end in Milano.
Here are some of my trips reports from those areas. Photos are at www.pbase.com/annforcier - the Italy photos are in several different galleries.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-the-lakes.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-budapest.cfm
I think Verona would be a fabulous base from which you could do day trips (by train - car also but train works great for this) to Ferrera, Modena, Vicenza, Padua, Venice, etc. If you spend some time in Milano day trips from there that are really worthwhile include Bergamo and Parma (which I was under impressed with but the rest of the world seems to love it, I thought Bergamo was ten times more interesting but you never hear it even mentioned here). Actually from Verona you could even do a day trip to Bologna. Perhaps consider a few days in Rome at the begining, the bulk of your time in Verona with all those day trips, and then a few days at the end in Milano.
Here are some of my trips reports from those areas. Photos are at www.pbase.com/annforcier - the Italy photos are in several different galleries.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-the-lakes.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-budapest.cfm
