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Venice > Garda > Verona > Bologna thoughts

Venice > Garda > Verona > Bologna thoughts

Old Apr 27th, 2017, 01:05 PM
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Venice > Garda > Verona > Bologna thoughts

I have travelled to Italy a few times now but have never visited the north east of the country. I am planning a trip to the north east for my wife's 30th birthday. Like many Italophile's we love the food, wine, landscape and architecture.

My wife is keen to be in Venice (day 2) for her birthday and we are after a period of relaxation in the middle (Garda is the plan). I have put an itinerary together but am after some thoughts on it; which areas to look at staying in and transport tips.

Fly into Venice
Day 1-3 Venice
Train
Day 3-7 Lake Garda
Bus
Day 7-9 Verona
Train
Day 9-13 Bologna
(Day trips by train to Ferrara, Parma & Ravenna)
Fly out of Bologna
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 01:08 PM
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You are flying back and forth FROM?

Time of year? Are you planning to be in Verona during the opera season (mid June to late August)?
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 01:14 PM
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Sorry I forgot to say. We are travelling the first 2 weeks of July. We are planning on taking a trip to the opera once in Verona. Is it as impressive as it looks?
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 01:30 PM
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The Arena in Verona is wonderful. As for the opera, I would get the best seats you can afford, because (at least when we were there) the cheaper seats had a high component of people who were just there to say they'd done it. They were snapping flash photos from 200 feet away, even though they had been strictly forbidden to do so. Even near our seats, which were the "poltrone", there were people talking throughout, which detracted from our experience. It's certainly not like seeing an opera at La Scala.

The cheapest seats, on the stone steps, are not numbered, and people lined up hours before to stampede for the best seats.
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 01:44 PM
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Thank you. That is very useful.

The seats are as follows...

POLTRONISSIME GOLD
€189.00

POLTRONISSIME
€158.00

POLTRONE
€120.00

POLTRONCINA CENTRALE DI GRAD
€97.00

POLTRONCINA DI GRADINATA
€75.00

GRADINATA SETTORE E
€26.50

GRADINATA SETTORE D
€26.50

GRADINATA SETTORE F
€22.00

GRADINATA SETTORE C
€22.00

Gradinata sounds like a free for all. I don't fancy spending all day querying for seats or fighting for a view so that is out.

Does the Poltroncina tickets guarantee a seat? Or is it wise to spend the extra for a Poltrone ticket?
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 01:51 PM
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Having been to the opera in Verona for the past six seasons I'll simply add my opinion and you can decide if it is worth much.

Tickets for the upcoming season went on sale literally months ago and if you go on-line to this site www.geticket.it and register you can buy performance tickets that way.

The Poltronissime Gold tickets which are front orchestra center are the most expensive of all (depends on the particular performance) and can easily run 170 Euro each.

I cannot comment on what kind of people sit in the "cheaper" seats on the "steps" (you can rent pads to sit on) since I have never used them. It is amazing what people can learn by simply LOOKING at others isn't it?

I can tell you that NOBODY was talking during any of our performances at those prices.

It is not like LaScala for sure..it is much much BIGGER; the stage width is enormous and there can easily eb several hundred people on stage in some scenes; the set pieces have to be lifted up over the arena walls with cranes since they are so large. The place holds around 15,000 spectators.

New last year (and for some folks "finally"): surtitles in English!!!

The orchestra is also extensive with about 60 strings alone.

Impressive? If you enjoy opera I'd say it is worth at least one performance.

More importantly, the hotels can fill up during the season so be aware.
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 01:52 PM
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YES, Gold definitely is in a NUMBERED seat.
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 02:08 PM
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Train tips?

All your trips can be done on regional trains that are dirt cheap and do not even take reservations - just hop on - no reason to buy tickets in advance (and reasons not to)- for lots of info on Italian trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Faster trains on those routes would save little time as your distances are short but on faster trains you can indeed save a little money booking in advance - www.trenitalia.com. Discounted tickets inevitably have restrictions so like booking a specific train in stone -no changing at that price.

Since you are staying mainly in cities where cars are a liability - can't even be driven into many city centers and Lake Garda where boats go everywhere and buses where they do not - forego any notions of car rental IMO.

4 days seems a lot to me for Garda and if run out of things to do you can day trip to wonderful places like Vincenza
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 02:40 PM
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Thank you for the train information. I have always travelled through Italy by train and I have never failed to be impressed.

Vicenza does interest me. I like the idea of cutting the trip to Garda short by a day and using it to travel from Verona to Vicenza. It seems easier to reach Vicenza from Verona than from Garda.
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 03:03 PM
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The only way you are going to get from Lake Garda by rail to about anywhere is to travel from Peschiera Del Garda and you'll undoubtedly go through Verona on the way but I gather you already know that so I'll leave you to it.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 03:25 AM
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We had either the poltrone or the poltronissime seats, definitely not the gold. The poltroncine are little plastic seats like those in a stadium. On the "gradinata" means resting on the steps. All of these are numbered seats. The ones without mention of poltroncine mean you'll be sitting on the steps. I don't think any of those are numbered. I believe you can rent cushions.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 04:09 AM
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I just want to make sure you know it could be very warm and possibly downright hot where you are going in July. It's not inevitable you will get a heat wave, but if you do, it will be very very noticeable, especially since you are going to a very humid part of Italy. Bologna could end up the most tolerable destination if it is very hot because most of the city has covered walkways that provide shade and create breezes.

Perhaps both of you shrug your shoulders at the thought of humid heat. Many travelers do. If for either of you it's a total mood killer, consider ditching Emilia-Romagna for the wine country of Trento & the beauty of the Dolomiti. July is the perfect time to go, and the sights are spectacular. Wine is great & food is fascinating if you know what to order & where to go.

Trento & Bolzano are easy to reach by train from Verona, but to see the most jaw-dropping scenery, it makes sense to rent a car. Either rent it in Verona and head to Trento & the Dolomiti via the eastern shore of Lago di Garda, or rent the car in either Trento or Bolzano.

Even if you prefer to stick to Emilia-Romagna, you might consider a day trip to Trento instead of Vicenza if it is very hot. That goes double if your main interest in seeing Vicenza is to visit Palladio's villas. Those are not easy to reach on foot (although other Palladian architecture can be found in the city center). A day trip to Trento -- one hour from Verona -- offers the possibly of lovely mountain scenery & an excellent castle (be sure to the Eagle's Tower) plus an attractive grand piazza with fine architecture & good wine & food.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 04:44 AM
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Here's another thing you need to know about Verona opera performances: they don't start until 9PM or later; they often last three hours.

In terms of the weather for the performance anyway, the festival gives itself 90 minutes to delay the start of any performance due to rain, etc., and I can tell you from personal experience they will use the full 90 minutes as necessary.

If after 90 minutes the weather remains inclement only then will you be offered a ticket exchange. Under no circumstances once a performance has begun are ANY refunds given even if the weather forces a performance to stop.

This has never been much of an issue for us although two years ago we had a lot of rain and more than once had to wait for a performance to begin as we sat under umbrellas. All part of the fun.

It really does help when one reads what is posted above sometimes.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 12:26 PM
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Here's another thing you need to know about Verona opera performances: they don't start until 9PM or later; they often last three hours.>

How many breaks do they have and is there a bar/refreshments sold?

Cheers!
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 01:17 PM
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We went to the Verona Opera and sat in the numbered plastic seats but still in the cheap section. We saw Carmen which was four acts (!) and an hour per act (like 45 minutes act and 15 minute break) so four hours and we got out past 1am and our butts were sore from those seats! Even with cushions it's brutal. But an experience you'll never forget.
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 01:18 PM
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Oh and the bathrooms! Obviously the arena was not built with restrooms so they've tucked them in. One woman's bathroom had one regular toilet and one squat toilet. For an opera where people had long dresses and heels! There was some cursing in that line...
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Old Apr 28th, 2017, 01:45 PM
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To answer the "how many breaks" question: usually there is a "break" between every act but that depends on the particular work.

Yes, those bathrooms are legendary and perhaps there were there during Roman times, who knows?

Regardless of the Festival's yearly written "advisory" about dressing like you belong in the gold seats, there is a vast array of attire and that includes the people who are In the "gold" section at the very front.

And there are a number of "characters" who seem to appear in the audience year after year whom we have now begun to recognize.

As I said upthread you can plan on being there at least three hours, sometimes more.
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