tedgale

Leaving Venice by car on March 15, need to be in Tuscany -- just south of Florence-- by evening.

I'm no expert on these areas. How would you structure your day of driving, to wring the most out of the drive?

Brenta canal? Palladian villas? Ravenna, for the mosiacs? Any suggestions welcome.

LoveItaly

Hi tedgale, have you been to Bologna before? If not I would stop in Bologna and have lunch there and walk around the shopping arcades a bit. Bologna is a beautiful city and has wonderful food. I am sorry that I got rid of all my information from travels to Italy or haven't bothered to keep journals so can't give you the names of restaurants but some searches, or hopefully recommendations from others, should give you a good guide. Have fun!!

nytraveler

While Bologna is directly on the way Verona is not too far off - and is lovely, charming - a great place to stop for lunch, see the opera arena and Juliet's house/balcony.

Traviata

We make that trip often from Vicenza, over to Padova, then head south to Tuscany...be sure to watch your time when you make a stop...if you are going to the hills, some of the towns can be daunting to approach in the dark.

tedgale

Three good suggestions.

Is one of these cities smaller or easier to navigate than another? I feel some slight nervousness about negotiating an unknown city if it is large and congested (ugly memories of Nice and Toulouse last October!!)

Traviata

Tedgale,

You didn't say how much time you will have in Tuscany..if you don't have much, you may want to concentrate your sightseeing in the Tuscany area...it is really beautiful and has sooo much to see and do...that would have you driving straight through with enough daylight time to enjoy at least one smaller town...and you would already be where you need to be as it gets darker..

rex

Verona is a surprisingly big city with considerable traffic to get into the center (Pzza Bra, for example). Vicenza is a small town, and to get to see La Rtonoda (of Palladio fame) is pretty easy - - it's in a surprisingly residential-type area, and the signage is underwhelming (as well as the parking once you get there).

Best wishes,

Rex

ira

Hi t,

Check the route from Venice to Florence via Ravenna at www.michelin.com. Click "avoiding tolls".

tedgale

Traviata: If I could just get the Disney elephants to DISPPEAR from my screen I'd respond that we have 6 nights in Tuscany, in Barberino Val d'Elsa so we'll have lots of time for visiting central Tuscany.

(Southern Tuscany we visited last March -- a great success hence our speedy return visit to sample the more northern sites.)

Ira and Rex: thanks for the suggestions. I'm inclined, as I indicated before, to take small over big...

...and I will check via michelin, which many extol as superior to mapquest (I find mappy.com pretty impressive, too)

giannetta

We drove from Venice to Todi (in Umbria) and stopped on the way in Padua to see the Scrovegni Chapel and have lunch. It was a good place to stop as the Scrovegni is quite spectacular. It's not very far from Venice so you'd do most of your driving after the visit to Padua.

macanimals

In answer to your specific question, I would not deviate too far from your direct route. Not sure how you incorporate Ravenna into that route as your destination pretty much requires you to go to Florence and take the S2 south to Barberino. Bologna would be a great and logistically easy place to explore enroute.
BTW--We stayed in a villa very near to Barberino Val D'Elsa last May for two weeks. There were 16 of us and Fattoria Cinciano was fabulous and we enjoyed it very much. Don't disregard all the "white road" possibilities--we found easy access to many of the Chianti villages, wineries and sights using these small roads. We loved the small towns of Tavernelle, Colle Val D'Elsa and Certaldo. Some very nice wine tastings and ambience. The Chianti Classico map put out by the consortium is a must. Have fun. Paul

tedgale

Thanks for this. I am very fond of Padua though I have not been there since the -- gulp! -- 70s.

Very glad, too, to learn that Certaldo and C. Val d'Elsa are worth the trip.

We thought of dining at a hotel/restaurant I read of in Certaldo Alto -- also perhaps at Il Pepolino in Sant'Appiano, outside Barberino....