roamer

We will make our annual 2 week visit to Venice the end of April. We have a few days before Venice, and need advice on what nearby cities to visit. Padua? Verona? Vicenza? Bologna? We enjoy art, architecture, history, food and wine. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

HappyTrvlr

We took a day trip from Venice to Padua. On another trip we returned to do visit more of the Veneto and stayed in Vicenza as a base for the area which worked well. Beautiful city. Next, we visited Verona, a gem.. We loved both Vicenza and Verona but are glad we saw Padua on a day trip.
We visited many of Palladio's beautiful villas.Make sure you include a day or more in Bassano de Grappa.

Saraho

We also loved Asolo.

Aramis

You win with any of those choices.

Top of the heap for a couple of your interest, IMO;

Architecture - Vicenza; especially if you are fan of the Palladian style - he built the place

Food - Bologna; "a la Bolognese" is something to be revered

My personal favourite is Verona. Some of the most beautiful and unique cathedrals and basilicas (which are "art" to me but I thought I might really offend some fans of the other places if I listed Verona as tops in art) ) concentrated in one small place that I have ever visited. And Verona just has a really nice laid back take it easy kind of feel.

Janetd5

Another vote for Vicenza! While staying in Venice this past October, I did a day trip to Vicenza specifically to see the interior of Palladio's Villa Rotonda. Since it was only open Wednesday mornings (10 to noon) - that's the day I went. If this is important to you, check the opening times beforehand. Another villa nearby is also open for viewing. And in town, don't miss Palladio's Theatro Olympia. Wonderful!

CUFFLNX

Padua and Trieste!

Sassafrass

Another vote for Vincenza. I am always raving about it. I love this little city/town. As Janetd5 said, the Theatro Olympia is wonderful. Good food also. If you want to say there, I will look up a place I liked.

Ackislander

Padua for the Scrovegni Chapel and its Giotto Paintings and the other sites listed in the Wikipedia article.

Vicenza, as above.

Verona, where I agree with Aramis wholeheartedly. It may be my favorite small city in Italy, certainly in Northern Italy. The Basilica of San Zeno (Wikipedia) is an outstanding art monument that remains an active and crowded parish church.

Parking in all these places is terrible, so take the train, particularly convenient in Padua.

qwovadis

Have done all the above underwhelming compared to Venice.
2 hours by train or car west of Venice is Lake Garda
www.sirmione.com the pearl of Garda is beautiful
castle roman villa of poet Catulla termes great food
wine. Hotel Eden my fav Ezra Pound stayed there
also Gearge Orwell www.booking.com paid 120 euro
for a lake view suite there May 2 years ago including
an awesome breakfast right on the Lake.

Happy Planning!

zeppole

GIven Italy's new fast trains, you are sometimes "closer" to Venice coming from Torino than you are taking a local train from someplace that looks closer on a map.

What kind of architecture and art do you like? What kind of food and wine do you like? A town like Ravenna offers spectacular sightseeing and a quite interesting seafood and it simply couldn't be more different that the Palladian treausres and cuisine of Vicenza. (Plus, I really think you need a car if you want to seriously tour the architecture of Vicenza).

If you are willing to rent a car, the hills around Modena and Bologna have reputations for extraordinary food, while Bologna is now seen to be well past its glory days except for its markets (not its restaurants). Still, it's a quite fascinating place if you grab onto its university history. You have to be really studious to find wonderful wine in the Emilia-Romagna.

Torino is not at all out of reach and has exceptional red wine and food, plus a huge pile of unusual museums (movies, cars, Egyptian) and some of Italy's showiest palaces to rival Versailles.

Another great place for food and wine is fascinating Udine. Easy train ride to Venice. Marvelous architecture. Easy connections to nearby pretty towns. Killer wine. Killer food.

Of course, Verona is lovely and just about anyplace you go in Italy is worth your time. "Art" and "architecture" are broad categories in Italy. So are "food" and "wine." Can you be more specific?

roamer

Thanks to all of you for your excellent responses and suggestions. Now I think we need more than a few days before we settle into Venice! I know that I wasn't very specific in my mention of art, architecture, food and wine. I don't know enough about the first two to be more specific - just that we enjoy the classics - Renassiance art, Palladian architecture - the Academia more than the Peggy Guggenheim (though it is very special,also). I love to cook, so we stay near the Rialto in Venice and visit it daily. DH is something of a wine connisseur, and received some advice from a barber in Venice who considers the wines of the Veneto considerably underated. (NB - DH makes a point of visiting this barber each time we are in Venice. Not only does he get a fine haircut, but much information on culture, history, wine, as well as the chance to practice his [intermediate level] Italian).
Sassafras, I would appreciate your looking up the place you stayed and enjoyed in Vicenza.

dfourh

Bologna has great food and some great sights, though I find the porticoed streets kind of claustrophobic; I love Ferrara and you can bicycle the whole town - - it is an undiscovered gem and so relaxed, with great food, and you can also get a train from there to Ravenna to see the mosaics; Padua is unforgettable, particularly the Scrovegni Chapel as well as la Basilica di Sant'Antonio - - and the central market is the most sumptious festival of deliciousness ever - - though the city has a kind of tight bustle to it so it is not an easy tourist town; Vicenza not only has a stunning arhcitectural center, but it is relatively un-touristed; even a quick trip up to Bassano del Grappa is nice for a taste of pre-Alpine beauty and blended Italo/German flavors (and Poli grappa); I don't know Verona very well.

roamer

Thanks, dfourth. I'll put Ferrara into the mix we are considering. We do enjoy undiscovered gems! Bassano del Grappa is a must.

ekc

We stayed in Asolo for 3 nights before we went to Venice on our last trip and LOVED it! It was a great base for exploring other charming towns, such as Bassano del Grappa and Cividale. There are also a couple of Palladian villa's near, but we missed them. Really can't recommend it enough!!

franco

Hello roamer! You didn't mention how you will be traveling. If you'll have a car, and if your husband is a wine lover, you should spend a few days in the prosecco region (around Valdobbiadene), which is lovely. Make no mistake: of course most prosecco is supermarket stuff, but there are outstanding sparkling wines to discover there (ask me for addresses if you plan on going), and there's enough excellent art and architecture in easy reach from there: Bassano, Asolo, Treviso, and perhaps best of all, the Tomba Brion in S. Vito di Altivole, Carlo Scarpa's principal work.

No doubt that also Padova, Vicenza, Verona are more than excellent choices, I just wanted to add something less obvious and not so very well-known. But anyway, you as a food addict must visit Padova! Padova is one of Italy's best places for buying great food; what the Rialto market is for fish and vegetables is Padova for everything else: cheese, salami, legumes, rice, everything in stupendous quality and assortment. And besides having great art, Padova is also (nowadays, in marked contrast to, say, 20 years ago) an extraordinarily agreeable city. But you can also do that from Venice, easily and cheaply by bus from Piazzale Roma. Everytime I'm in Venice, I go to Padova for at least half a day, and return laden with delicacies. I love it! And don't miss Italy's best hot chocolate at (justly famous, also for reasons of history and architecture) Caffè Pedrocchi.

roamer

Franco, thank you so much for your response! I haven't seen you in the Forum lately - hope all is well with you. You have always given excellent suggestions, and I have made many of your rercipes while in Venice. If you have a new recipe you are enjoying, please share.
We had not planned to rent a car until we leave Venice and head for France, but now we are reconsidering. I just printed out the guide to The Prosecco wine road from Conegliano to Valdobbiadene, and the area is very appealing. We will definitely do a day trip from Venice to Padova. Is any one day for the markets better than another? Is there a central market like Rialto?
Again, my sincere thanks for your help!

franco

roamer, yes, important question: Wednesday afternoons, everything is closed in Padova!
Great stores are to be found throughout the historical center, but you must absolutely go Sotto Salone, i.e. in the vaults of the historic Town Hall (called the Salone, not very surprisingly), which is by the way an important monument also in terms of architecture: there, you'll find a wealth incredibly great food shops - cheese and salami, above all. My favourite is "Da Roberto - Casa del Parmigiano", http://www.daroberto.com

All is very well with me, thank you for asking. I've just become a bit lazy in answering "how do I get from Venice to the airport at 6 am" questions lately.

roamer

Thank you, Franco. Happy all is well with you. We will definitely not go to Padova on Wednesday, and definitely will seek out Sotto Salone and Da Roberto. Can't wait!

LoveItaly

Hello roamer, if you are in Congeliano I hope you have the time to take the short drive up to the castle of Congeliano which is just up the hill from the town. It is beautiful and the view of the surrounding areas is so lovely.

tarquin

The hotel we always use in Vicenza is Due Mori, in the centre just around the corner from the Basilica and a wonderful pastry shop/bar called Sorayu for breakfast. The area is pedestrianised (except for taxis) thus quiet and pleasant with lovely shops and cafes.