10 day trip to Italy August-September, 2013
Jan 5th, 2013, 02:59 AM
#22
The Holiday Inn in Plymouth [UK] has some rooms with 2 double beds. for all i know the one in Rome does too. Here's the link:
http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/gb/en/reservation
you might have to send them a n e-mail.
http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/gb/en/reservation
you might have to send them a n e-mail.
Jan 5th, 2013, 04:23 AM
#23
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Diggie - Here is the email for Nathalie: [email protected] and some comments about her on tripadvisor.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...i_Tuscany.html
She really is a delight!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...i_Tuscany.html
She really is a delight!
Jan 5th, 2013, 05:55 AM
#24
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I agree with Nylle. It would be a real shame to miss Sienna. I did a similar trip starting in Pisa, stopping at San Gimignano, Sienna and Rome. I wouldn't have missed Sienna for the world. The Piazza del Campo took my breath away.
Jan 5th, 2013, 07:25 AM
#25
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You started out with a good well-spaced itinerary. Resist the temptation to add stops. Everybody you know who has been to Italy or dreamed of Italy will have suggestions or must-sees. You can go to Siena if you drop Florence -- or see Florence on a daytrip from Siena.
Booking.com is another good site for hotels. Only people who have stayed in a hotel can review it. A hotel's location is very important to your enjoyment of your trip. In Rome the Piazza Navona/Pantheon/Spanish Steps area is the most central to the main sites. Florence is smaller so you can stay in the Oltrarno as well as around the Duomo/Santa Croce/Piazza Signoria. Venice can get very crowded so we prefer to stay away from the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto, the most crowded areas. But it's very important to stay in Venice proper to get the full experience -- not in Mestre or on the Lido. But Venice is small; everywhere is walkable.
Booking.com is another good site for hotels. Only people who have stayed in a hotel can review it. A hotel's location is very important to your enjoyment of your trip. In Rome the Piazza Navona/Pantheon/Spanish Steps area is the most central to the main sites. Florence is smaller so you can stay in the Oltrarno as well as around the Duomo/Santa Croce/Piazza Signoria. Venice can get very crowded so we prefer to stay away from the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto, the most crowded areas. But it's very important to stay in Venice proper to get the full experience -- not in Mestre or on the Lido. But Venice is small; everywhere is walkable.
Jan 17th, 2013, 08:54 AM
#28
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Stay in the center of Rome, not near the train station. It's convenient for traveling but not the best area and you'll still need/want to take a bus to get to the major sites. The historic center of Rome is very walkable and there is a hop-on-hop-off shuttle that circles the area.
Get yourself a map - good choices at Barnes and Noble or online.
I love "MapEasy's Guidemap To..." (Rome, Florence, Paris, etc.) It has lots of detail and shows where hotels, restaurants, banks, shopping districts, sites, etc are. That way you can see your hotel in relation to the major sites or if there are places to eat nearby. They are also water and tear resistant, great for traveling.
Trains are the way to travel in Italy. They are fast, fairly clean, and on time.
I'd suggest doing a tour in each city. A 2-3 hour walking tour, or evening Renaissance or mystery tour, will give you lots of info and you'll see the main points of interest. Rome City Walks are free and depart every evening from the Keats/Shelley house at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. Definitely use a tour guide at the Forum, as mentioned above it's just a jumble of ruins if you don't know what you're looking at.
Don't worry about planning every moment, half the fun is wandering, people watching, sitting at a cafe and enjoying an espresso or glass of wine!
Get yourself a map - good choices at Barnes and Noble or online.
I love "MapEasy's Guidemap To..." (Rome, Florence, Paris, etc.) It has lots of detail and shows where hotels, restaurants, banks, shopping districts, sites, etc are. That way you can see your hotel in relation to the major sites or if there are places to eat nearby. They are also water and tear resistant, great for traveling.
Trains are the way to travel in Italy. They are fast, fairly clean, and on time.
I'd suggest doing a tour in each city. A 2-3 hour walking tour, or evening Renaissance or mystery tour, will give you lots of info and you'll see the main points of interest. Rome City Walks are free and depart every evening from the Keats/Shelley house at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. Definitely use a tour guide at the Forum, as mentioned above it's just a jumble of ruins if you don't know what you're looking at.
Don't worry about planning every moment, half the fun is wandering, people watching, sitting at a cafe and enjoying an espresso or glass of wine!
Jan 17th, 2013, 09:29 AM
#29
I'm crazy for Venice, so would spend more time there than the way most people divide up their itinerary. Look at Pensione La Calcina. It's a lovely hotel in a reasonably central but quiet location on the guidecca canal.
Jan 17th, 2013, 11:11 AM
#30
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I agree with suze about Venice - so many folk just spend a day or two there and think they've seen it and in some ways they have since IMO the main sight in Venice is the visual feast to me what is the world's most beautiful city presents.
But just taking a boat up the Grand' Canal or a gondola ride and seeing St Mark's Square is only touching the tip of the iceberg here - getting off the main beaten tourist track ('Venice is sinking under the weight of tourism' is the old adage) - like the often elbow-elbow main route between the train station/Pza Roma parking lots.bus depot to St Mark's Square - getting off this packed route leads you to a very quiet Venice with really neat areas with few tourists.
The area at the eastern tip of the main island, down by the old port is one such place - there are many and some islands like Torcello can be eerily quiet as well as can be Guidecca (sp?) - so yes leave some time to just wander and take boats to the islands, etc.
But just taking a boat up the Grand' Canal or a gondola ride and seeing St Mark's Square is only touching the tip of the iceberg here - getting off the main beaten tourist track ('Venice is sinking under the weight of tourism' is the old adage) - like the often elbow-elbow main route between the train station/Pza Roma parking lots.bus depot to St Mark's Square - getting off this packed route leads you to a very quiet Venice with really neat areas with few tourists.
The area at the eastern tip of the main island, down by the old port is one such place - there are many and some islands like Torcello can be eerily quiet as well as can be Guidecca (sp?) - so yes leave some time to just wander and take boats to the islands, etc.
