DH and I will be there 3 fulls days and another half Day (arrive around noon on a Friday and we leave first thing on a Tuesday.

I know there's so much to see in Venice, that I'm torn about a day trip.

It means a lot to me to visit Udine, although I'm not sure what there is to do there. My mother spent 5 years there while my grandfater was in the service and I would love to go see her old house, etc. It looks like its a two-hour train ride. Not to mention I had dreams to also see Verona while in Venice...

would you do Udine, Verona, neither, both... maybe I could go VERY early to Udine, see it, have lunch and return at a decent hour?

ltilley,

This is the second post I've read today where Udine was mentioned....now I am really interested. Eager to read more about it...

There is more than enough to see in Venice over 3-1/2 days, so I guesss you would have to judge what you would eliminate from your visit in Venice to go to Udine and/or Verona. And whether or not the tradeoff would be worthwhile.

Forgot to answer your last question--I would stay in Venice the entire time. But I have no personal connection to Udine as you do.

I would do Udine OR Verona--not both. You'll have to make the tough decision of which one.

ellenm,

I am considering adding Udine to a fall trip....have never been...have you? If so, what can you share about it???

No, never been to Udine though have read of it as having a taste of another country without leaving Italy.

those who know/have been to Udine... things to do, places to eat. We plan on spending a few hours there I think.

I went online, but didn't find much... I think a couple of my travel books might have a page or two on it....

Traviata, I too heard it's like going to another country... athough I also hear it looks a little like Venice and has a small town charm.

I will try to do more research...there must be some Fodorites who have traveled there and can advise us.... a first hand experience would be nice.

I would stay in Venice the whole time because I think Venice itself is so magical. I've been to Verona, and while I liked it alot, it wasn't a wonderful as Venice.

http://www.discoverfriuli.com/eng/day_tour/udine.html
This was a site I found on Udine last night. I would go because of your family connection no matter how fabulous Venice is and it is. Hope this helps.

Hello Again
One thing I always try to do when I cannot find a lot of information is to go tohttp://flickr.com/and type in the name of the place. There are a lot of really lovely pictures of Udine there. Also I search googles images and then check the web sites listed under to the images to get even more information. Hope this is helpful.

I am possibly going to to a home exchange with someone in the Friuli region, so I too have been researching this area.

wow I had a lot of typos...sorry