rxdawg84

We have a small group (6-8 persons) traveling to N Italy from Munich and Innsbruck via train. We are planning around 7-9 days in Italy and will fly out of Venice, Milan or Roma. We've only been to Florence in N Italy. Does anyone have suggestions on cities to visit and fun activities. We enjoy historic sites, cycling, people watching, vino and gastronomical delights.

pctraveler

That is an awfully broad question. All the cities you mention would offer many and varied opportunities for the activities you listed (historic sites, cycling, people watching, vino and food). In order to get the most information from the folks on this forum, you might consider narrowing your choices to afford us the opportunity to make some more tailored suggestions.

All of these cities are great, IMHO.

goldenautumn

What time of year are you going? If it is April or before, you might want to go all the way down to Rome for the most favorable weather. There is actually a tremendous amount of things to do and see in and around Rome, especially if you include the Tivoli and Ostia Antica. You can ride bicycles down the Appian way. For a group as large as yours, one enormous apartment or two in the same building could give you a lot of flexibility.

If you are coming in warmer months, then the areas around Verona, Valeggio sul Mincio and Mantova can be great for cycling, food and wine. You can often find wineries and farms in the region that have bicycles for everybody, and also cook dinner for you at night. You can put together some nice visits to marvelous small castle towns and cheese and wine producers in the region, plus beautiful art sights. Another pretty good place for cycling, food and art is Parma/Modena/Mantova (but the wine isn't as good as it is around Verona!).

rxdawg84

I should have mentioned that we are going in mid to late September. We are leaning toward staying 4-6 nights in Verona, Bologna or Mantova so we can take multiple day trips from there. Then, since we've never been to Venice, we are considering a stay in Veneto but don't know if we will stay in Venice or the surrounding area.
Once we finalize the 'base' towns I'll drill down for more details such as restaurants, day trips, etc.

styrx

We stayed 4 nights in Bologna and did day trip to nearby towns like Modena, Parma, Verona and even Venice with the local train. The train was cheap and they run frequently. Ideally you can set base in Verona and visit Venice if you want to save on accommodation cost, as staying in Venice is expensive. And base at bologna to visit the nearby towns, thereafter you can choose to travel towards Rome or Milan, depends on how many more days you have left and where you are flying off from. My 2 weeks Italy trip report has gotten a section on Bologna and its neighboring towns, you can check it out if you need some idea.
http://www.travelathousandmiles.com/italy/