luvtotravel

In Spring 2017 I plan to spend four weeks in Italy traveling with a friend. We will start on a two-week tour, then a week to travel independently, then a one-week cooking school near Pisa. I have been to Italy five times and have been to most of places we will visit--this will be the first time for my friend. We are both in our late 60s--walking is fine, but strenuous hiking is not what we want.

I am wondering what do to with our free week. We will be taking trains during this time, starting in Venice where the tour ends, and ending in Pisa where the school starts. We will add a few nights in Venice (with Burano/Murano) following the tour. Looking at high speed trains, Bologna seems an appropriate stop between Venice and Pisa (at least on the map). Is there enough to do in Bologna for three or four nights? Excursions outside the city that you would recommend? Any thoughts of alternatives to Bologna for us to consider? We are interested in art/architecture, shopping, wandering and maybe getting lost, Italian food, gardens. My hobby is photography. I do not want to rent a car--been there, done that.

Our tour will stay or stop at the following (cities where we sleep are in caps): ROME (1 night), Orvieto, FLORENCE (4 nights), San Gimignano, Siena, SANTA MARGHERITA (3 nights), Cinque Terre, Portofino, BOLZANO (4 nights), Innsbruck, Lake Garda, VENICE (1 night), Verona. The cooking school will take us touring in the afternoons to Lucca, Viareggio, and Pisa.

I should be able to add to my kitchen magnet collection with all these cities.

I know we're cutting Rome with only one night, but I don't want to add any more nights to this trip. We are confirmed for both the tour and the school.

We would welcome your advice.

Diane

Michael

Faenza has a nice faience museum. And one should not miss the mosaics in the Ravenna churches.

bilboburgler

Michael brings to mind my two favorite things to do in the area.

In addition you have Modena, Ferrara and the walled cities of the Euganian Hills to visit (all by train which is dead easy), plus you could visit the Po valley which has a massive Nature park in the delta, or just go for a bike ride along miles of off road bike paths.

sssteve

Bologna is a lovely town not flooded with tourists like Venice and Florence. We were just there a few months ago. There's plenty to do and see, and for side trips, you can visit Modena (balsamic vinegar), and Parma (parmesan and parma ham), and As Bilbo wrote above, there's also Ferrara, a lovely town which we also visited.

You can read about our trip with the following link:
http://www.travel.stv77.com/emilia/romagna.html

sssteve

One more thing about Bologna: It is considered to be the culinary capital of Italy. Not Florence, not Venice, not Rome not Milan, just neglected and under-visited Bologna!

Sassafrass

For architecture, Vicenza!

neckervd

Art/architecture/History:
Vicenza (Palladio)
Cremona, Modena, Ferrara, Ravenna, Faenza, San Marino, San Leo, Parma, Reggio, Modena, Prato, Pistoia.....

Holly_uncasdewar

Bologna is the perfect place to base yourselves for day trips to the above mentioned towns. You should check your dates there now to see if there's a trade show going on. If there is, hotel prices will be at least triple what they normally are. If there is not, then it'll be reasonable, and a lot cheaper on weekends.

italy2012

We just returned from a 4 week trip to Italy and spent 4 nights in Bologna. I did not fall in love with Bologna as I did many of the other cities and towns we visited but the food was delicious! We did a "foodie tour" which went to a Parmagiano Reggiano production facility, a Modena Vinegar producer and a Parma Ham producer. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing how each of these food products are produced. We also took day trips to Parma and Modena--by train-- and really liked these towns. If you are into cars, there is the Ferrari museum (and a driving experience I think). We did not do this tour.

ElendilPickle

Would your friend be interested in spending more time in Rome?

Lee Ann

kawh

bologna is a fantastic base. lots to do there (university town... culture... tourist sites... food) but also a great base for nearby towns.

kybourbon

>>> I did not fall in love with Bologna as I did many of the other cities and towns we visited <<<

I've been there recently and didn't love it either.

>>>I am wondering what do to with our free week.<<<

Do you want to spend the entire week in one location or split it?

mocha_dolce

It's a pity the tour doesn't spend more time in Rome, at least for the benefit of your friend. Rome is like London...in that it would be hard to tire of. And for a first time visitor, it has so many iconic sights.

luvtotravel

Thank you all for so many suggestions. If possible, we would add more time. Rome, of course, would be great, but the tour starts there and all the other stops are in northern Italy and so is the school. I don't want to head south after the tour and then north again for the class. The tour offers a post-extension of three nights in Rome, but that would increase our trip by three nights.

I especially like the idea of Vicenza. Looking at train schedules, we could also extend time in Venice and go back for a couple of more nights in Florence before the class. Or, spend a couple of nights in Lucca. Tough choices, but it's all Italy, so we can't make a bad decision.

So many places, it is hard to plan this logistically so it makes sense. Thanks for sending me these ideas -- the research begins here.

Diane

Gwendolynn

So many options... but I'm one of those who would add time to Venice.