RonZ

If visiting Parma, by all means have a meal at La Forchetta.

The Albergo Centrale in Bologna is an excellent hotel and very reasonably priced.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi everyone,

Ok. So we have our trip "almost" planned. Your suggestions are most welcome but we still need some help fine tuning.

We have booked our hotels for the entire trip, even overlapping some reservations to have a few options.

We will arrive in Nice and immediately take a car to Parma, about a 4 hour drive, where we will stay 3 nights (we have reserved a room in a beautiful medieval castle about 30km from Parma and rooms in a hotel in the city of Parma; which should we choose?)

We are then driving to Verona for 3 nights, which is about an hour and half drive. We have heard so many wonderful things about Verona and it does appear to have many things to see. However, is that one night to many?

We then head to Bologna for 4 nights, which is also about an hour and a half drive. We initially had reserved 6 nights in Bologna but took a few days from there to allocate to Verona. We want to see Ravenna and also tour the Lamborghini factory. Should we take a night off the 3 in Parma and add it to Bologna?

We then drive back to Nice (about a 4-5 hour drive) and stay there for 5 nights, before leaving for home. We would like to spend some time at the beach and also go see Eze and Villefranche. Is 5 nights enough in Nice?

As well, would it be possible to take a day beach trip from either Parma to the west coast or from Bologna to the east coast (both are about an hour drive) or should we wait until Nice for some beach time. Are there be some nice beaches near Nice that you can recommend?

Sorry for the overload of information, but we really want to make a final decision already...lol

Thanks.


Andrea

sandralist

Were I trying to accomplish your itinerary, and couldn't change my air tickets, then I would fly to Nice and then fly to Venice, take a train to Verona and begin the trip there. Or I would fly from Nice to Rome and take the fast train to Bologna and begin the trip there. I would use trains exclusively, and on my way back to Nice, but I would stop one night along the Italian Riviera, just to break up the long trip.

In mid-August, the drive from Nice to Parma is going to take you longer than 4 hours due to traffic. Even at quieter times of year, that is a rather grueling drive, with hundreds of tunnels and a mountain pass. I hope you are not considering driving it jetlagged. Even if you want to begin your trip in Parma and stick to ground transportation, highly recommend not renting a car -- which will only be a hinderance for the itinerary you have outlined . If you do rent a car, and you are arriving jet-lagged, I recommend taking a train upon landing to the coast of Italy, getting a night's sleep, and picking up the car the next day. If you are determined to rent the car out of Nice, don't attempt to drive all the way to Parma your first day if you are jet lagged.

As for your more specific questions about Parma: If you give up the idea of hassling with the car, then keep the city center reservation. If you are determined to have a car, then go to the castle. Be careful driving into Parma or any of the small towns in the area to know where the ZTLs are located.

Verona is a marvelous place, so I don't think several nights is too long there.

You are so likely to find a great many things closed in August around Parma that I think it might make sense for you to shave a night off there and give it to Bologna. However, you might consider seeing Ravenna after Verona, spending 1 night there, and then going to Bologna.

I would suggest that you leave Bologna for either the airport in Venice or the airport in Rome and take a flight to Nice. If you want to drive or take a train back to France, I recommend spending a night on the Italian coast, just to break up the long journey.

Once you are back in Nice, if you still have the car, you should get rid of it immediately and use the train to visit Villefranche and Eze rather than try to find parking around there. You don't need a car in Nice.

dfourh

Adding to Sandralist's excellent detail:

You can make that drive to Parma easier by overnighting somewhere along the way and shaving the day off Parma on that end; Bordighera, San Remo, Albenga, even ducking down to Camogli or Sta. Margherita might make your trip less grueling and add a new dimension.

You can play it by ear in Verona - - if you get itchy you can always take a day drive - - Lake Garda, Vicenza, Mantova, and Padua all beckon.

As far as beaches from Bologna, those east on the coast just outside Ravenna are easy and expansive; if you go south instead, Rimini is the quintessential Italian beach resort - - a cultural experience in its own write. Going west would be more trouble. Mid-August is peak beach season, but the eastern beaches are huge (they are visited by Italians generally in the morning 10am till about 1pm, then mostly deserted till around 4pm-7pm).

The best beach near Nice is Villefranche sur mer - - it's gorgeous; the stone beaches in Nice proper are fun if you like diving into pounding waves and can bear walking on large stones; Antibes has a couple small beaches but visiting Antibes is really worthwhile, with the beach thrown in as a sidelight.

ekscrunchy

tt