RuthP133

Help! I am trying to come up with a 3 week self driving itinerary for Italy but am feeling so overwhelmed with all the options, I wish I had more time! I have been to Amalfi coast and NW Italy before, and this time around I want to explore some of the quieter regions (whilst also hitting some of the bucket list areas!) I have decided I can justify one week in each region, but other than Tuscany, which other two regions should I choose? My partner and I love food, exploring, culture, architecture and countryside. My initial plan was to spend the whole three weeks in Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche, but I am now worried these might be all a bit too similar? (Please correct me if I'm wrong!) Other ideas I had were to base ourselves in Verona for a week and see Venice and Lake Garda on day trips, then Tuscany and one other (but which one?!) for the remaining two, or alternatively, Tuscany, Puglia and one other from my list. I have a guide book and have done a lot of reading other's posts but I am finding it difficult to grasp the general feel of areas because of the pure volume of sites and attractions in each!

​​​​Can anyone break these regions down for me? Offer any suggestions or good bases within these regions? we don't want to stay in big cities (I know Verona is large, but if we stay here we will likely use public transport and pick up the hire car when we head to the countryside), ideally we would like to stay in smallish towns that are lovely enough for us to stay the whole week, but also good jump off points to other sights. Not particularly interested in beaches as we live near one.

Thanks in advance!


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Sassafrass

My first advice: do not base in Verona to do day trips, especially to Venice!
One magical time in Venice is at night, after most day trippers are gone and it is quiet. In places you hear only your footsteps and the lapping of water against boats, perhaps soft music somewhere, but no traffic.
I do like Verona at night also, but only for a night.
I love Vicenza day and night, also like Padua a lot, but still would not want to do day trips to Venice. Late Summer through Fall is a great time for Venice. I would stay in Venice and plan to visit Burano, Murano and Torcello and perhaps do day trips from Venice. If you do not mind changing hotels, stay at least 4 nights (3 days) Venice and 3 someplace else, maybe Lake Garda. Personally, I would stay the week in Venice and do a couple of day trips from there, depending on your other interests.

HappyTrvlr

One trip we visited Lake Garda and then drove up to the Dolomites basing in Ortisei. Spectacular! Then we drove south on the other coast of Lake Garda, again staying one night. We ended in Bologna which was the perfect ending. Take a look at the Piemonte too, similar to Tuscany with fewer visitors.
Another trip was Puglia and Sicily, a month. Both wonderful!
We have returned to Tuscany four times but in the future we will return to Alba in the Piemonte.

RuthP133

Thanks Sassafrass, this has convinced me to rethink any Verona plan I had. Do you have any tips on areas to stay in Venice?

RuthP133

Thanks HappyTrvlr, I have visited the Piedmont region before (beautiful!) and fancied somewhere more southern. Do you have any tips for Tuscany in terms of a good base? Did you travel into Le Marche or Umbria?

HappyTrvlr

We have stayed in several places in Tuscany but mostly in the Chianti region Castellina, Panzano.. Other locations were Lucca, Cortona. In Umbria we spent two weeks in Spello.

ANUJ

My planning thread for Le Marche and Umbria also has a short TR at the end which may help. Visiting Le Marche and Umbria

I dont think there's huge overlap with Tuscany (which we have separately visited), and the proximity of these regions to each other does make this a sensible grouping.