My husband and I will be in Venice for 4 days & then plan to spend another 4 days traveling the Veneto. We plan to see Padua and Verona, and are wondering whether to take the train to Ravenna or to spend a day or 2 seeing Asolo and Bassano del Grappa? We tend to prefer charming towns to museums...
Any feedback on this itinerary would be appreciated!
Mara

Asolo is totally charming! Ravenna is not what I would call charming, but it has four churches with beautiful mosaics. I haven't been to Bassano. Marostica is close by and is also an interesting small town.

My wife and I spent five days in Asolo last May and we loved it. We stayed at the Villa Cipriani right in town. The rooms were a bit on the small side but the grounds of the hotel were spectacular. We would recommend staying at the hotel to anyone, especially if you use Starwood points to get a substantial discount. We would not recommend the restaurant in the hotel, local food was much better and cheaper. In particular the breakfast was shockingly expensive and nothing special.
We also enjoyed Bassano very much and found Asolo a great base to explore Bassano and Vicenza as well. If you would like, we would be happy to e-mail more specific information on sights and restaurants etc. in the area.

I agree with Sally regarding Asolo over Ravenna. I lived near Venice for three years and took many weekend trips to Aoslo and Basssano del Grappa. There is a very good restaurant in Asolo called Due Mori. Also there is another nice hotel called Albergo al Sole -- http://www.albergoalsole.com/
Bassano is a very lovely town with no shortage of places to sample grappa! You will not be disappointed with those two towns.

Thanks for the help, everyone. Biz, I'd be happy to receive more tips by e-mail from you. We'll be using public transportation so that might limit us a bit. You can e-mail me at [email protected] at your leisure.
Grazie!

We traveled to Venice (and loved the Hotel Ai due Fanali), and to Verona, Bassano, Asolo & Sirmione. It was fabulous, rich in history, beauty & charm. Our only bad experience was the Hotel Duse in Asolo, where I awoke in the night to find bedbugs! Turns my stomach to remember.....