Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Malta and Venice...Only One day in each place. What should be not miss???
Feb 1st, 2001, 10:06 AM
#1
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Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Malta and Venice...Only One day in each place. What should be not miss???
Hi Everyone,
You helped me pick my hotel for Venice now I need your help again. My fiancee and I are taking a cruise that starts in Barcelona and goes to Ville France, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Malta and ending in Venice where we are staying 2 extra days. Each stop is only one day and I would love your input on what we should definatley see and what we might want to skip...Thanks so much!!
You helped me pick my hotel for Venice now I need your help again. My fiancee and I are taking a cruise that starts in Barcelona and goes to Ville France, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Malta and ending in Venice where we are staying 2 extra days. Each stop is only one day and I would love your input on what we should definatley see and what we might want to skip...Thanks so much!!
Feb 1st, 2001, 10:34 AM
#2
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Best Wishes for the new couple to be!
The one great thing about your trip is that you do not have to locate your hotel every day and do save yourself some time in that respect.
I would look for car services that you could hire for the day so that you don't waste a lot of time between sites.
What are your interests? Art, history, architecture, shopping? How many hours a day do you actually have to spend in the city?
It sounds like it could be a wonderful trip!
Carry on...
The one great thing about your trip is that you do not have to locate your hotel every day and do save yourself some time in that respect.
I would look for car services that you could hire for the day so that you don't waste a lot of time between sites.
What are your interests? Art, history, architecture, shopping? How many hours a day do you actually have to spend in the city?
It sounds like it could be a wonderful trip!
Carry on...
Feb 1st, 2001, 12:32 PM
#4
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If you go to some of the cruise message boards you can ask for or find recommendations on guides that you can hire for the day or part of the day.
I know people who have done this and the guide met them at the ship
landing area and drove them into town, and then conducted them on an interesting tour.
For your last stop, Venice, do a search on this forum for Venice sightseeing and you will find many suggestions for making the most of short stays.
I also have a file on Venice; if you'd like to see it, email me
I know people who have done this and the guide met them at the ship
landing area and drove them into town, and then conducted them on an interesting tour.
For your last stop, Venice, do a search on this forum for Venice sightseeing and you will find many suggestions for making the most of short stays.
I also have a file on Venice; if you'd like to see it, email me
Feb 2nd, 2001, 05:28 AM
#6
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Hi Andrea. When you stop in Villefranche you can head to Nice, Eze or Monte Carlo or a combination of all three. We went to Eze and Nice via train, you can also go to Monte Carlo. We docked on a Sunday and a lot of shops and restaurants were closed in Nice. I wouldn't recommend Eze by train unless you want to work off the previous night's buffet, it's about an hour walk straight up.
In Rome you will dock in Civitaveccia (sp?) which is about an hour by train, hour and 1/2 by bus, from Rome. If it is your first visit to Rome, I would recommend taking the ship's tour that includes the Sistene Chapel/St. Peter's which I thought was amazing. There should be a trip that goes there and hopefully gives you a bit of free time to see some other things in Rome or doing some shopping/eating. Rome's metro is pretty good so you could go see the Forum or Coliseum if you had some free time. There was one excursion on our ship that was essentially a drive by the sites in Rome and the people who took it were very disappointed.
In Naples, I would highly recommend a visit to Pompeii, I thought it was fascinating and some of the ruins incredibly well preserved. I'm not sure what else the ship would offer, we haven't been to Capri which is probably the other big one.
In Malta, we hopped on one of the buses and went over to Mdina which was interesting and then came back and wandered around Valetta. If you or your fiancee is a history buff, they have several movies that play during the day on Malta's role in WWII that we found interesting. Some of the folks on our ship took a boat trip and enjoyed it.
In Sicily, we opted for the trip out to Taormina which we enjoyed. We opted for just the transportation, it is very easy to get around Taormina on your own as it is not very big. Be sure to visit the ampitheater.
I would recommend trying to visit Barcelona on your own. The pier is a short cab ride from Las Ramblas which you should definitely see. If you enjoy architecture, you will want to see some of the Gaudi designed buildings. My personal Gaudi favorite is Parc Guell which you can reach by metro. You should also try to see Sagrada Familia from the outside, the interior was not finished and is a work in progress so there is no need to go inside. There are a couple of other Gaudi buildings on Passeig de Gracia that are interesting. You should definitely find a place to have tapas (we liked Tapa Tapa on Passeig de Gracia, not far from the Gaudi buildings) for lunch or dinner and spend a bit of time on Las Ramblas doing some people watching.
Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
In Rome you will dock in Civitaveccia (sp?) which is about an hour by train, hour and 1/2 by bus, from Rome. If it is your first visit to Rome, I would recommend taking the ship's tour that includes the Sistene Chapel/St. Peter's which I thought was amazing. There should be a trip that goes there and hopefully gives you a bit of free time to see some other things in Rome or doing some shopping/eating. Rome's metro is pretty good so you could go see the Forum or Coliseum if you had some free time. There was one excursion on our ship that was essentially a drive by the sites in Rome and the people who took it were very disappointed.
In Naples, I would highly recommend a visit to Pompeii, I thought it was fascinating and some of the ruins incredibly well preserved. I'm not sure what else the ship would offer, we haven't been to Capri which is probably the other big one.
In Malta, we hopped on one of the buses and went over to Mdina which was interesting and then came back and wandered around Valetta. If you or your fiancee is a history buff, they have several movies that play during the day on Malta's role in WWII that we found interesting. Some of the folks on our ship took a boat trip and enjoyed it.
In Sicily, we opted for the trip out to Taormina which we enjoyed. We opted for just the transportation, it is very easy to get around Taormina on your own as it is not very big. Be sure to visit the ampitheater.
I would recommend trying to visit Barcelona on your own. The pier is a short cab ride from Las Ramblas which you should definitely see. If you enjoy architecture, you will want to see some of the Gaudi designed buildings. My personal Gaudi favorite is Parc Guell which you can reach by metro. You should also try to see Sagrada Familia from the outside, the interior was not finished and is a work in progress so there is no need to go inside. There are a couple of other Gaudi buildings on Passeig de Gracia that are interesting. You should definitely find a place to have tapas (we liked Tapa Tapa on Passeig de Gracia, not far from the Gaudi buildings) for lunch or dinner and spend a bit of time on Las Ramblas doing some people watching.
Please feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Feb 2nd, 2001, 06:17 AM
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Kris,
Did you take the same cruise as we are going to take? It sounds like the stops are very similar. Did you like it? Was it a good way to see everything. Do you think we will have enough time? Thank you for the information and I might send you an email with some other questions if that is okay.
Thanks Again,
Andrea
Did you take the same cruise as we are going to take? It sounds like the stops are very similar. Did you like it? Was it a good way to see everything. Do you think we will have enough time? Thank you for the information and I might send you an email with some other questions if that is okay.
Thanks Again,
Andrea
Feb 2nd, 2001, 08:58 AM
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Andrea, it's not the same cruise. We did a round trip from Barcelona to Barcelona on RCL, hitting Corsica but not Venice or Naples. We visited Pompeii and Venice on a different trip to Italy.
We liked the cruise as it gave us an opportunity to see places we wouldn't otherwise go to and also the added benefit of not having to repack. The stop I enjoyed least of the ones you are going to was Villefranche. If I had it to do over again, I would have headed to Monte Carlo instead of Nice, especially since it was a Sunday. Eze was kind of quaint but getting there from the train station was a bit strenous although I was glad to get some exercise after all that food!
You will not have enough time in Rome or in Barcelona. I could have spent a week+ and not seen everything in either place. So you have to figure out what it is that you really want to see and then schedule another trip back to take in the rest.
For me in Rome, the highlight was definitely the Sistene Chapel and St. Peter's. I had read a fictionalized account of the life of Michaelangelo before I left (Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy") and I was fascinated with not only the Sistene Chapel but his other marble sculptures in Rome and Florence. Rome also has a bunch of outdoor things to see-the Trevi Fountain, the Forum, the Coliseum. You won't be able to see everything.
Barcelona's charms to me were more in wandering through the city and looking at the architecture and watching people. The Las Ramblas area is great fun, there is also a cathedral near Las Ramblas (not Sagrada Familia) that I was enchanted with. There's a lovely courtyard with geese in it. Forget about the Picasso museum unless you're a fan of his work.
Please feel free to email if you have more specific questions.
We liked the cruise as it gave us an opportunity to see places we wouldn't otherwise go to and also the added benefit of not having to repack. The stop I enjoyed least of the ones you are going to was Villefranche. If I had it to do over again, I would have headed to Monte Carlo instead of Nice, especially since it was a Sunday. Eze was kind of quaint but getting there from the train station was a bit strenous although I was glad to get some exercise after all that food!
You will not have enough time in Rome or in Barcelona. I could have spent a week+ and not seen everything in either place. So you have to figure out what it is that you really want to see and then schedule another trip back to take in the rest.
For me in Rome, the highlight was definitely the Sistene Chapel and St. Peter's. I had read a fictionalized account of the life of Michaelangelo before I left (Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy") and I was fascinated with not only the Sistene Chapel but his other marble sculptures in Rome and Florence. Rome also has a bunch of outdoor things to see-the Trevi Fountain, the Forum, the Coliseum. You won't be able to see everything.
Barcelona's charms to me were more in wandering through the city and looking at the architecture and watching people. The Las Ramblas area is great fun, there is also a cathedral near Las Ramblas (not Sagrada Familia) that I was enchanted with. There's a lovely courtyard with geese in it. Forget about the Picasso museum unless you're a fan of his work.
Please feel free to email if you have more specific questions.
Feb 2nd, 2001, 09:50 AM
#9
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I agree with Kris about Barcelona--do it on your own and focus on the Gaudi buildings including the Sagrada Familia. Villefranche's Old Town and swimming beach is very quaint and charming but I don't know how far it is from the commercial port where you'll dock. The local train goes along the coastline and stops in Nice, Monte Carlo, Antibes, Menton. Nice is 5 minutes by train from Villefranche. Menton is the farthest and is only a half hour away. You could also hire a guide and car for the day and end with cocktails at the Chateau de la Chevre D'Or in Eze, high on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.
In Naples, don't miss the Archaeology Museum which has the best of the finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum (frescos and statues primarily), the Capodimonte Museum which has a gorgeous collection of Italian Renaissance and Mannerist art, and spaccanapoli which is the Old Town of Naples and filled with interesting architecture and great old churches. If you want to visit ruins, I'd suggest going to Herculaneum which is much closer to Naples than Pompeii. Another alternative is to take a hydrofoil and spend the say in Capri, or take a hydrofoil to Sorrento and then take a ride on the public bus along the Amalfi Drive--it stops in Positano and Amalfi.
Do go to Barnes and Noble and read up on all these places to create your own list of must-sees in all these places.
Plan your time in Rome carefully, so that you make the most of your day there. I'd say for Rome, do the Vatican Museum as soon as you arrive and have lunch in the area; then go back across the river and take a bus to see the Colosseum and the Roman Forum; lastly take the bus back to the Via del Corso--the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Fontana di Trevi, the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo are all right there within 5-10 minutes walk of each other. Sorry this became such a long post.
In Naples, don't miss the Archaeology Museum which has the best of the finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum (frescos and statues primarily), the Capodimonte Museum which has a gorgeous collection of Italian Renaissance and Mannerist art, and spaccanapoli which is the Old Town of Naples and filled with interesting architecture and great old churches. If you want to visit ruins, I'd suggest going to Herculaneum which is much closer to Naples than Pompeii. Another alternative is to take a hydrofoil and spend the say in Capri, or take a hydrofoil to Sorrento and then take a ride on the public bus along the Amalfi Drive--it stops in Positano and Amalfi.
Do go to Barnes and Noble and read up on all these places to create your own list of must-sees in all these places.
Plan your time in Rome carefully, so that you make the most of your day there. I'd say for Rome, do the Vatican Museum as soon as you arrive and have lunch in the area; then go back across the river and take a bus to see the Colosseum and the Roman Forum; lastly take the bus back to the Via del Corso--the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Fontana di Trevi, the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo are all right there within 5-10 minutes walk of each other. Sorry this became such a long post.
Feb 2nd, 2001, 03:52 PM
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In Barcelona don't miss the Palau de la Musica Catalana! It is one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world.
They offer tours every half hour, and in many languages. It's not too far from Las Ramblas, the shopping promenade. Highly recommend this and the tour of Gaudi's architecture to include Guell Park.
We took cabs all over the city and found the cabbies to be very honest and
well-priced.
Adios!
Gigi
They offer tours every half hour, and in many languages. It's not too far from Las Ramblas, the shopping promenade. Highly recommend this and the tour of Gaudi's architecture to include Guell Park.
We took cabs all over the city and found the cabbies to be very honest and
well-priced.
Adios!
Gigi
Mar 8th, 2001, 05:54 PM
#14
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My experiences with cruises is that they usually have an orientation session before each stop. And optional day excursions that take you to the must-see sights, with transportation neatly arranged for you. There is sometimes free time allowed for before getting you back to the ship. This has proven to be the best way (though not in-depth) to see the highlights. Of course, if you'd rather not travel with a group, you can always hire a cab at dockside. But you never know what you're getting--and language is sometimes a problem. I think the tours arranged by the cruise line (you book while on board before arriving) are the best bet for such short visits to these great places. Hope you'll want to come back and see what you'll miss!
Mar 8th, 2001, 06:59 PM
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Hello Andrea
Guess what, I'm taking a cruise to the same places plus a few others for my honeymoon too!! I'm sooo excited too!
I'm thinking of joining the cruise tours but they're really quite expensive...and I heard also that they're not that in-depth. If u want, u can check out this website http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/O...44&f=437093444 for a very good guide to cruising 
Guess what, I'm taking a cruise to the same places plus a few others for my honeymoon too!! I'm sooo excited too!
I'm thinking of joining the cruise tours but they're really quite expensive...and I heard also that they're not that in-depth. If u want, u can check out this website http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/O...44&f=437093444 for a very good guide to cruising 
