Before DH and I meet friends for 18 days traveling in Florence, Assisi, Tuscany, CT and France, we will be on our own for about about 5 days. We will be meeting our friends in Florience. We had thought about starting in Sicily, until we cut the length of the trip down because of the weak dollar. Then we decided to go to Lake Como (we have never been there). A friend tells us that the town of Bassano del Grappa in N Italy is beautiful and a "must".

2 questions:
1. Has anyone been to Bassano del Grappa, and what do you think of it as a 1st stop for 5 days?

2. Since it is a 45 minute train ride from Venice to Bassano del Grappa, we would fly into Venice. We are flying from the W Coast and will be exhausted when we land. We have been to Venice, so would rather not stay there but I think we need to spend the night before catching the train to Bassano del Grappa. Am I correct that we would need to take a vaporetto to the Venice train station? Perhaps we could get an "inexpensive" hotel when we get off of the plane in Venice and then take the train to Bassano del Grappa in the morning?

I appreciate any advice. If you have another idea for our 5 days, I'm open !

Bus or taxi to Mestre on the mainland and then train to Bassano---no reason to go into Venice. We spent 3 nites in Bassano one year and loved it, but we had a car.

1. Bassano del Grappa, 5 days. The town is certainly not big enough to occupy you for 5 days.

2.a. Am I correct that we would need to take a vaporetto to the Venice train station?
Yes.

2.b. ...an "inexpensive" hotel when we get off of the plane in Venice and then take the train to Bassano del Grappa in the morning?
This seems like a waste of time to me if you don't want to be in Venice. And there are no such things as inexpensive hotels in Venice...

Other ideas.

Five days between Padova, Verona and Vicenza. These 3 towns, having each one his own character, are touristically very interesting.

Google with the following:
Padova: the Scrovegni chapel
Verona: the roman theatre
Vicenza: Palladian architecture
Brenta canal: a full day on a boat on the canal between Padova and Venice, passing by and visiting some 16th and 17th century palaces alongside the canal.

Paul

Yes, off course, you could also go to Mestre.

Thanks Bob. Since you have given us many of our favorite hotels in the past, any recommendations for Bassano del Grappa? Mestre? Our friend thought we could probably get by just taking a cab between places while we were there. Do you think that would work or would we be better off renting a car? Our next stop will be Florence. Can we take the train from Bassano del Grappa to Floremce?

Thanks so much. I "searched" and didn't see it mentioned once, so I was a bit concerned.

We did a day trip to Bassano del Grappa from Venice and loved the town. I do think 5 days is a bit much when there are so many other beautiful towns to visit as well. I would agree with Paul and incorporate the towns he suggested into the itinerary with Bassano.

It sounds like we would need a car then. Are these other towns close enough for day trips with s bsse in Bassano del Grappa or would we need change hotels? Be gentle, this is our 1st trip to Northen Italy (except for Venice).

Veneto is a large area to cover and you would need a car. My fav in Bassano is this one: www.ca-sette.it but it is a bit pricey.
Yes, you can train to Florence---www.trenitalia.com

You will definitely want a car to explore and it is easy driving. Why don't you read a bit about the other towns and the surrounding area and then decide what is most appealing to you and base from there. I think with a car one base for 5 days would work just fine. The Veneto is so beautiful, you are going to love it.

Verona, Vicenza and Padova are on the main train track Milan - Venice.
Verona - Vicenza is some 40 minutes by train, Vicenza - Padova some 20 minutes, according to the train you need. With Vicenza as a base, both Verona and Padova become easy daytrips.
Bassano del Grappa is not on the main line. It can be reached from Vicenza and Padova.

If you wouldn't want to take a car, Vicenza seems to be the most practical situation ( and it is a beautiful relaxing town).

We are renting a car for a week in Umbria and Tuscany, so are trying to save money by not renting a car for longer. Looks like Bassano del Grappa is not a good choice. Time to rethink this 1st 5 days. We are not going until June 2009, but since we need to book our airline tickets a year in advance (FF miles in Business Class) we need to know whether to fly into Milan or Venice. Back to the drawing board.

What happened to your idea of flying into Milan and spending the 5 days at Lake Como? You could rent an apartment, travel around the lake by boat and on day trips to other areas, by train. Sounds like heaven to me!

It got "derailed" by a friend saying Bassano del Grappa is a must. We are back to the idea of flying into Milan, spending the night and heading "somewhere". Lake Como, Lake Garda....still need to figure that part out.

I've been to both and both are lovely... but I wouldn't pass up the lake area for Bassano.

We loved Bassano del Grappa. We were there during a reunion of the Italian alpine army corps. The old bridge and the water are fabulous. However, it's a small town. What about staying in Verona?

Grandma, my sentiments exactly. Bassano is nice, but it's no Lago di Como.

I'm convinced that Lake Como makes the most sense...until I am told otherwise

As I have said in other posts (and perhaps I should repost), I have arthritis so have some mobility issues. Without a car, where is the best place to stay that is fairly flat, has cafes, restaurants within walking distance. I would like to stay around 100E.

With that last bit of mobility issue news, I think it's a good thing you're no longer planning on Bassano del Grappa, which is nearly all up and down hills.
Staying right along the lake on Como would be fine -- preferably mid island like Mennagio or Bellagio, which along the lake are flat and hopefully close to boat landings for easy access to other spots or just to tour -- but I'm not sure about that 100euro for a place to stay there.

Check the Hotel Bellavista in Menaggio. It might not be 100 euros, but it's a nice place, well located which will likely be as close as you can get to that figure.

Thanks so much. Lake Como is it ! I will make a seperate post with more questions.