wonderlush

Hi everyone,
We'll stay in Verona from Sep 7 to Sep 10 and Florence from Sep 13th to Sep 16th. After that we'll go to the country side of Tuscany for 6 days, then Venice two days and fly home from there. Due to some changing in our trip now we have three extra days between Verona and Florence. Please give us some suggestion where we should spend that three days. We like the small town/village which have easy access cause we don't have a car.

sandralist

Modena would be my pick. In itself it is a wonderful small town with delicious food, and from Modena it is easy to visit Parma, Bologna and Mantova by train.

bvlenci

I wouldn't call Modena a small town; it's maybe a small city. Parts of the center are a bit run down. There are some great dining opportunities, the Duomo is beautiful, and the Este Library is worth seeing, but I would have no great desire to spend three days there.

You might consider Ferrara, one of my favorite small cities in Italy. It's somewhat smaller than Modena, but has much more of a small-town feel, and a beautiful ducal palace.

ekc

We loved the couple of days we spent in Parma a couple of years ago and would highly recommend it. We stayed at Hotel Della Rosa Prati and would again in a heartbeat.

wonderlush

Thank you. I'll look into those places. How about Desenzano by Lake Garda ? Would you recommend it and how do you compare it to Modena/Ferrara?

sandralist

I'd be happy to live in the cheery heart of Modena where everybody seems to know each other and find Ferrara gloomy and too conservative. So horses for courses on that one. I also enjoy colorful Parma more than Ferrara. Any three different people will give you three different reactions depending on who they are and what they like in life and all 3 towns have run down areas. Read up on each and see what appeals to you for both the town itself and possible day trips. (and the food!)

Sorry I can't compare any of them with Desenzano since I have never been to that town. The southern lake shore towns that I have been in nearby are dominated by holiday making (and can be packed with visitors on nice weekends). While the flat southern shore of the lake is not as scenic as the mountainous north it can be charming as a family holiday spot for its ice cream parlors and bicycling and boat rides. I think any holiday lake town is going to be a lot different in feel from one of the small enclosed wealthy towns of the agricultural plain of the Emilia Romagna with their art and high culture. Depends on what you are looking for in the middle of Italian sandwich between watery Venice and fortified Tuscany.

sandralist

Just as an example of eyes of beholders

http://thebottomoftheironingbasket.b...ena-italy.html

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...nvents-holiday

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...a-8783344.html

twoflower

Desenzano is nice enough, as is also the other side of Lake Garda - around Garda, Sirmione etc. The previous posters understandably looked for points between Verona and Florence, but if you're considering Desenzano you are obviously willing to diverge in other directions. In which case, what about Ravenna? Some great old churches, world-renowned mosaics. Or Lucca? A small city with picturesque and walkable walls around its "old town". Lucca is off to the side of Florence, just as Desenzano is off to the side of Verona.

sandralist

and here is somebody who spent 5 days in Desenzano

http://flowersribbonsandpearls.blogs...aly-day-2.html