hodo75

Hello!

I would love if any Italy pros out there can point out any possible pitfalls in my itinerary or add to it.

Note: this is a 10th anniversary trip for my husband and I, we are in our late 40s. We will be going mid-July.

Monday:
Fly overnight to Venice, arrive 9 am

Tuesday:
Arrive venice, check into hotel baglioni Luna.
Spend day walking around and getting acquainted. We will likely be jet lagged.
Dinner at San trovaso.

Wednesday:
Early morning do st marks basilica, doges palace, campanile before the crowds come.
Afternoon walk around dosorduro, canareggio.
Pay for overpriced drink at Harrys Bar. Dinner at ristorante da Raffael, requested table by canal.
After dinner overpriced drink at a cafe on Piazza San Marco.

Thursday:
Morning train to Verona (we were supposed to stay in Venice this day but I was dying to see the opera in Verona.
Check into hotel Romeo e Giulietta in old town, right near Arena.
Explore Verona on foot.
7 pm dinner at Tre marchetti. Seeing the opera Carmen at 9 pm - bucket list!!

Friday:
Check out of hotel, rent car.
Drive 2 hours 15 mins to Varenna, lake como.
Check into hotel du lac.
Explore Varenna on foot, relax, dinner at the hotel.

Saturday:
Rent a motor boat from 9-11 or 9-12, explore the lake. I really want to head down to see George clooneys villa from the water which I know my husband will fight me on
Return boat and take ferry to Bellagio.
Lunch at ristorante bilacus in Bellagio.
If we have time, ferry to mennagio or another mid lake town.
Back to Varenna for dinner at La vista.

Sunday:
Take ferry to mennagio, tramezzo, villa San carlotta…and any other mid lake towns we missed.
Dinner in Varenna at either il prato or Il cavatappi.

Monday:
Check out of hotel.
Drive 2.5 hours to castello di sinio in Piedmont, stopping at Asti along the way for lunch.
Check into hotel and explore local hill towns or just relax at the hotel and it’s pool.
Dinner at Il cannubi, a shirt drive from the hotel.

Tuesday:
Explore the small hill towns of the langue. Taste some barolo.
Dinner at Il Bovio, a short drive from the hotel.

Wednesday:
Explore Alba and any small towns we missed.
Dinner at the hotel, castello di sinio.

Thursday:
Check out of hotel.
Drive to Milan, drop car
Fly home.

Any feedback is welcome!! Thank you in advance!

bilboburgler

Yikes, that is fast. Do you have another week?

Airport to hotel, take a water taxi.

annhig

HI Hodo, looks like a good plan to me, into which you've clearly put a lot of time. Unfortunately I'm not able to help you with the there places but I have got a few ideas for Venice, which I know quite well. It's certainly a good idea to take it easy on the first day - i would strongly suggest buying a 3 day vaporetto card and using it as a means of exploring without expending too much energy as in July it is likely to be hot. If you felt up to it, you might consider getting the vaporetto over to the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore upon which there is a lovely Palladian church with a bell tower which can also be visited and for less money and with far fewer queues than the one in Piazza San Marco. Then you could catch a vaporetto to the next door island called Giudecca which is a very nice place to have lunch or a drink on a hot day as it is north facing. From there you can catch another vaporetto over to the Zattere which marks the southern border of Dorsoduro; just to the left of the vaporetto stop is a very pleasant bar/gelateria called Nico's where you can get a very reasonably priced Spritz. Personally I prefer them made with Campari and some places serve it with Cynar which is artichoke based but I've never tried it. Just round the corner is one of the last "Squero" where gondolas are made. https://europeforvisitors.com/venice...an-trovaso.htm

From there you can wander up through Dorsoduro, and perhaps cross over the Grand canal via the Academia Bridge on your way back to your hotel.

As for your next day, Dorsoduro and Canarregio are of course at opposite ends of Venice - so having already seen Dorsoduro it would make sense to make for Cannaregio. Were you not intent on seeing the Doge's Palace and the Basilica of San Marco I would suggest going to the Rialto Market to see the fish market but I would not discourage you from seeing the palace and the Basilica of course. In Cannaregio you can explore the Ghetto and do a tour of three of the 5 Synagogues if that interests you, but if not, a visit to the Frari Church in Santa Croce and/ or the nearby Scuola Grande di San Rocco might be more enjoyable, depending on your interests. From there you would not be too far from the very interesting Campo Santa Margarita, [lots of bars and restaurants] and the Ca'Rezzonico vaporetto stop where you could catch a boat back to San Marco. plenty of scope for just wandering around and exploring in all these areas.

My only other comment is that you might consider swapping the nights for your restaurants - given that jet lag might be a problem it might make more sense to stick close to home with the Da Rafael on the first night, and the San Trovaso the second. Just a thought. I hope you come to love Venice as much as I do!

hodo75

I know, it’s cramming in a lot. I probably shouldn’t have done the night in Verona but I’ve always wanted to see an opera there. I’ll let you know how it goes and if we make it back alive (and married! Lol)

hodo75

thank you so much! I’m going to print this out right now and add it to my files. And such a good call on the restaurants - that’s the kind of thinking I was looking for ! I do appreciate you responding to my post, thanks again!!! I feel like I have some good insider tips at least on Venice.

Jean

Too fast for me in general and way too fast for me in hot-humid summer, but it's not my trip. And I'm a wimp when it comes to heat and humidity.

You need to study the ferry timetables for Lake Como. Getting around is not like catching a bus, and you may not be able to see as much as you think in your limited time. I like the idea of renting a boat for a few hours but not wasting time trying to find the Clooney villa. But, again, it's not my trip.

About the drive from Verona to Varenna... The drive itself could take 3+ hours because it's Friday in high season summer. The last time we rented a car in Verona (October, not summer), it was an hour before we drove away.

Varenna to Asti to Castello di Sinio... The drive to Asti will probably take closer to 3 hours. Asti has a ZTL, and almost all the streets are one-way so watch for the ZTL signs and have a parking plan. Ditto Alba.

http://www.mappery.com/maps/Asti-Traffic-Zone-Map.jpg

As you're tasting the barolo, keep in mind that Italy has very steep penalties for drunk driving and a low BAL threshold.

I hope your flight out of Malpensa is well after noon... The drive could take 3 hours.

hodo75

Thanks for responding. I think we will skip Asti and go right to the hotel. I actually would love to pick up the car AFTER lake como but am having trouble figuring out where to rent from. Any advice on that? Then the only car we'd have is from Varenna to Piedmont.

Funny Ive been trying to find Ferry times for Lake Como but they seem to update after April 7 so I'm waiting. We are going to try to relax in Varenna and if we can't catch a ferry somewhere we are ok with hanging out in Varenna drinking Aperol Spritzes

Yes our flight is in the afternoon so we should be ok getting to airport. Will give ourselves extra time.

PS the Clooney villa isn't hard to find...its one of the sights listed on the map that the boat company gives out. Again, if we don't make it its not the end of the world. Again, we want to just relax on the lake.

Thanks again and if you have car rental advice I would love it!

hodo75

Jean- would stopping in neive for lunch on the way to Sinio make sense? That’s one of the towns we want to visit and its (for the most part) on the way.

thanks!

neckervd

There is no need to leave Venice in the morning in order to assist to a opera performance in the Arena of Verona taking place in the evening.
Verona - Varenna by train is easy, with just 1 change at Milan.
I suppose it will be possible to rent a car in the Lake Como area, may be at Como, Lecco or Varese.
There will run many boats and catamarans along Lake Como in July. Main lines:
Como - Arcegno Menaggio - Bellagio - Varenna - Gravedona - Bellano - Colico,
Lecco - Varenna,
Varenna - Bellagio - Menaggio.
You may alo visit Lake Lugano:
international boat lines from Ponte Tresa (Italy) and Porto Ceresio (Italy) via Lugano up to Porlezza (Italy, close to Menaggio) resp Capolago (close to Como),
1 cog wheel railway up to 1600 metres above sea level (close to Como),
2 rope railways to viewpoints around Lugano,
3 gondolas to viewpoints outside Lugano.

Peter_S_Aus

I am reluctant to add a further thing to see. Do however consider the Church of San Polo. The sacristy contains the most stunning Stations of the Cross by Tiepolo. No gentle Jesus meek and mild here; more a story of a man being done to death for political/commercial reasons.
A story told in 14 frames, as CNN would do it two millennia later.

Also the Ascension, there is no Jesus floating upwards supporting by a team of angels. No, a most athletic Jesus leaping heavenwards, leaving that mortal coil behind.

I think you are visiting the Frari, and the Ascension of the Virgin is one of the world’s works of art. Also in the Frari are a bunch of other monuments. The monument to Canova which I love (sorry Annhig), the monument to Doge Whoever, supported on four Blak gents, carrying the white man’s burden. Continue on, and there is a little bomb mounted on the wall; it failed to detonate when dropped on the Frari in 1917.

As you face the Frari, to your left is the Leggatoria Polliero, a shop selling paper products. I have fond memories of Polliero Snr cutting paper on his guillotine to wrap our purchases.

Cross the bridge in front of the Frari, and the cafe Al Archivo does great tremizzini; I have enjoyed them many times.

And you might get lucky. Go left from Al Archivo, cross the bridge and there is a rubbish bin. Some ten years ago, at that bin, there was a bunch of stuff, keyboards, a printer, dead office equipment, detritus from the State Archive.
And an archive box, made of wood, labelled Console Russo, 1820.

We grabbed it.

hodo75

thank you so much for your help. I can rent a car in como but first want to make sure there are morning ferries to take me there. Lecoo used to have a car rental but I don’t think they do anymore. I’ll keep looking. Thank you for your advice about Lake Lugano too. We are actually taking my two young daughters to Italy next summer and plan on doing that with them as part of a longer 2 week trip.
You’re right - we can stay in Venice our last day if we feel we need more time. I do love Verona but we’ll see how we feel.
Thanks again!

Peter_S_Aus

Oh, and if you come across a couple of street musicians around the Frari, the taller on fiddle, the shorter hunchback on guitar, drop them a couple of euro on my account. Ten years ago, we had an apartment near there, and those guys with their eight song repertoire was a soundtrack for our visit.

We have run into them a dozen times since; we have not forgotten them, and they have remembered us.

Ce ce bon, our soundtrack for Venice.

Vivaldi, not so much.

hodo75

found a car rental in Lecco! So we will train from Verona to Varenna and only get the car for the Piedmont portion of the trip. This was a great suggestion, thanks!

hodo75

We were going to do the Alilunga to St Marks. Is that the same as a water taxi?

hodo75

This sounds great, also printing out!

hodo75

I guess the only delays would be train delays (or worst case scenario my flight to Venice!). That does worry me a bit but if there’s a aperol spritz nearby I’ll be ok

Jean

Lunch in Neive v. Asti.... Neive also has a ZTL, but you're going to encounter ZTLs just about everywhere. Asti is larger and probably has more dining. Since lots of restaurants in Italy are not open on Mondays, I might pick Asti just to have more choice. Rent a car that will hold your luggage out of sight.

bilboburgler

Alilaguna (note spelling) is a fast public transport boat
Taxi is faster, more expensive but a bit more 007
https://www.veneziaairport.it/en/transport/venice.html

hodo75

just asked the hotel to arrange a private water taxi as a surprise to my husband. He will love it and what the hell, you only have a ten year anniversary once, right?! You had me at “007” lol.

hodo75

Our hotel charges e260 for the taxi so are just going to take one when we arrive at the airport for half the price. Thanks again for the suggestion.