Phyllis

My husband, two daughters and I will be driving from Florence to Venice. This is the first time we will be in Italy. I have been reading this message board and am using it for my hotels in Florence and Venice. I would like to know what towns to visit between Florence and Venice and where to stay overnight. We will be in Florence three nights and Venice two nights. We are using the eurail selectpass train and drive pass. Thank you all for the help you have already given us.

Rex

Well, definitely, Verona. And depending on the ages of your daughters (maybe not so interesting for pre-junior high?) would be to stop and tour of the Palladian villas - - La Rotonda for example. So awe-inspiring.<BR><BR>A must-do for any architecture buff.<BR><BR>You don't tell the whole of your trip itinerary, perhaps - - what is the train pass for?<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

topper

topping<BR>

dean

bologna is a great place to stop to eat. The center is wonderful with portici (covered walkways) everywhere. You could detour to ravenna to see the mosaics in the churches. It takes about half a day to see them so start early.

Wayne

Although some will not agree, I would maintain that you should go into the old town part of Bergamo--beautiful cathedral, town square, town hall, lots of neat shops--all sorta on top of the hill as usual. I would also suggest that if you want an unusual side trip on the way, find the Val Brembana (valley of the Bremba River) which runs north-south near Bergamo, and drive north up the valley (highway 470, but you might not see a number) to San Pellegrino Terme, the famous place where the mineral water comes from. The village of San Pellegrino is quite interesting to prowl around in for an hour; it's still small. And if you make it a lunch break, you'll most certainly get a bottle of San Pellegrino water with your meal, sometimes whether you ask or not. It takes only about 20-30 minutes to get there from the east-west autostrada, so it isn't too far out of the way. I'd also suggest you go into the old town in Padova if you have time; even more folks on this site might think it isn't so great, but I think it's much more like the undisturbed Italian towns. Then finally (and you can look up locations in any guidebook) you might want to see La Rotonda southwest of Padova near Abano Terme, and Villa Pasani northeast of Padova (in the village of Stra'). Both of those can be reached in a short time from the autostrada, and they are worth a diversion, in my opinion. There are so many other stops, such as Sirmione on Lake Garda, that are easily reachable from your route, but obviously you can't see them all. Hope this gives you a good selection to choose from.