Any advice on interesting sights (e.g. castles, small towns) as well as nice, inexpensive restaurants? <BR>Thanks!

We wanted to get to Florence as soon as possible, and took the Autostrada -- no problem. Florence deserves every minute you can spare! (Of course on the way to Venice after two nights in Verona we drove North to Bolzano then across the mountains to Cortina d'Ampezzo. Absolutely unforgettable.)

There must be something. I've heard of ESTE or MONTAGNANA? Are they worthwhile? Anything else? I'm basically looking of rsomething to take a break from the drive. 3-5 hours can be pretty long plus we probably need to stop for food anyways.

We've made that drive twice. It's only 2 1/2 - 3 hours and goes by very fast on the autostrada. The slowest part is once you enter Florence. It can take a 1/2 hr just to get to your hotel location. We didn't make any stops on the way. Left Venice after breakfast and arrived in Florence for lunch. We did make stops driving from Florence to Rome but not on the way to Florence.

Monselice is right on the autostrada and is worth a quick stop. Tours of the castle are available from 9 to 12 in the morning and 3 to 5 in the afternoon. Este is also a nice city and is about 6 miles west of Monselice. Montagnana is my favorite of the three because it is one of the best preserved walled cities that I have seen in Italy. It's about 10 miles further west from Este. All three cities are worthwhile, are not that large and can be seen fairly quickly. In Este, try the restaurant at Beatrice d'Este (a hotel) which is good and reasonable.