cmt

Segovia (population ~50,000)(Spain), Evora (Portugal) and Montalcino and even tiny Spello (Italy) are all classified as cities in their own countries. (Perhaps the other places that Bob the Nv. referred to as "villages" are cities as well, but I don't know enough about them and can't spend time on a search at the moment.) It comes across as somewhat patronizing and coy when visitors refer to cities like Segovia and Evora, with their own rich and ancient political and cultural history as "villages." That they are small (or at least not too large), beautiful, relaxing, relatively unpolluted and not hectic does not make them "villages."

My own preference is for small cities (the ones some people are calling "villages&quotand medium sized cities, with walks or rides through real rural areas, and some visits to truly small towns if I have some connection with them or some reason to want to visit. I'm not too comfortable in really huge cities, though some large cities, like Paris and Palermo, are not so overwhelming, so I enjoy them for a few days.

Except in Turkey, I'm not sure if I have ever been in "villages." Possibly some of the small clusters of houses that I walked through on walking/hiking tours in Italy and France might have been "villages" or "hamlets." I have visited some very small and remote towns (and tiny cities) in Sicily and Basilicata, but even small places like Cirigliano (population ~350) were not "villages."

SeaUrchin

I don't there there is any special knack to it, I think you either like it or you don't. Like others have said there is a difference between small towns and being isolated with no towns even nearby.

I stayed in one of those isolated villas in Tuscany and although it was beautiful and had beautiful grounds I went a little stir crazy. You have to drive into town (whatever that may be) and that takes time on those small two lane roads. It might have been that I wasn't entirely content with my own group either, maybe with other friend(s) it would have been alot more fun.

sandi_travelnut

If I have enough time, I, like most people here love to mix the big city (Rome) with the small like Assisi or San G. But if I have time constraints and have to choose, I'd take the hustle of the big city anytime.

AnselmAdorne

Jules said, "I think smaller towns also give you the opportunity to meet local people who are more interested in meeting you than those in the larger cities who run into foreigners on a daily basis."

I couldn't agree more. We recently spent two weeks in Montaigut-le-Blanc, a village in Auvergne, and throughly enjoyed the contact we had with our neighbours and the people at the boulangerie, the charcuterie, and the boucherie. What started as a polite hello and goodbye evolved into wonderful discussions on the provenance of local lamb, varieties of bread, where we were from, and why we had chosen that village for our stay.

I recognize this may not be for everyone. It pretty much requires that you have a car and that you make day trips for sightseeing, some meals, and supplies. The solution, of course, is to balance it with an indulgent few days in Paris on the way home.

Anselm

SusanP

I also think it's just a matter of some people liking cities and other liking villages/rural areas. I plan to mix the two when I go to Italy in Sept. I have to admit that if I had to choose one over the other, I would take the cities, unless it was a beach vacation. You should definitely go with what you like, not go to rural areas just because other people think you should.

As far as driving, I initially planned to drive the Tuscany portion, even though I'm going alone. My plans to drive changed when I added up the very high cost of an automatic (there's no way I can drive standard and certainly don't want to be learning on strange roads in a foreign country), gas and tolls, plus I would have felt the need to have a cell phone, another expense, it is actually a little cheaper for me to hire a private drive for a few days. I was also having some trouble with pickup or dropoff on Sun. And I think I'll need a couple relaxing days to rest up from the busy city portion!

SusanP

Obviously, I meant private driver.

Another aspect was that I can do winetasting and have wine with lunch without worrying about driving after that.

bobthenavigator

OK--maybe Segovia and Evora were bad examples, but the point is the same. The others are all less than 5000 people--call them what you would. I guess I just was lucky to enjoy intimate cultural experiences in Segovia and Evora that made them special to me. I will go sit in the corner now.

Powell

We plan to visit a large or medium sized city and a rural area on each vacation.

We live in NYC so enjoy the slower pace of a village like St. Remy in Provence, or small city like Siena in Italy or Dingle in Ireland. We also enjoy cultural pursuits like concerts, museums, etc. that are more available in cities like Paris, Dublin. So we do both.