We need to pick a base in the Veneto or nearby to stay for about 3 days and do day trips on public transportation. We are looking for a somewhat quiet, smallish town that would be a pleasant place to wander. We've already been to Verona (and also traveled quite a lot throughout Italy). I am thinking of Bassano del Grappa with day trips to Padua, Vicenza, and maybe smaller towns like Asolo. Or possibly Ferrara with daytrips to Padua, Vicenza and Ravenna. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks!

I'm not sure that Ferrara suits so well. It's a long way from the train station to the scenic "old" part of town. Ferrara doesn't have a "smallish" town feel to me.

We're headed to Bassano del Grappa just as a day trip from Venice, and perhaps it suits your needs -- really seems to be an ideal place to stay, not just visit. We loved doing a day trip to Asolo as well, but it is a little involved to get to by public transportation, needing to change busses at the base of the town, which seemed not to be coordinated with busses arriving from elsewhere.

linawood,
I've been to the Veneto a half a dozen or more times. Believe me, you can't go wrong with either of your choices. Ferrara has more history and we enjoyed being there in the last weekend in May when they had their Palio. Bassano del Grappa is my idea of the perfect place. Laid back. Totally Italian. Beautiful setting, courtyards etc. Interesting history -- e.g. Palladian bridge.
Bottom line: I think there are more great places nearby if you stay in Bassano rather than Ferrara but both are wonderful. Ferrara is the bicycle capital of Italy, by the way.
Asolo is wonderful too and a bit pricey but deservedly so.
I'm sure you'll enjoy.
best,
Tuscanson

"Ferrara is the bicycle capital of Italy, by the way."

How funny, and how true. We had spent a night in Ferrara when we were driving a couple years ago, but last summer we changed trains there (Venice to Ravenna) and had about 2 hours there so decided to walk to the old part of town we remembered. We never made it, but turned back -- that's why I say it is quite a distance. But there were thousands and thousands of bicycles sitting around the train station. The funniest part was about a third of them looked like they had been chained there for at least 10 years. They had wheels or other parts missing, were rusted away and obviously abandoned. I suppose it's the bicycle captital because they've never gotten rid of any?

Thanks very much for your responses. I'm glad to hear such positive things about Bassano del Grappa. By the way, our trip will be in October.

Hi Lina - Bassano is a great choice

Besides the places you've mentioned, nearby Marostica makes a pleasant visit. You could also visit Trento and the Val Sugana from there.

Or ... a day-trip into the Dolomites?

Steve

Well, since the Fodor's 2006 guide has my recommendation for a day trip to Bassano del Grappa, I pretty much have to recommend Bassano, don't I? (smile) It is a great place to visit in Northern Italy, not very touristed at all, ringed by Mount Grappa and situated along the Brenta river- you can walk the whole town in about an hour, and of course, if you like grappa, this is the place to be-the top grappa maker-Nardini, is right there at the edge of the wooden bridge, Ponti degli Alpini, a bridge which was built originally by Palladio, but has been blown up or destroyed a few times, but always rebuilt according to the original plan. You can stop in at Nardini's and do grappa tasting, if you like, or head up the street to Poli's, and get a demonstration of how grappa is made, and afterwards buy one of their artisanal hand-made bottles filled with the stuff (which is still sitting in my fridge-undrunk). Bassano is also known for its ceramics, so there are a lot of shops devoted to selling just that.

They have a lovely Piazza area, Piazza della Liberta-filled with bars and restaurants-this is a very chic and wealthy city like its neighbor Vicenza, and one that I think is better for a day trip. If I were to base myself in one of the cities you mentioned, it would be Padova, which is absolutely stunning, the art, the architecture, the walkability of the city, there are so many sites here-and its connections to the other cities are very good. Asolo is definitely worth a day trip, but as mentioned, it is not easy to reach Asolo without a car. You can reach Asolo by bus from Bassano however. My choice for a base would be either Padova or Vicenza.

I love hearing all these positive comments and I'm really looking forward to exploring this area a little. Thanks! Our plan for this trip is to spend 3-4 nights in Bassano, 2-3 nights in Malcesine on Lake Garda, 5 nights on the Ritten Plateau near Bolzano, and 5 nights in Venice - some new places and some old favorites.

We used Bassano as our base for 4 nites in Veneto and loved it.

That sounds like an excellent Northern Italy itinerary, Lina-did you find an apt. yet in Venice?

We decided to stay in a b&b in Venice instead of an apartment since we have ended up with less than a week. But your info on how to evaluate an apartment was very informative and thorough. And we really appreciate your suggestions in the Veneto. I think we have a great trip planned with lots of variety in a small area.

Thank you, Lina, that's very nice of you to say. Maybe next time you visit you can take the plunge and see what it's like to do the apt. thing-it's hard to go back to hotels, for me!

I wanted to give you a couple of restaurant suggestions in Bassano that you may want to check out.

Bassano, for some reason, has a real vegetarian bent, the restaurants focus on fresh organic vegetables in season. A place I really enjoyed for lunch and a well regarded osteria there OSTERIA TERRAGLIO-this is not in the main Piazza, but across from the castle in town-you can eat indoors or outdoors, with the Grappa mountainside in front of you-excellent wines, both red and white-I had two glasses of their local Soave that was perfect, and a portobello mushroom dish with fresh organic greens that was excellent as well.

For dinner you might like the Ristorante Ca' Sette-again, emphasis on fresh organic vegetables, and they have a very inventive vegetarian tasting menu as well, excellent vegetarian risottos and pastas, but they do serve some meat, mostly very fresh fish, such as my favorite, fresh grilled sole (sogliola) I'm telling you, the Venetians and the other Northern Italians really know how to do sole just right-I've had it perfectly grilled each time-and in fact, this last trip to Venice I had it two nights in a row-in Venice and in Mestre -excellent.

Bookmarking

Well, since I'm cited by Fodor's in the beginning of Ch. 8 to the Venice and the Venetian Arc Gold Guide, specifically for recommending a visit to Bassano del Grappa, I'll have to agree that Bassano is a great place to visit, and a lovely semi-alpine town, ringed by the Grappa mountain range, and Mount Grappa. Bassano has a very sad history during both WWI and WWII, particularly during WWII, as parts of the Italian Resistance were based on Mt. Grappa, and they and many of the townspeople were killed. The famous wooden bridge, originally built by Andrea Palladio in the 1500's has been destroyed several times, the last time by the Nazis during WWII, but it was rebuilt in 1948 by the special alpine military force known as the Alpini, hence the name "Ponte degli Alpini."

For the places you want to go, including Ferrara,(a fantastic place to visit, with great ancient sites and very good food), I think Padova would be a better base. It's only an hour train ride from Padova to either Ferrara, or Bassano del Grappa, and only 20 minutes to Vicenza from Padova by train.

If you base yourself in Bassano, Ferrara is over 2 hours away, Vicenza is an hour and a half, and Padova a bit over an hour, so you may want to think about that-I think Padova is one of the most stunning art cities in the whole world-you will love it, and it is an imminently walkable city, like Venice-so much to see here in Padova-really.

Myself, I would do the day trip to Bassano-all day-but base in Padova, as it is so much more convenient by train to all the places you might want to day trip to, including Ravenna, which is a bit over 2 hours from Padova, but over 4 from Bassano.