Florence, Venice and ???
Jul 11th, 2004, 09:01 AM
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Florence, Venice and ???
Short trip to Italy planned for Jul 30 to Aug 6 w/ 20 yo daughter. Arriving Florence and departing Venice. I've booked three nights in Florence and two in Venice, leaving two days/nights. Had planned on SML for 2 days, but cancelled bec. travel to/from took up a whole day. (Thank you Ira!) Any suggestions for an easy side trip? Has anyone been to the Siena Jazz Festival? Traveling by train.
Jul 11th, 2004, 09:19 AM
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Hi rhod,
Rex's suggestions are good.
You could also add a day to each city and visit Siena from Florence and Verona or Padua from Venice as day trips.
Will you be going out to Burano or Murano while in Venice?
Rex's suggestions are good.
You could also add a day to each city and visit Siena from Florence and Verona or Padua from Venice as day trips.
Will you be going out to Burano or Murano while in Venice?
Jul 11th, 2004, 01:59 PM
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A MUST SEE IN FLORENCE IS "DAVID", IF I WERE GOING TO VENICE, STAY IN VENICE, IF OUR TWO DAYS, DO NOT TAKE MURANO, BURANO EXCUSIONS, AS THE BASILICA, AND DOGES PALACE ARE WONDERFUL. STAY IN VERONA ONLY IF YOU WANT TO TAKE DAY TRIPS TO VENICE BY TRAIN. LITTLE TOWN, BUT VENICE IS WONDERFUL...2 DAYS, NOT ENOUGH, BUT YOU CAN DO...TAKE CARE ON THE TRAINS, MAKE A RESERVATION" FOR A SEAT, DUE TO BAGGAGE STORAGE, AND SOMETIMES TRAINS ARE FULL. ONCE INTO VENICE AT TRAIN STATION, TRY TO SHARE A WATER TAXI TO YOUR HOTEL, NOT THE BOAT "BUS", BEST TO YOU..
Jul 11th, 2004, 03:22 PM
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I just returned from 2 weeks in Italy with my daughter. We spent 1 week in Florence and 1 week in Venice. From Florence we took the train to Pisa and spent another day in Siena and San Gim. the rest of the time we spent in Florence. We did a group walking tour of Florence and The David and The Ufizzi with the group tour also, we di these over 2 days . In Venice we went to Burano, to San Lazzari Island and did the Armenian Monastery tour and took a daytrip out on the train to Verona. We bouoght a Chorus pass and visited various churches during the week and used the AUdioguides. They were great. There is so much to see and do. One week is not much time. You could split it up between Florence and Venice and just take daytrips out of each if you want. Remember you will lose most of a day traveling between Florence and Venice. I think the best thing would be to spend it all in one place and take daytrips.
Jul 11th, 2004, 05:30 PM
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We stayed 3 nights in Florence and 1 night in Siena and just returned in June...(this was part of a 2-week trip) I loved staying in Siena, even though it's only 1 hour and 10 minutes by car from Florence, and it's only about a 2-hour train ride (I think), Siena is completely different from florence, and I loved Siena's more tranquil pace...And it's quieter with far less traffic...It feels and looks like a step back into medieval times. Next trip I will want to stay again in either Siena or another medieval hill-town, for at least 3 nights. We hired a driver/licensed tour guide with a minivan for a 5-hour day-trip through the chianti countryside...I would probably hire the same driver/licensed tour guide next time, unless we decided to rent a car. The only place I would consider driving in Italy is the Tuscany countryside...Would never drive in the cities.
We had 4 nights in Rome, 2 nights in sorrento (too short), 3 nights in florence, 1 night in Siena (want more!), and 3 nights in Venice (4 would have been better).
Have fun!
We had 4 nights in Rome, 2 nights in sorrento (too short), 3 nights in florence, 1 night in Siena (want more!), and 3 nights in Venice (4 would have been better).
Have fun!
Jul 11th, 2004, 07:22 PM
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Thanks to everyone for the wonderful recommendations!! Good anwsers, give rise to new questions so here goes...
Cheryl
Rex, what can you tell me about Trento v. Verona?
Ira, I like the idea of staying in Florence and Venice and taking day trips. Will probably keep the option open for Verona as there is so much to see and do in Venice. I was planning on going to Murano/Burano and poss.Torcello Is lunch at Locanda Cipriani worth the splurge? Do you recommend or are they too "touristy"?
jmdpsca, "take care on the trains..make a reservation for a seat.." Do I need to book the trains now in the US or can book in Florence?
"share a water taxi, not the boat bus" That makes good sense, if extravagant I will try to share the ride as my hotel is nr the SM vaporetto stop. I thought the favored entrance to Venice was on #1 vaporetto through the Grnad Canal??
LisaM...do you recommend the walking tours? I visited that site and will bring the info, but was not sure about using.
Melissa Joy, Did you hire the guide in Sienna and do you remember the name?
Cheryl
Rex, what can you tell me about Trento v. Verona?
Ira, I like the idea of staying in Florence and Venice and taking day trips. Will probably keep the option open for Verona as there is so much to see and do in Venice. I was planning on going to Murano/Burano and poss.Torcello Is lunch at Locanda Cipriani worth the splurge? Do you recommend or are they too "touristy"?
jmdpsca, "take care on the trains..make a reservation for a seat.." Do I need to book the trains now in the US or can book in Florence?
"share a water taxi, not the boat bus" That makes good sense, if extravagant I will try to share the ride as my hotel is nr the SM vaporetto stop. I thought the favored entrance to Venice was on #1 vaporetto through the Grnad Canal??
LisaM...do you recommend the walking tours? I visited that site and will bring the info, but was not sure about using.
Melissa Joy, Did you hire the guide in Sienna and do you remember the name?
Jul 12th, 2004, 08:08 AM
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What are your and your daughter's interests? We spent a week in Florence and a week in Venice, and neither was enough, but we like art and history and architecture. The food was good too, particularly in Florence. If you want to see the countryside, daytrips from Florence are good, but I don't think many people daytrip from Venice as it is more isolated, being islands. I don't consider visiting Murano or Burano a day trip, as you just get on the right vaporetto and you are there within half an hour, so you could easily visit both in a half day, possibly having lunch on Burano.
Jul 12th, 2004, 12:34 PM
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Trento is smaller, and has a nice mix of Austrian/alpine culture with Italian - - and at least eight centuries of major (Western) "world" history, if not more (read about the Council of Trent).
Verona feels <i>really</i> "Italian" to me, in a real-world everyday sense. The Arena is amazing, as is San Zeno; otherwise I would call it much a less "tourism" town, and more a "real" Italian town. If the "big three" equate to say... Boston, Washington and New Orleans, for example - - then Verona is Knoxville or Providence, Dayton or Des Moines.
Verona feels <i>really</i> "Italian" to me, in a real-world everyday sense. The Arena is amazing, as is San Zeno; otherwise I would call it much a less "tourism" town, and more a "real" Italian town. If the "big three" equate to say... Boston, Washington and New Orleans, for example - - then Verona is Knoxville or Providence, Dayton or Des Moines.
Jul 14th, 2004, 10:40 PM
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Rex: Wonderful description of Verona. Having lived near Providence, your analogy was very helpful. One terrific outcome of my trip planning is a deepening appreciation for the country. So much to see and do, just wish there was more time to "be". Thank you all for your suggestions and advice.
Jul 15th, 2004, 05:00 AM
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Hi rhod,
Haven't been to the Locanda Cipriani, but here are some reviews of the restaurant:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...lo/D41919.html
http://www.concierge.com/destination...aCipriani.xml/
http://www.allhotelsitaly.com/venice/restaurants.html
Haven't been to the Locanda Cipriani, but here are some reviews of the restaurant:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...lo/D41919.html
http://www.concierge.com/destination...aCipriani.xml/
http://www.allhotelsitaly.com/venice/restaurants.html
Jul 15th, 2004, 06:57 AM
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From my two experiences eating at the Locanda Cipriani, I would agree with the review from concierge.com:
"The food is not exceptional, especially considering the price..."
The garden is lovely enough, but not, in my opinion, lovely enough to warrant the prices.
"The food is not exceptional, especially considering the price..."
The garden is lovely enough, but not, in my opinion, lovely enough to warrant the prices.
Jul 15th, 2004, 07:05 AM
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I would like to speak to a few issues raised here. First, it certainly will NOT take most of a day to travel by train from Florence to Venice - it is only a 3 hr ride. Even considering getting to the station early and finding your hotel after, you will still have LOTS of time that day in Venice.
Second, unless you have lots of luggage and money isn't at all a factor, I would take the vaporetto over a water taxi. As you thought, the ride on #1 is lovely, and, if you packed light, getting baggage on/off the vaporetto is fairly easy.
Second, unless you have lots of luggage and money isn't at all a factor, I would take the vaporetto over a water taxi. As you thought, the ride on #1 is lovely, and, if you packed light, getting baggage on/off the vaporetto is fairly easy.
Jul 15th, 2004, 09:28 AM
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Hi. We just got back from Italy. There's so much to see and do in both Florence and Venice. IMHO, I think you should plan to do more of your "fine dining" in Florence, where the restaurants seem less touristy and better quality. Our hotel operator in Venice told us that Venetians rarely eat in restaurants so almost all restaurants are "touristy". Our limited experience seemed to bear this out. Vaporettos in Venice were great. No problem with our bulky backpacks. We bought the 72 hour unlimited passes and rode vaporettos for fun at night. No one ever checked our tickets, but you will get a big fine if you are caught without one. If you want to splurge in Venice, rather than a water taxi, go for a gondola ride, which is just so cool and so stereotypical. We didn't, because we didn't have any spare money to spend, but it looked really fun. As we walked around, we paid attention to the gondola drivers--shop around, some have personality and others act like they are just doing you a favor. A few even sing and have an accordion player. Might as well do it right. Have fun.--Leslie
