HELP!!! LAST MINUTE TRIP TO TRIESTE AND VENICE!!!
 

I'm travelling to Trieste in one week (quick decision) to visit my husband, who will be on leave from Navy. We will have ten days together and will be travelling solely by train. I was thinking about staying in Trieste for a few days, then maybe going to Udine for a few days (good train connection). Then onto Venice for four days, and back to Trieste to fly home. I have no idea about where to stay, how long, etc. etc. and have been searching everywhere on the internet. Needless to say, I'm dizzy from all this surfing. PLEASE, ANY SUGGESTIONS????

Hi Gail: <BR> <BR>Here's a website that can help you with hotels in Italy: <BR> <BR>www.venere.it <BR> <BR>Good luck, <BR>Carol <BR>

Hi Gail: <BR> <BR>I'd also go to my local bookstore or library and read up on any guidebooks to Italy, just to get a sense of what you want to see and do. I don't know if you've tried www.ricksteves.com, if not you may get some good info there too. <BR> <BR>You might even try a specific search on this site for "websites"-Italy; and another one for "websites-venice"-Italy. <BR> <BR>Good luck.

I hate to say it but I thought that Trieste was one of the most boring cities I've been to in Europe. It's main function seems to be as a trading depot between the former Yugoslavia and Italy. Many other people have written on this forum about Venice and this need not be repeated. I would suggest going into Istria, currently divided between Slovenia and Croatia. Many of the coastal towns are very scenic and very historic. Since they were controlled by Venice for long periods of history, the architecture in many towns has a Venice in miniature feeling. Porec has a great church with wonderful byzantine mozaics. Pula has Roman ruins. This area is very accessible from Trieste and you really have the feling of seeing something different. I would urge that you go, since yopu're so close to the border.

I agree that you should stay in Trieste only long enough to take care of the jet lag ... One day is way enough to visit what there's to see (Colle di San Giusto, with the Basilica, Castle, Hystory and Art Museum and the Roman Theatre) and the Lower Town (Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia and the Museo del Mare). The rest of Trieste is a modern town, an extensive port and some large shipyards. <BR> <BR>Udine is a very charming town with its Gothic and Renaissance monuments, small squares and narrow streets lined with arcades. It's a nice city to relax. Concerning sightseeing, one day would be more than enough, though. <BR> <BR>Besides Venice, the following cities are easily reached by train: Verona (my preferred town in the Veneto after Venice), Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, Mantua and Ferrara. You may even consider going to Ravenna, from Ferrara. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Question for Paulo: What hotel do you prefer in Verona?

Hi Gail <BR> <BR>Here are some websites <BR>Venice Hotels <BR>www.ve.flashnet.it <BR>www.hotelguide.ch/ <BR>www.venicehotel.com/ <BR>www.italyhotel.com/venezia <BR> <BR>Hotel Flora e-mail is [email protected]. <BR> <BR>Venice web sites <BR>www.veniceairport.it/ <BR>www.veniceinfo.it/ includes transportation <BR>www.actv.it/inglese/preservizi.htm/ transportation in Venice <BR>www.doge.it/ <BR>www.elmoro.com/ <BR>www.veniceworld.com/ <BR>www.conune.venezia.it/ <BR>www.initaly.com/regions/veneto/ <BR>ovensty.htm. a webpage that explains <BR>the Venetian street "plan". <BR>http://goeurope.miningco.com/travel/ <BR>europe/ <BR>www.italyhotel.com <BR>www.italiantourism.com/ Italian Govt Tourist Board <BR>www.traveleurope.it/ <BR>www.itwg.com hotels by city <BR> <BR>http://goeurope.miningco.com/travel/ <BR>europe/ esp. good for Venice <BR> <BR> <BR>I have some Notes on Venice from my own trip plus recommendations on hotels and restaurants that I've gleaned from others on this forum. Email me if you'd like me to send them.

Carol, I don't have what I could call a hotel preference in Verona (my preferred hotel in the area is actually out of town). When I was still a student and travelling by train, I used to stay in 1-star joints in the city centre. Travelling with my wife, though we visited it very often, we stayed only 3 times in the area and only once downtown (as Verona is very close to our "base" in Italy, we visited often on a stop when driving home from Venice or Florence/Rome). This one time we went by train and stayed at the Residence Hotel Castelvecchio (tel 045-594755; fax 045-595304). This is a 3-star conveniently located near the castle and the river and close to Piazza Bra and the Arena. I doubt that we'll stay in town once again in the future ... but if we do and the price's right, there's no reason not to use the hotel once more. <BR> <BR>Considering we just about always had a car (and driving into Verona and parking is very easy) it really didn't matter much staying in town. Two years ago, with our daughters, we stayed in the 3-star Croccione Hotel Rizzi (no relation :-) in Bussolengo <BR>(see http://www.traveleurope.it/h8.htm), <BR>a 15-min drive to Verona. Quite basic, no charm, but clean, good breakfast and a/c which is a must in summer and much cheaper than the 3-stars in town (about half), specially during the opera season (we attended a performance of Aida). Would we attend another opera in the future, most probably we'll use it again. <BR> <BR>One other time, we decided to stay in the Lake Garda area, more specifically in charming Torri del Benaco at the very nice 3-star Hotel Gardesana overlooking the small port, with a good restaurant and also cheaper than the 3-stars in town. The drive to Verona takes about 45 minutes. <BR>(visit http://www.hotel-gardesana.com/) <BR> <BR>Next time in the area we'll almost certainly have a car and we'll use the Gardesana again, unless we're attending an opera (this finishes around 2am and the 45-min drive to the hotel would be a bit too much!). <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

It would be kind of you, dear slavic writer, to avoid to name venetian towns in Istria with slavic names when speakin english, as slavic people only renamed and destroyed it the last 50 years after WW2, while for 1000 years long Venetian government built they up