Help with 2 Week Northern Italy Itinerary
 

Next October (2020), my wife and I (both active seniors) are planning a trip to Northern Italy.

Proposed Itinerary:

• Padua (5 nights) - day trips to Venice; Bassano del Grappo / Cittadella; possibly Verona
• Bologna (4 nights) - day trips to Ravenna; Parma
• Camogli (3 nights) - possible day trip to Abbazia di San Fruttuoso
• return to Milan for 1 night before flying home

Questions for You:
We would like some diversity in local culture, food and landscape without traveling too far off this region. Would this itinerary give us that diversity? If not, any recommendations?? I'm concerned that Padua and Bologna might be too much the same. Also, does this itinerary look too busy / too much travel?

We won't be renting a car. We will depend on walking and taking trains/buses for travel. Also, we want to be relatively busy but with enough 'down' time. Your thoughts??

About Our Travel Likes:
We enjoy taking in the local culture, wine and food (but we're not 'foodies'). Also, we enjoy sightseeing (landscapes), biking and small hikes. Although we will visit a few historical buildings and churches, we have a short attention span for that kind of touring. Also, we have little patience with huge crowds.

Thanks for any advice!

I think your plan is pretty sound. I've been to all those places and I think you are correct that it will offer a nice variety. I have just a few suggestions.

By staying in Padua and day tripping to Venice you will be there during the most crowded times. Are you the type that would be able to get up very early? If you are then I would suggest that, get there early (it's only 1/2 hour away). Then you can go back to Padua mid day when you're tired and the crowds are thick. Another day you could do the reverse, wait till later in the day, go for dinner and enjoy a less crowded evening.

From Padua I think Verona is a better day trip than Bassano. I enjoyed Bassano but there is a lot more in Verona. The very center is crowded but there is plenty of area to get off the beaten path. And actually with 5 nights in Padua you could easily do two - even three - day trips. I once spent 7 nights there and did day trips to Venice, Verona, Vicenza, Mantua, and Treviso. I do remember thinking if that had been my one and only trip to Venice I would not have loved it. I'd been before so didn't need/want to see the iconic Piazza San Marco, Rialto, etc. But if you've never been there you will want to see those.

From Bologna on your day trip to Parma you can easily combine it with Modena (which is between them). Both towns are fairly small and can be seen in half a day.

From Camogli make sure you get to Santa Marguerita and Rapallo, both about a 3-4 minute train ride from Camogli. I went to Abbazia di San Fruttuoso by boat but not sure they run in October. I think it's a pretty long hike. I thought the abbey was OK but not outstanding.

Here's my Italy photos which include all those places - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f739967755

"Then you can go back to Padua mid day when you're tired and the crowds are thick."

I wouldn't go back to Padua, if I could spend the whole day in Venice. There is plenty of room to avoid the crowds in Venice, you just have to get off the beaten track a bit.


Since Parma is between Bologna and Camogli I'd spend a night there instead of backtracking to Bologna. Doing the Bologna-Parma trip only once instead of 3 times, it's a no brainer.

There is a local train line that cuts through the mountains and connects Parma to La Spezia. Especially if you stayed the night in Parma, this could be an interesting ride to the coast.

I loved my reasonably-priced day out of Parma on the Tasty Bus. It is a silly name, but a totally enjoyable tour. The tour is half or full day. It leaves from the center of Parma at 9:30a and visits a Parmigiano Reggiano factory and a Prosciutto do Parma factory, with detailed visits through both locations and tastings. If you take the full-day tour, lunch in the countryside is included and then a visit to a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar producer, again with a tasting. of course there were options to purchase but no pressure at each location. I was back in Parma by about 4:30p. Full day was about 95 euros per person and the tours are in small vans.

Most surprising for me, I was traveling in March and went I reported for the tour for which I had purchased a ticket the day before, I was the only person in the tour. My guide was the owner of the company and she drove us to the various factories in her own car. She has full run of the factories so we stood literally next to the cheese vats as the cheese makers worked, and roamed throughout the different prosciutto aging rooms and even into the attics of the vinegar producer. At the restaurant we went into the kitchen to greet the chef.

It was a lovely day.

Thank you all for your informative feedback and advice. Here are my takeaways so far:
1. Definitely don't miss Verona.
2. Several useful tips about Venice. We'll look into this further. We are crowd-averse but Venice sounds worth it.
3. We'll look into the logistics of doing Parma on the way to Camogli (and thanks for the insight about the Tasty Bus). We'll also look into the Parma to La Spezia train if we decide to overnight in Parma.

And a special thanks to Isabel for the link to your incredible photos.

2)

https://www.theveniceinsider.com/ins...rip-to-venice/

Poemas del río Wang: Venice

Thank you for the links :-)