Hi, I've been reading a number of the posts re Italy and decided to post one for myself. I'm thinking about spending 6 weeks in Italy, Sept-Oct 2017. I've been to Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Florence and Lucca, loved them all, but I think I want to stay somewhere different, maybe in Abruzzo? It doesn't have to be there, I'm totally open to suggestions, that's why I am posting. I like to walk, hike and bike, I love the countryside or ocean, not so much big cities. In thoery, I would base myself in one place and travel a bit from there, so somewhere w/ good train and/or bus lines is important. Not planning to rent a car, but might for a couple of days here and there, if needed. Also, I will probably visit Milan and Venice. I'm so looking forward to your recomendations, Thank you in advance!!

so somewhere w/ good train and/or bus lines is important.>

That's pretty much the case all over Italy -even Sicily and Sicily makes a neat place-especially nice weather at that time of year. Northern Italy can start getting cool and wet at that time of year.

Anyway for lots about trains check www.trenitalia.com -official site of Italian Railways; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com (check their online European Planning & Rail Guide Italy chapter for rail itineraries) and www.seat61.com.

When the first earthquakes struck Abruzzo last summer, I happened to read an article about the area (I've never been) that included a map of Italy that showed where earthquakes stuck most frequently and least frequently. I was shocked to see how often earthquakes struck in Abruzzo as compared to the rest of Italy. If you are from California, maybe you laugh at the idea of planning anything around earthquakes, but six weeks in an area that mainly has stone buildings would be pushing it for me!

I also read, by the by, in a food book about Italy that Abruzzo was so scarcely populated (is it because of earthquakes?) that it has more empty space that has been converted into national parks than any other part of Italy -- which sounds great if you like to hike a LOT and don't like cities, but I'm not sure you'll find many places to go by train.

If you are going to Venice and Milan, the area that makes a triangle with Bologna to the south (Bologna, Milan, Venice) has great train connections to loads of places. If Bologna sounds too big for you, then maybe Ferrara 20 minutes away by train would be better, especially if you like to bicycle. Everybody rides a bike in Ferrara. You can get to the seaside easily, but you can also do a bit of visiting the mountains if you rent a car, or take one of your six weeks and head up to Dolomiti or the lakes. Right around Ferrara (or Bologna) there are a many small but interesting towns easy to reach by bus or train: Lugo, Modena, Dozza, Brisighella, Padova, Comacchio, Raveena (spectacular, and with a beach). Bologna and Ferrara are interesting in themselves.

(And if you don't like earthquakes at all, I went to Sardinia once and people there told me they never get earthquakes. I didn't believe them, but the map confirmed it!)

Verona may not be small enough, though definitely smaller than Bologna, but it has great transport connections, even to Milan and Venice.

What about Ferrara? Relatively easy access to the E-R and to the Veneto regions.

Vicenza. Nice town. Good train service. Convenient to Milan and Venice.

Lots of nice smaller but not small towns in northern Italy -I liked Mantua a lot. Vincenza is super - Bergamo's upper town too.

Padua is a so-so city but with a lot of neat churches and sights.

I liked Parma a lot too.

I'll add Ravenna. Also, Bassano del Grappa and other smaller places in the Dolomite Mountains north of Venice.

My wife and I are thinking of doing something similar, and have thought of Bologna as a good base. It's pretty big, but it has great rail connections. Verona would also be good--it has lots to see.

Verona sounds perfect for you. Great culture, food, wine, train connections.
Also, you might want to consider Trento, to the north.

6 weeks in one place is a great idea!
You should be able to get a good price on an apartment.

Bus and train connections are not very good in sparsely populated areas, such as inland parts of Abruzzo. I would stick to a more densely populated area if you're not willing to rent a car.

Hi All, thank you for your suggestions and info!! I'm going to look closer at Bologna, as it isn't too far north, which gets chilly in Oct, and it's far enough south to be close to Firenze and Toscana!

Please continue to send your thoughts and ideas. This is so cool!

Bologna is a great base -easy day trips to many neat places -check out Certosa di Pavia:

https://www.google.com/search?q=cert...He-WDYgQsAQIGw

Easily reached by train or bus from Bologna.

We love Bologna...great train links and a really lovely city. There are lots of porticos in case of rain. We went the end of October 2016 and could sit outside for coffees and drinks etc.

You can see our pics here https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...57634399182853

The temperature in Italy is far more related to altitude than to latitude. The inland parts of Abruzzo are much colder in winter than Milan is. Right now there is over three feet of snow in many parts of Abruzzo, and I don't think Milan has had that much snow in its entire history.

In the summer, when it's too hot where we live, we don't head north, but south. Two hours north of us is the vast Po plain, which is one of the hottest places in Italy in the summer. Two hours south are the foothills of the Sibilline mountain chain, where we sleep under wool blankets at night.

The Certosa di Pavia is indeed a beautiful charterhouse church and monastic structure, but it takes two to three hours each way to get there. I wouldn't consider it a good day trip from Bologna, unless it's something you've been dying to see.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Lake Como area. It's very high on our list of favorites, along with the previously mentioned Bologna. And it's beautiful the time of the year you're planning to go to Italy.

It's true that Bologna is closer to Firenze and parts of Toscana, but there is a mountain range between them. The fast train can get you to Firenze in 45 minutes, but from there it's not particularly easy to include other parts of Toscana for a "day trip". Firenze itself is a better place to stay if you want to take day trips in Toscana.

However, there is an interesting daytrip you can take from Bologna to Toscana if you like to hike. Take the train from Bologna to Faenza (30 mins), and then from Faenza take a tiny mountain train to Marradi in the Tuscan mountains (another 30 mines). There is a lovely tiny town built around a stream and surrounded by beautiful chestnut groves, with walking paths. , Very beautiful pristine nature that is quite colorful in fall. You can get nice food in restaurants or for a picnic If you want, you can go back to Bologna the same way you came, or it is sometimes faster to take the train from Marradi to the main Florence train station in Florence (about an hour), and then get the fast train back to Bologna (which is fine after dark because there is very little scenery to see, since its mainly all tunnels).

Bologna is a good place to rent vacation apartments but if you end up there during one of there big trade festivals, some of which happen in October, then pickings get slim if you don't book early.

Again, thank you all for your help in planning my trip.

frencharmoire, is Marradi my destination, is that where I will be hiking? Any idea of the meters?

bvlenci, typically, what is the weather in Oct like in Bologna? Still comfotable?

jamikins, thank you for sharing your fotos, so much fun! I'm leaning toward Bologna more than ever. Or, as TexasAggie and others have suggested, Ferrara.

Also, any suggestions on what area of Bologna to look for rentals? Neighborhoods to stay in, or avoid? Thx!

Oops = Pavia is much farther from Boloney than I thought!

Marradi is a very small town surrounded by hiking areas. In October it must be very pretty (I was only there is summer) and they have a chestnut festival. I have read about an antique steam-powered train you can take to Marradi from Bologna or Firenze.

http://www.secretitaly.it/the-chestn...marradi-feast/

There are no areas of Bologna you need to avoid, although you should make a decision about whether you want to be within walking distance of the train station because you are planning a lot of train trips, or if you would prefer to be in an area of town where everything is still very medieval. Some parts of the medieval town have buses that go to the train station, or a taxi isn't expensive. But generally, the medieval parts of town are quieter, with less motor traffic, unless you are right in the student quarter.

If you look at a map of Bologna, and use the piazza Maggiore as the center of a "clock", everything in the upper right quadrant (roughly from noon to 3) is the student quarter. Everything in the upper left (from 9 to midnight) is walk to train. The lower half of the clock encompasses the most intact medieval area.

By the way, it can be really quick to get to Pavia from Bologna if you take the train from Bologna to Rogoredo station in Milan, and then connect to Pavia from there. If the timing is right, it only takes an hour (not three hours), and from the station it is a fast taxi ride to the Certosa, or the town itself is very nice to walk around. However, it's simpler to do from Milan.

Fun low-key day trips from Bologna if you are going to be there for several weeks include Vignola, Rimini, Budrio (home of the ocarina), San Giovanni in Persiceto in addition to the towns I mentoned before. If you are based in Ferrara, then consider Tresigallo, Rovigo & Cento, some of which can be reached by bicycle or public transporation. The area usually has a lot of food festivals in October, but the towns are very small, so if you go during the week, most everything will be closed during lunch time, so you need to plan around that.