Hello All,

My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy this summer and are really not sure what to do! We really would love a food & wine expereince somewhere that is a little off the beaten path. We are thinking around 10-14 days depending. We are looking for real "touristy" places. Just amazing food & wine that requires no driving by us...and hopefully where the language will not be of major concern. We only speak English...

We just love great food & wine and want a trip that we can soak in one area for all it has for that perdiod of time.

Some areas we've thought of for possibilities are Bologna and Piedmote...

Thanks!

I think you meant to write, "We are NOT looking for real 'touristy' places." IMO, if you want to really get away from tourists, you need a car especially if you want to move around much in those 10-14 days.

I think the Asti/Alba/Bra area of Piemonte would be more comfortable weather-wise than Bologna, but Bologna would probably offer easier/better transportation options. I've only explored Piemonte by car (extremely easy), so I'm not familiar with any bus service, and a quick google search doesn't find much. It might be easier to stay in Torino and make day trips by train and/or bus.

I did find this map of Torino's suburban bus lines which indicates little coverage to/from the Langhe Valley.

http://www.comune.torino.it/gtt/inte...xtraurbana.pdf which is a link from this website:

http://www.comune.torino.it/gtt/en/maps/

How committed are you to traveling without a car?

Mantua/Mantova is a little outside of most English-speaking tourists' consciousness, and in a lovely area with interesting food and wines. Also within easy striking distance of other interesting places by public transportation. And easy to reach by rail from Milan.

look for the hilltop villages that don't have large coach parks or coach access. Or if they don't have a tourist info office on google, it might be what you are looking for.

I am confused---do you mean 2014?

I agree that rural Piemonte is what you want, but you really need a car to enjoy it.

Le Marche is another good region to consider. And you don't need a car to get off the tourist trail. One issue is though that if a town is not geared toward tourism, the chances are that relatively few people will speak English. It's not an insurmountable issue, but there is a trade-off you'll face in looking for "non-touristy" places.

To access the villages in tne Piemonte you will need to fent a car.

Driving in Italy, outside the major cities, is not difficult. The main problem I have is finding cars with automatic transmissions. Usually, these are only available at the larger cities and at airports and also are more expensive. But if you can drive stick, you might consider renting a car.

Also, if possible, try going early in the summer and avoiding July and August. Since you have time, why not pick up some language CDs from your library and get a few useful phrases under your belt? A little Italian goes a long way.

Also, if transportation issues take you to only the more "touristy" spots, with proper planning you can avoid the crowds.

But, Piemonte does sound like it would be the place to go. Check out this trip report by another Fodorite:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-bicerin.cfm

The Piemonte does sound l

Me & my fiance went on an 11 day trip to Italy this May. First off, it's going to be more beautiful than you'd ever dream. Our trip included Venice, Florence, Rome, & Sorrento.

I would definietly suggest Venice for 2 nights, which happens to be a place I never thought I wanted to go. It always sounded cheesy, but it was so romantic and just something to see. I will say for the majority the food we had there wasn't amazing.

If you are wanting, quaint, I would then stay in San Gimignano. We took a wine tour at Fattoria Poggio Alloro and I would recommend it! The food and wine there were superb!

Also, the Amalfi Coast is unreal! We stayed in Sorrento for 2 nights and LOVED it. Great food and very relaxed. I wish we could have then gone to Positano or Capri for a few days but lacked the time.

Happy planning!!

Didn't have time to elaborate earlier, but here's more info about Mantova/Mantua.

And some photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=756b74ec61

I spent time there several years ago. It's a lovely place, a wonderful, atmospheric old town, filled with narrow streets, medieval buildings, lively piazzas. It’s a perfect small medieval jewel of a city, surrounded on three sides by lagoon-like lakes which are smothered in blooming lotus in mid-summer!

And the food! How funny to visit a place where they eat donkey cooked in lovely sauces and little parcels of pasta filled with pumpkin, in addition to all the other wonderful northern Italian dishes; and they drink fizzy red wine with everything. Mantua has a number of lively piazzas for outdoor eating. Canals and small rivers flow through the city.

And the art! Astonishing, amazing 16th century Renaissance and Mannerist art. In Palazzo Te you will find some of the best art treasures in Italy, including amazing frescoes by Mantegna, also some of the most erotically-charged frescoes in all of Europe, whole rooms covered from floor to ceiling and across ceiling and back down to floor again. Gods, goddesses, nymphs, giants, banquets and horses cover almost every surface in the loggias and salons of the palazzo. In one room the ceiling seems to dissolve into the walls as you are surrounded by giants battling grotesques. Simply amazing!

Verona and the southern end of Lake Garda are easy day-trips by train. Sirmione is at the southern end of Lake Garda, set in a flat plain. It's a lovely place too, although it does tend to get very crowded with tourists because of its proximity to, and ease of access from, Milan. But on a warm, sunny day you can search out a spot by the lake, take off your clothes, and relax in the sun. Or hop around the lake from town to town by ferry, stopping here for coffee, there for lunch, another place for gelato, etc.

Now another place I'll mention as a favorite of mine with great food and wine but without all the tourists: the Aeolian Islands, off the coast of Sicily.

I really enjoyed the Aeolians in late September-early October a couple of years ago and also in May the year before that. Each time the weather was perfect for beach-hiking-strolling-eating outdoors. If you go, travel on the overnight ferry from Naples if you can. This is slow travel at its best. Rise from your comfortable berth before dawn, pull on your clothing, with a warm pullover against the morning chill, then make your way to the deck. Early morning views of Stromboli, Panarea, Salina and Lipari are stunning and utterly bewitching.

The first time I stayed in Lipari, just above Marina Porta and Porto delle Genti, and there was a sandy beach less than 5 minutes' walk away. The room was large and cool and had a lovely, large, very private balcony with lounge chairs perfect for afternoon napping. Some very good restaurants within easy walking distance. Aeolian cuisine centers around fish, seasonal ingredients and intense flavors. This is among the best of Mediterranean food, with Greek, Roman, Spanish, Saracen and Arabic influences as well as Italian.

Every morning small fishing boats tie up at the quay near the church of the Lost Souls in Purgatory at Porto delle Genti. The men bring out their catch from the bottom of the boat, assess the sizes and weights of the individual fish and eels, then sell from the quayside to whoever passes by. Each season brings its gifts to the table - trees heavy with lemons, mulberries, apricots, pomegranates, figs; fields of wild greens; boats filled with fish.

It's easy to get around the island of Lipari by bus, and you can visit the other islands in the archipelago by ferry or hydrofoil. Small private boats are available also to take you out to some of the secluded beaches and coves of Lipari.

Here's a link to some photos if you're interested: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=8501ca389c