SpeedySinghs1

Hi all!

Thanks to all of your suggestions, we've finally been able to freeze on the broad itinerary and accomodations! So excited to visit Italy for the first time..Here is our final itinerary of the cities /places we are visiting:

Day 01- Reach Rome
Day 02- Rome
Day 03- Rome
Day 04- Rome
Day 05- Rome to Florence
Day 06- Florence
Day 07 - Florence (Day trip to Sienna)
Day 08- Florence (Day trip to Pisa and Lucca)
Day 09- Florence
Day 10- Florence to Milan to Como
Day 11- Como (Exploring the lake side and nearby towns- Bellagio, Varenna etc) More ideas??
Day 12- Como (leave early morning)- Milan- Venice
Day 13- Venice
Day 14- Venice (Verona Day trip)
Day 15- Venice to India

Q1: How does the overall itinerary now look?
Q2: Although, we are following lonely planet guidebook and enormous amount of information is available on the net, we need ideas from you experts on what we should definitly not miss to see/visit in all of these cities/towns we are visiting. Little precious notes of your experiences!
Q3: Where to eat in each of the places we are visiting??? all suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Q4: In venice, do you think we should go to Verona for a day trip or explore the venetian islands of Murano, Burano? My wife really wants to visit Verona though. We are not covering Verona on the way to Venice as we dont want to reach Venice too late in the evening what with all the hassles of hotel check-ins, settling in etc.
Q5: Other practical suggestions/tips on booking museums, monuments etc. and inter-city as well as intra-city travel will be greatly valued.

Thanks a lottt for your helpppp .. we cant wait to make our trip happen and share with all of you when we come back!

qwovadis

seat61.com/italy

Looks pretty good might train from Florence to Siena

or www.lucca.info have a look at Pisa Tower but do

not stay train on to Luca then Portofino/Cinqueterr.com

on your way to Genoa/Milano www.metropole.it my fav there

From Milan to Como high speed ferry to www.bellagio.info

prettiest town Residence D'Ulivo at Villa Serbelloni great

values on hotelscombined.com

eurocheapo.com best tips www.ostia-antica.org my fav Rome

Verona will be on your way from Milan venice-tourism.com

Not pretty except for the old town area and the arena

Jiliette's balcony a big fat tourist trap so would not spend

a lot of time there... I like the islands around Venice

a whole lot better particularly Torcello where it all began

8th century mosaics and the throne of Atilla the Hun there.

I have a great picture of my beautiful wife sitting in it

It was a PERFECT fit. www.southernartgallery.com great pics

of all your areas relax have fin and CONGRATS!

SpeedySinghs1

@qwovadis .. thanks for your response.. especially your views on Verona ..

ellenem

I love Verona. You could get a good taste of all Verona has to offer beyond Juliet's balcony on a day trip from Venice. It will be easy to decide to do so once you are in Venice. Since most of your day in Verona would be sent wandering outdoors, I'd save this day trip for a rainless day. I also love Torcello, but depending on your group's interests, Verona may be a better choice than Torcello.

We could avise on other special things to see if we knew your interests--likes and dislikes to do and see--when you are traveling.

mamcalice

Since you have only 2 full days in Venice, I would not plan a day trip. There is so much to see and do that you will have difficulty covering it in 2 days. However, if you decide to go, in my opinion, Verona is a better choice than the islands. As ellenm suggests, play it by ear after you arrive in Venice. Don't miss the Rialto Market early one morning in Venice.

tarquin

I wouldn't miss a day in Venice to go to Verona. We did revisit it during our recent stay in Vicenza, which is closer than Venice, but apart from a small area of the centro storico and the Giardino Giusti across the river, we were not enthused about it. Go to Vicenza if you have time for a daytrip - it's an architectural dream and largely traffic-free.

alyap35

Re Q5: If you haven’t booked any tours yet I would suggest using Rick Steve’s audio tours. They’re free and I think they’re just as good as most tour guides.

If you have an iphone there is an app called 'Rick Steves Audio Europe' and he has a section dedicated to the cities you are visiting – Rome, Florence, Venice. Just download the tours before you head over there and you can still listen to them on airplane mode so you don’t get charged for any roaming.

You can download the maps from this site: http://www.ricksteves.com/ae/ae_menu.htm

If you only have an ipod you can still download the tours from here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i...rs/id272230438

Also, I just got back from Italy 3 days ago and the lines for the museums were pretty ridiculous so I think purchasing tickets in advance is worth it so you can skip the lines. Here are the websites I used:
www.tickitaly.com
www.wheninrometours.com

If you don’t have any solid gondola plans yet you may want to check out this site:

http://www.localvenicetours.com/prod...&campaign=lvt_

The cost is $55 per person and includes singing. I think this is normal charge but singing is usually additional.

kybourbon

>>>>Also, I just got back from Italy 3 days ago and the lines for the museums were pretty ridiculous so I think purchasing tickets in advance is worth it so you can skip the lines. Here are the websites I used:
www.tickitaly.com
www.wheninrometours.com<<<<

I would use the official websites instead of paying the two listed above since they mark up the prices quite a bit. The official website for museums in Florence is http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/Default.asp?

For the Vatican Museums, you can book directly with the Vatican.
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

If you don't intend to buy a Roma Pass, the official booking for many of the sites in Rome is Pierreci.
http://www.pierreci.it/home-page/en.aspx
http://www.romapass.it/?l=en

For Siena, the pass for the Duomo complex doesn't really need to be purchased in advance.

BigRuss

If you go to Siena, then DEFINITELY go to the Duomo - most underrated attraction in all of Italy.

As for restaurants, don't sweat it. Seriously. You will have to work REALLY HARD to find a bad meal. I've been three times, my old man has been about 7-8 times and I've been to various regions of the country including all the ones on your itinerary. I don't recall a bad sit-down meal, period; dad recalls one.

I liked Verona, but I did not sacrifice time in Venice to see Verona and don't think you should either. Pisa is only a destination for most folks b/c the tower. If that's why you want to go, save the effort and spend more time in Florence.

wrenwood

When at Lake Como, don't miss eating at the restaurant at Isola Comacina. I was uncertain if it would be worth the price. It was. Food was delicious, great atmosphere, wonderful owner. If we ever go back to Como, we'll go there again!

http://www.comacina.it/en/island.php

Mimar

You plan to stay in Como town itself? I think you'd be better off staying midlake in Varenna, Bellagio, or Menaggio, especially if those are the places you want to visit. They're connected by little ferries.

I too hate to see you give up half your short time in Venice for a day trip to Verona. But I think Verona is worth a visit, most especially since it's a priority for your wife. If you rearranged your itinerary, training from Rome to Varenna or Como, then back to Florence, you'd have a shorter trip to Venice and time to do a stop-over in Verona.

I'm sure your itinerary required much work and many iterations so I'm reluctant to suggest a change. But it's good to make wives happy! And 2 restful days in Venice would be a nice end to your trip.

joannay

On my trip to Rome last year I'd wanted to visit Pompeii but decided it was too far for a day trip so chose to visit Ostia Antica, just outside Rome and easily reachable by bus and train in less than an hour. Beautiful, no crowds, leafy and cool, a nice cafeteria for lunch. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend a visit.
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...taly/ostia.htm
http://www.ostia-antica.org/

I also took a bus south of the city and returned by walking on the Via Appia with it's famous associations in Roman history. I will certainly do it again on my next visit but walk further than I had time for last time.
http://www.rome.info/ancient/appian-way/

easytraveler

I love Verona, but agree that you shouldn't take a day from Venice to do it.

If it is a "must-do" then take some time away from the rest of your trip - although I don't see much leeway in your itinerary.

If your wife's purpose is to see Giulietta's balcony, then it's not worth it.

zoecat

I agree with staying in Bellagio or Varenna on Lake Como, instead of Como. You can train from Milan to Varenna. If you are staying in Bellagio you can take the quick ferry from Varenna to Bellagio.

I say skip Verona. You could use more time in Venice. Of course, you can always decide on what to do once you are in Venice- no need to make up your mind now.

When in Venice, I always eat at Osteria La Zucca. Click on the "contacts" link on their website to get contact info and directions/map. I suggest reservations.-

http://www.lazucca.it/?lang=en

charnees

Juliette's balcony was fictional, so whatever you were planning on seeing is not the real thing. That's not to say Verona is not a lovely little city. But don't go just for that "attractiion".

Elyse_Dorm

Your trip looks awesome! In Rome don't miss seeing the Trevi Fountain at night, take advantage of the metros, and I really liked the hop on hop off bus for this city- even if it is a little dorky it gives a good ride around the city with nice views day and night.

In Venice, Murano and Burano don't really have a lot going on. Although if you want amazing photos Burano is the place to go- if you can fit in a quick trip there to see the colorful buildings and there reflections in the canals that would be really nice, IMO.

poetess

I agree with mamcalice that Venice has so much to offer, why not stay put? The islands and Verona are okay if you have perfect weather and just want to take a walk or a boat ride, but Venice offers both and so much more.

My favorite art gallery in Rome is the Doria Pamphilj, a small jewel of a private collection that is seldom crowded, has a lovely gift shop and a cafe. They also offer chamber concerts in the galleries.

http://www.doriapamphij.it

Kybourbon is correct; you will save hours of misery and frustration if you buy advance tickets online for all major museums in every city you plan to visit.

In Florence, if you tire of the crowds, there's a lovely walk outside the Porta Romana along Viale Niccolo Macchiavelli to the exquisite church of San Miniato or downhill on Via San Leonardo to the Bardini Gardens--- far lovelier and more peaceful than the Boboli gardens. The cafe is fine for a light lunch on a balcony overlooking the gardens. All along the walk, the views of Florence and the hills are spectacular and Google maps will show you the routes.

http://www.maps.google.com/

easytraveler

Gelato - and more gelato

make sure you're not paying more than 2 to 3 euros a scoop.

SpeedySinghs1

woww.. this is awesome! .. i am just reading through all the responses and little gems of tips .. cant thank you enough! )

Let me go through all the above with my wife .. (am sure she will be very interested in alll the tips ) and will again post our specific questions ..
@ellenem: we are interested in seeing and exploring the italian culture and history (famous sites, monuments that are a must see). Since Italy is a foodie's paradise too .. we are also keen on experiencing the food in the local cafes, must eat restaurents which should not be missed at any of the mentioned cities/places.

We are vegetarians....

willperson

In Siena, while in the Plaza in which the Palio is held, if you are standing outside the Tower building looking outward to the left opposite corner, an entrance is there, next to entrance is a fun, good gelato shop with a great view from the balcony upstairs. They sell tickets to stand on the balcony during the Palio, it starts right off the balcony, for 2 to 3 thousand euros apiece. The coffee is very good and I like the fruit gelatos. A fun place to see.