Italy Itinerary help?
 

We are planning a trip to Italy arriving May 12 and departing May 22. We'd love any advice or suggestions to flesh out our trip. I will be around 5 months pregnant, so that will affect things a bit. We were just in Tuscany and Venice for our honeymoon in September and just had to return one more time before our family expands.

Here's the schedule:

May 12 arrive Bologna airport and spend the night in the city. Researching hotel now.

May 13-18 Locanda di San Francesco in Montepulciano (5 nights)

May 18-22 Locanda Orseolo in Venice (4 nights)

For our honeymoon last fall, we visited Pienza, Montalcino, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Siena, Vigno Bagnoni, Florence and Venice. Any suggestions for other must-see towns and sites in Tuscany or maybe even Umbria?

Would you recommend keeping that first night in Bologna or should we stay somewhere halfway between Montepulciano and Bologna. My husband really wants to eat in Bologna or surrounding area.

Any suggestions are much appreciated! Thank you!!

Hi M,

Are your hotel reservations already set? If so, it doesn't sound like you need anymore planning.

If it were me, although I love Tuscany too, I would try somewhere new. Have you thought about Assisi, Spello, Todi, Orvieto?

Maybe
1 nt Bologna
4 nts Spello
4 nts Rome

Don't you want to see Rome? It's wonderful for so many reasons! How about the Ligurian Coast? It would be very nice in May too!

W were in Bologna for two nights two weeks ago. We stayed at the Hotel Orologio and had a memorable meal at Da Cesari. If you click on my screen name you can find the trip report. Just scroll down to the Bologna section.

Hi MW,

You might want to do 2 nights in Bologna.

See my trip report for details of our visit there.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

((I))

Thanks everyone! Our hotels in Venice and Montepulciano are booked. I just need to book the Bologna hotel.

On our honeymoon we also visited Rome and the Amalfi coast (it was a busy honeymoon!). For this return visit I wanted to stay for longer periods in fewer locations.

I know there are so many other places to see, but I'm so drawn to Tuscany and Venice. We didn't have much time in Venice last time. I can't wait to see Tuscany in the spring.

We do hope to venture into Umbria a bit while we stay in Montepulciano. Maybe I should post separately for tips on that. I would have loved to break up the trip a little more and stay in Umbria as well, but since I'll be pregnant, it seemed prudent to not move around too much.