Marsh

My husband & I want to go to Italy & Greece in September or October for about 4 weeks. He has bad knees & doesn't like to walk very far at a time. In thinking about the logistics of traveling to Greece & some islands from Italy, I'm about to decide that we should just stay in Italy for this trip. I really want to see a lot of Italy, even though I've been there before.

bobthenavigator

Stay in Italy and include Sicily rather than Greece.

bobthenavigator

Here are some good reasons why:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828

charnees

I agree you should not push yourselves to go to Greece, too.

Here are some places where you can walk around a little or a lot, almost all on the level or not very hilly:

Florence
Fiesole (in the hills above Florence)
Pisa
Lucca
Rome
Orvieto (take the tram to the top of the hill)

I'm sure others will think of places, too.

SusanP

Well, the area around the Piazza Navona in Rome may be fairly flat, but there are plenty of areas that are quite steep. Just so you know.

If you're looking for a flat Tuscan town, Pienza is great.

Attnymom

Marsh,
Your question couldn't be more timely for me! I have spent the better part of today trying to figure out how we can get from Rome to Santorini for a 3 day visit, then fly to Vienna to continue our trip. When I realized we would spend as much (if not more) time in the airport/airplane as we would in Santorini, I gave up. We will have to save Greece for another time. So, now I'm thinking after our Rome stay, we will train to Pompeii for a few days, then fly from Naples to Vienna. (We will already have visited Florence and Venice). Unless anyone has any other suggestions, this is my plan and I'm sticking to it (at least for now : )

Thank you for letting me piggy-back on your post, Marsh. Regarding your husband's knees, I agree with the other poster that Florence would be a nice place to visit. It seemed relatively flat and much more manageable in terms of size. Good luck to you!

Attnymom

charnees

Well, I certainly misspoke when I said Rome!! I was only thinking of the area around Campo dei Fiori, Navona, the Pantheon, and up to the Spanish Steps. But yes, obviously there are some hills -- 7 of them, as they say.

However, if you take a taxi to the Forum, it's pretty flat inside, ditto the Colosseum as long as you don't go above the main level.

And around the Vatican it's flat.

I do urge you to see Lucca. The other advantage of Florence is that it is small -- you can walk across the historic area in half an hour. I too have bad knees (one is a replacement) and don't like to stand for long periods, although walking is easier than standing.

Marsh

Thanks to all for your replies! Here is the "interesting" part! My husband had expressed interest in flying in to Switzerland, then going on the Italy and Greece. At some point I decided I would leave off Switzerland & just go for the other countries. Then I realized how far it is from Rome to Athens! Duh! Yesterday when I had a conversation with my husband about the proposed trip, he says he still wants to do all three countries! I asked him how much time we could have to do that. I don't believe he would be physically able to do it all. I am the planner of our do-it-ourselves trips, so I am in sort of a dilemma!

Carolina

There is a Minoan Ferry (very nice boats) which goes from Venice to Corfu and then on to the Greek Mainland. The boat leaves Venice about 2pm (some days of the week, 5pm others). It gets into Greece mid / late morning. I did this trip (with a cabin) and really enjoyed it. - Just an idea