italy- verona - B&B/inn
 

ok I posted earlier that we were thinking about staying in Venice but husband thinks maybe a smaller town and using it as a hub to get to Milan/Bologna/Venice - any thoughts? suggestions on where to stay?

I saw a thread on another board yesterday about favorite hotels outside the "big 3". Seems most of them were in Verona. Here's a link. I had to shorten it.
http://tinyurl.com/g2cyk

>>husband thinks maybe a smaller town and using it as a hub to get to Milan/Bologna/Venice<<

NOT a good idea! (Especially for Venice.)

My thoughts are that, as much I like Verona, you'd be making a mistaking to be a daytripper into Venice. 12 million tourists pour into Venice each year during the daytime, but only 3 million of them spend the night there. That might give you a some idea of the difference in the quality of experience you will have if you only join the hordes of daytrippers and never experience Venice at night.

In much of Venice, you can stay in an out of the way, quiet hotel or b&b that will make you feel like you are in a small, quiet village, even during the day. Yet you will not be traveling several hours to see the great sights that Venice has to offer.

I have taken the train from Verona to Bologna, and it is a fairly long (and uninteresting) trip. Most people go to Bologna to sample its famous cuisine, but as a day tripper, you'll have a lunch and that's it. The ride back to Verona would be too long to do after dinner.

I also like the food and nightlife of Milano, but if your husband is trying to avoid the abrasiveness of a big city, then Verona might work well as a base from which to daytrip to Milano.

PS: If what your husband is really saying is that above all he'd love to experience the small town, quiet and relaxed life of Italy, that can be easily done. To get away from hordes of tourists, you might consider staying in Ferrara instead of Bologna, or Treviso instead of Venice. These are 30 or 40 minutes by train from the major cities and get a fraction of the tourists.