I am starting to plan our second trip to Italy. Last summer we visited Cefalu, Sorrento, and Rome. Next summer my husband has suggested Sicily and "somewhere near Florence and Venice". First I know he doesn't have a clue. Second, I can handle the Sicily part but need help with the "Florence and Venice" part.

After consulting my trusty map I was thinking maybe Bologna. It seems to be centered between the two. I have read some past posts about Bologna and it being a great "College town" but would it be a good base for a family of 6 for a week in June/July. Is it easy to take day trips to surrounding towns and cities by train or car?

Any information, suggestions, and/or alternatives would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I guess it would help if you knew what we liked to do and who was going.

We will be traveling with our children who will be 10 and 5 and with his parents who are in their early sixties, we are both 30 somethings.

We like looking at the architecture of different areas, we are not really into museums, we would like a place that we could relax and take leisurly strolls, window shop, and get a real feel for the people of the area. We loved Cefalu last summer but my husband did not care for Rome (I love Rome, but it was to crowded and "dirty" according to my husband) if that gives you any indication of what we like.

Bologna might be an interesting place for you to visit, but not because it's "somewhere near Florence and Venice". It's neither and is several hours drive from both.

If you really want to visit Florence or Venice, you will have to stay nearer to them, or split the time between them. You can stay a few days near or in Florence and a few days in Venice.

When designing a trip, first decide where you want to visit and then decide where to stay and for how long. If you really want to spend a week in the Bologna area, forget about Fkorence and Venice.

How long is your total trip?
I tend to think that Parma might be more agreeable to your husband to stay (Bologna is an easy day trip). They however are really not "near" Florence or Venice.
Will you have a car?

You may want to consider Lucca.

If it were me, I'd spend 4 days in Florence and 3 in Venice (or viceversa if that appeals). From Florence you could take a day trip to Pisa and Lucca, which would be interesting for your kids as well. Trying to split the difference will just result in you seeing neither one very well. Both have enough to keep you busy for the whole week on their own.

We will be in Italy for 14 days (not including the flight days). We were thinking of only 6 days in Sicily, a day to travel north, and 7 days at one base with day trips.

I normally do decide where we are going prior to planning anything else (that is the stage I am in right now). However, I have some rather difficult travel companions to make happy. One person likes to move around a lot and see several different cities (hubby) and another one prefers one or two home bases with daytrips from there (FIL). So I am trying to accommodate both. My husband is clueless about how far apart the cities are. I know Bologna is not really close to either city but it looked like it split the distance between them. If it were up to just us we would spend 3 days in one and 4 in the other.

I guess what I was hoping for was a location that would allow us to have one home base but also allow us a day trip to Venice and a day trip to Florence. That may not be possible and that is OK. My husband has just decided that Northern Italy is the place to spend our second week. We love visiting new areas and learning the history of each area. So any suggestions of where to go are greatly appreciated.

I have not reached the point of deciding on whether or not we will have a car. We will probably have one in Sicily, so we are not opposed to having one; unless driving in that area is difficult.

based on the fact that you liked Cefalu' - which I found to be small but very friendly, then I would seconfd the earlier suggestion of Lucca. It is a very prettty walled city with excellent restaurants, and a pleasant walks. It is also just over an hour from Florence by train.

I suggest staying in Verona. From there you can easily visit Lago di Garda and also Venice.

Firenze would be a long day trip, so skip it, unless you want to fly from Sicily into Pisa (or vice versa). Otherwise, use Milan as your non-Sicilian airport.

But your husband may think Firenze is dirty and crowded, and in summer it is terribly hot.

Verona would be perfect for everybody in your family, with castles and a Roman Arena, plus trips to the countryside would be nice.

Verona sounds like it might be good. Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into it.

I noticed your children are very young. They might really enjoy a trip to "Gardaland" which is an amusement park that is about 30 minutes from Verona by train. It's right on the lake. Boat rides around the lake are also fun (and cool in summer) with stops for ice cream for the kids and wine for the grown ups in Bardolino.

You take a train to Pescheria del Garda to get to Gardaland. You might make a whole day of it with a trip to Gardaland after breakfast, stay until about 3pm, then take a boat trip to Bardolino for ice cream and a drink. Then take the boat back to Pescheria del Garda and either have dinner there before taking the train back to Verona.

Try to go on a weekday to avoid the crowds.

I think I better add too that Verona has fairly good sized areas of shopping markets and car-less pedestrian zones or big piazzas, plus it is flat, so it is good for both kids and oldsters. Not many crowds there, except for opera season. Even if you are not big opera fans, you might take a chance on an opera in the Roman Arena if you are there during the season. It's more like one big party and the tradition is for everybody in the audience to bring candles, which your kids might find thrilling.

The museums and churches and historic sites are very good but also on the compact side, so it's not tiring or boring to visit them. And it's an easy town for people to split up and regroup if people want to do different things.

Thanks for all the great information. I am going to research this area this evening.

When is the Opera season there. I think that would be great if we could attend one.

Do north or south but not both.

If you stay in Lucca, visit Collodi. I think the children would like Pinocchio Park . Pisa is also close by.

I agree with Bob.Either stay in northern Tuscany or maybe Vicenza near Venice (trying to fit your request).