kristensf

My boyfriend and I have 9 nights in Italy in late August/early September, and I'm trying to figure out the best itinerary for us. We are skipping Rome on this trip due to lack of time and our goals - we want to trip to be relaxing, have beautiful scenery and very very food-centric (we are total foodies). We will probably do some cultural activities but it won't be the central focus of our trip. We are also flying in and out of Milan - I wish i could have done open jaw Venice and Florence, but the trip was booked with miles so we were very limited.

Given our goals, we are planning on 2 nights in Venice (I've never been and it's one of his favorite places) and then split our time between Bologna and Tuscany. This is the tentative itinerary I have - would love to get feedback.

Tue 8/27 - Arrive MIlan around lunch, take train to Venice and arrive early evening
Wed 8/28 - Venice
Thu 8/29 - Venice for most of day, head to Bologna by train in evening
Fri - 8/30 - Day trips to Modena/Parma (?), night in Bologna
Sat - 8/31 - Day in Bologna, night in Bologna
Sun 9/1 - Morning train to Tuscany, rent car, afternoon/night in Tuscany
Mon 9/2 - Tuscany
Tue 9/3 - Day trip to Florence, night at our base in Tuscany
Wed 9/4 - Tuscany during day, in the late afternoon drop off car and take train to Milan, overnight in Milan
Thu 9/5 - Morning flight back to US

We also need to figure out our base in Tuscany - we've heard it's great to have a car to explore the region, but also thinking it'd be convenient to be near a train station and not TOO far from Florence so we can day trip there easily. Also would want to get a good idea for where to rent our car when we're coming from train from Bologna (it also should be a convenient drop-off point).

Thanks so much for the help!

Kristen

neckervd

The train ride from MXP to Venice lasts 4 hrs, for example Malpensa dp 13.43 - Venice ar 17.40.
There is at least 3times more to see at Venice than at Bologna.
May be you skip Modena.
What do you mean with Tuscany? Florence is the capital of Tuscany, other well known places of Tuscany are Pisa, Lucca, Volterra, Siena, Pienza, Chiusi, Elba Island and Gigio Island

jamikins

We are also huge foodies and just got back from EMR and Northern Tuscany. We focus all our trips around food! You may want to review our trip report with pics http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rche-lucca.cfm

We went to a great restaurant in Modena, details are in the report!

Enjoy your planning!

stevewith

Only a handful of people do food centered trips to Italy, and you might do better asking your questions on the Chowhound message board for Italy.

Were it me, and food and releaxtion were my dream, then I would fly into Milan and head directly to Milan (which has terrific food) or to Mantava (ditto). You can visit Modena by train from Mantova. After a few nights in Mantova, I would head to Bologna, stow luggage in the train station, visit the food markets, have lunch and after lunch, pick up the luggage and rent a car at the Bologna train station and head to Da Amerigo in Savigno, about one hour south of Bologna, in the direction of Tuscany. Da Amerigo has both a restaurant and rooms to rent.

From there, you can drop down into Tuscany, with your car. If you want to day trip into Florence, you might find it nicest to pick up place up in Fiesole, where you can easily take the bus or taxi into Florence as well as use your car to take day trips into the Chianti wine region. Perhaps an even better area for a foodie is right in the hills around Arezzo. You can use the trains from Arezzo or Montevarchi to reach Florence, but you are in a great area for food and Chianti wine.

Personally, I would not enjoy Venice in the latter part of Augsut, when it heaves with tourists and the air clammy (and the food is almost always sub-par most any time of year).

It may be muggy and crushingly hot almost anywhere you go. Getting a rental car early may make for a more comfortable trip. If you want a night in Milan, it can be easiest to pick one up at the Linate airport once you are over your jet lag. If you are tempted to arrive in Milan and head straight to Mantova, I believe you can pick one up there or go to Modena or Bologna for lunch and pick one up after lunch.

You will find a great many destination restaurants and high-end food shops are closed in the latter part of August, and your opportunities to visit cheese producers will be extremely limited in August (and perhaps non-existent). Not all restaurants close in August, but you will need to plan carefully and call in advance to make sure places are open (and reserve), rather than just show up.

If you are daunted by the idea of heavy heat and closed doors, think about landing in Miland and traveling the coastal Mediterranean. Include part of Liguria so you can taste pesto and other regional specialties, then head down the Tuscan coast, where there is a lot of good eating and wine.

stevewith

PS: If you really would like to see Florence but are tempted by the idea of the seaside, then arrive in Milan and head directly to Florence. Spend a couple of nights there and then rent a car at the Florence airport and head to Ligurian seaside (probably around Lerici). After that, drive south along the Med coast and fly out of Rome. If you have already purchased tix out of Milan, you can drop of the car any number of places and find a fast train back to Milan, or drive if you like, perhaps with an overnight in Parma.

So that trip would be something like

Arrive Milan, directly to Florence, 2 nights
Pick up car, go to Italian Riviera, 2 nights
Drive south along coast to area to seaside spot near Bolgheri wine area, 3 nights
Drive to Parma, 1 night
Drive to Linate airport, drop off car, spend last night in Milan

stevewith

jamikins and I were writing at the same time, and she and others who befriend them will no doubt hit the ceiling when I say this, but after reading more than one trip report from her and her husband where they became painfully ill from eating, and whose restaurant choices are bewildering for people who say they travel for food, I would be cautious about following their model.

jamikins

Hahaha! Why keep reading our reports then? Good thing it's only our opinion of our trips that counts .

Painfully ill...you crack me up...you don't really take everything at face value do you?

Honestly...

wekewoody

I would head to Piemonte and perhaps Liguria.