bvlenci

I was wondering if you were staying at the Castello of Monterado. I've heard good things about it, and recommended it to someone on Tripadvisor, who loved it. I've never been inside, myself. I've eaten in the restaurant, which may be under different management.

It's a popular spot for weddings.

ekscrunchy

another one who is saving this terrific response!

MyBeautifulBalloon

Hi everyone,

I have a question.

Is Urbino really worth a full day visit (or even an overnight)?

We are considering staying a bit further south for the 5 nights (before the 3 nights in Ascoli Piceno) as there seems to be quite a bit to see further south and the drive to Urbino is quite far for a day trip.

Thanks.

Lara

Elisabeth54

Mind if I tag along everyone? I have read all the above information with great interest, thank you all so much.

I am planning a trip for two to le Marche in mid September. We live in Europe and will be driving, with le Marche as our destination. We plan to stay for about one week to 10 days and take our time driving back.

I find it very difficult to choose between the North, Central and Southern Marche, they all have so much to offer.

We'd like to stay in a self catering house or apartment as we love to cook. Preferably in the vicinity of a town, so there are markets and shops to choose from as well as restaurants. We'd like also to be at driving distance from a nice beach although I realize that around that time of year most beaches will just about be closing down.

Any advice welcome as always!

bvlenci

The ducal palace in Urbino is one of the best-preserved in Italy, and the art museum that's inside the palace has some important pieces, including "The Ideal City", by an unknown artist, one of the iconic paintings of the Renaissance. The duke's studiolo is a twin of the one at the Met in New York. The underground area of the palace (kitchen, stable, laundry) is also interesting, and the view of the palace from the park at the top of the hill is pretty amazing.

It's also just an attractive, well-preserved Renaissance city, set in beatiful countryside.

I don't know if you would think it worth the drive to get there.

Elisabeth54

Hi bvlenci, we will be coming from the North and plan to drive down via Urbino, spending at least one day and night there.

We would like to spend a week in a self catering house or apartment not too far from the coast. I am now looking at a house near Morrovalle, between Macerata in the West and Civitanova Marche in the East.

MyBeautifulBalloon

I know Urbino is very highly rated, but as we are now reserved in the more southern area of Le Marche for 6 nights, and it is a long drive to Urbino for just a day trip.

We have been to Ravenna, Florence, Bologna, Parma, and Verona,among others in that region, but we feel we want a different type of experience this time around, so we are staying in a wonderful B&B in a tiny hill top village in Southern Marche, giving us access to so many interesting and gorgeous places to visit.

Lara

Leely2

MyBeautifulBalloon, unrelated to your recent questions: from Ascoli Piceno we enjoyed a trip to Civitella del Tronto (in Abruzzo, but close to AP) one day. We got bicycles and tooled around the town. Had lunch, visited the fortress. Also liked visiting Offida, where the older ladies still make lace in their houses (as well as in shops). The inland drives were very beautiful; the coastal areas--or what I saw of them--were less attractive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civitella_del_Tronto

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offida

Leely2

Oops, I see bvlenci mentioned Offida above. I believe it was an earlier post of hers that first called it to my attention, so when we were in Ascoli a few weeks ago we headed over.

Elisabeth54

Lara, would you perhaps care to share which B&B in which village in the Southern Marche?

We have now decided for the Southern Marche as our destination in the first week of October. All suggestions for that area are most welcome!

sundriedtopepo

MBB it is great to see the interest in this part of Italy, and particularly in view of the wonderful information provided by bvlenci, it would be lovely to have some feedback on what you would recommend in Le Marche. Any highlights?

MyBeautifulBalloon

Hi sundriedtopepo,,

We did not end up travelling to Le Marche. We changed our plans and visited Naples for five days, a city we have always wanted to see, as well as four days on the Amalfi Coast and four days just outside Sorrento.

Naples is fantastic, so much better than we had ever imagined.

I hope some other people got great use of the wonderful information provided by bvlenci, which we used to plan our Le Marche trip before changing our plans.

dinoA77

I've 'met' bvlenci in forum discussion at tripadvisor (where known as dennisa) and read great things she has written there, but this long piece is just wonderful, both informative and full of real affection for Le Marche.

I have stumbled on this discussion by chance.

We have been planning five weeks in Italy next March April and have included nine days based in San Severino Marche. I am using a blog for planning, so far not searchable by search engines, but reachable with this link:
http://dinuovoinitalia.blogspot.com....booked_14.html

I find the blog format useful for thinking through ideas of what to do, also as somewhere to put links to resources (right column).

You will see that after 23 hours or so flying from Australia we will drive 100km or so to spend three nights in recuperation (I'm 73 in a village near Orte, offering also access to places we know well near there.
http://unmese.blogspot.com.au/

And then nine nights in San Severino.

In deciding where to go in Le Marche, we've had to choose one place to base ourselves... Well, we looked at the option of splitting the time between two places but we prefer the longer stay.

blvenci has confirmed the feast that we discovered possible in Le Marche. Nice to have her comments on particular places!

Since this discussion thread was launched the earthquakes have begun and moved a little further north towards Macerata. Our host in San Severino in reply to our concern about their wellbeing said they had experienced fear but not much damage with the big shock. When you look at the landscape you see the inevitability of seismic events. Hopefully this geological tension will be calmed down soon.

nanael

I am so glad I saw this post! I just hope I can still get some responses since it has been a while.
My husband and I have decided to spend 2 weeks in Le Marche this Fall.
My first question:
We have an option of leaving CA in late August, spending 3 days in Rome and then driving to the Region. We will go to Slovenia and Slovakia following.
OR: we can switch it around and return to Rome on October 5th and going to Le Marche Oct 8th ... My reason for going later is weather - I have been in Italy in early September and it has still been pretty warm and humid. But, I have also encountered much rain later -- any suggestion? I know it is not predictable, but if you live there you might be able to help me a bit with this. I am not interested in actually laying on the beaches - mostly enjoying the views and walking on them. Thank you!

What would you suggest we do? A week in the north and a week in the south? Or maybe 3-4 places to stay in? Which towns would be best to have as bases? I am best at 3-5 night stays in one place.

Any help with an itinerary would be SO appreciated. Books on the region are scarce. I cannot seem to be able to get the one from the Italian Touring Club from amazon in US.
bvlenci, Thank you again SO much for the wonderful article here, I am even more excited about my upcoming trip.

Sberg

Bookmarking. Heading back to Italy in 2018. Thanks for all the advice.

kja

@ nanael -- You would do well to start your own thread.

Redlandsneen

Buon giorno bvenci e tutti amici! Com'e' il tempo questi giorni? Particolarmente nella sera? 14? Vengo a Ancona il 13 Maggio, rimango a Servigliano 3 notti e dopo Urbania per 3 notti e finalmente a Senigallia per 1 notte. Ho bisogno una giacca per le sere, vero? Ciao.

MyBeautifulBalloon

Hi everyone,

Well, we did not make it to Le Marche last year, but we are including it in this year's Italian 14-night itinerary:

- Fly into Venice and rent a car.
- Drive to a B&B just outside San Gimignano for 4 nights
- Drive to a B&B just outside Urbino for 3 nights
- Drive to Ascoli Piceno for 2 nights
- ???????????????????
- Drive to Venice for 3 nights
- Fly home

We have 2 nights to spend in Le Marche (the reason for the ?????) and need advice on where to stay. We would like to be close to a beach, maybe in a small, coastal medieval town, or an interesting hill town not far from a beach. My husband says we should stay the extra 2 nights in Ascoli Piceno.

What do you think?

Thanks

massimop

If you've not been to Ravenna, go there for your ?????? nights.

MyBeautifulBalloon

Hi massimop.

Been there. What a gorgeous place and a great idea.

What other ideas do you have?