Will be in Genova for 1o days in early October to see friends and do some kind of memorial for my husband who recently passed away. I'll leave Genova October 15, the day before what would have been our anniversary. I have another week in Italy, had first planned to go to Venice where we honeymooned, but have decided could be too sad. Florence will be too crowded,

I'm leaning towards Mantova, perhaps spending Sunday night in Milan, where I will have to change trains, maybe not. I'd like a small, pretty, tranquil city with really good art and nice walks. Hotel suggestions? Willing to spend, may not be back to Italy. Charm and walkability matter, restaurant in hotel a big plus but not required> Currentlyhave ticket with miles back to San Francisco Monday the 23rd--seems a little long> My Italian is rusty but passable.

Suggestions? Other destination ideas welcome, but Mantova grows on me> We were there for a short day trip many years ago, essentially saw the Mantegna but not the city.

Mille grazie.

Mantova is a lovely idea. You might like Padova but it tends to get a bit busy but very walkable a fair few sites to visit. Further south you have Ferrara which has fewer man-made visits but is well placed to tour the river natural areas, bird watch and with good access towards the delta where the bird watching is very good. Ravenna again suffers from more tourists than perhaps you want. Bologna is interesting and lively but perhaps too much and has good train links around.

Another way to look at it is to look at smaller cities with easy transport links into such a centre. There are so many it is hard to choose but it depends if you want to lose yourself amongst the crowds or have a local bar/B&B/Hotel you go to each day and at least make nodding aquintance.

If Venice is too much don't forget Chioggia, not a lot to see but .... maybe not, too small and a little hard to reach

Hi Cmstraf, I plan to be in Mantova in three weeks time. I'm planning to spend two days in the city on my way further South. Have booked a room in Ca' Uberti Palace. If you want I can give you my feedback later on.
As an alternative I can highly recommend Modena and Vicenza as very interesting while at the same time being less touristic and easy to navigate. A little further North my favorite town is Verona. It is lovely, especially in October. It's only a 15 minute train ride to Peschiera del Garda and also close to Padova and Vicenza.

If you cannot face going back to Venice, but would still like to be in the Veneto, you could stay in Treviso. I did a wonderful 3 day cookery holiday not long after my husband died near to there with Flavours Holidays. I had a great time and we had some excursions in the area, including a Prosecco wine tasting.
On the other hand Florence should be fine in October. Busy, but in my experience not overly crowded.

Consider splitting the week between Bologna (if there are no trade shows that week) and Lucca. Also a night in Ravenna would be enjoyable.

We visited Mantova a few years ago. It is a delightful small city with some outstanding Renaissance art and architecture. We stayed three nights and saw very few tourists. Here's my trip report:

Mantova, Ravenna, Brisighella, Bologna

"Currentlyhave ticket with miles back to San Francisco Monday the 23rd"

From where??

I think Mantova would be a great choice. This website has a good list/descriptions of the sights. We didn't do the mentioned lake cruise but did attend a performance in the amazing opera house. It's been years, but we stayed at the San Lorenzo Hotel and would stay there again. I see on booking.com that it's been remodeled but still gets good reviews.

https://journalistontherun.com/2019/...aly-lombardia/

My condolences, cmstraf. I agree with EYWandBTV's TR suggestions. Mantova sounds sweet.

Thank you so much! This was a wonderful trip report, superbly-written and full of useful tips. I think I've settled into a hotel choice, but I know I won't be able to resist looking at Palazzo Arrivabene. And to be alone in the Camera degli Sposi! We were there as a very short day trip, many years ago, usual crowds, but we were very impressed. We once went to the Louvre when it was almost empty (7 pm rainy week night) and the experience was unforgettable. Tanti augurs.

My return reservations were originally Venice-Newark (ugh)- SF. I've now changed them to Bologna ( I'll spend a day there before my flight the next morning)- Zurich-
SF, everything more convenient, though the seating is not quite as good, and, more importantly, the connection is only 1 1/2 hours (I prefer 2 1/2-3). I usually fly carry-on, but may check it on the way home to make myself more easily mobile. It's a morning flight with Swiss Air, and I'll be in Business, so I'm hoping. Now to read your trip report...

Another excellent report. I'm sold on Mantova.

Two questions for everyone--I'll be spending 7 nights and 6 full days in Mantova, and most of a day in Bologna, where I've already been several times (once for a 3 week language course, once for Christmas week with my husband's godparents.
---Are the artificial lakes places where one would hang out, sit, read etc?
---I visited Lago di Lugano for a few days in 1992, and Varenna on Lake Como several times. I loved the gardens in Bellagio and Varenna and Menaggio. Would a trip to Lago di Garda be a good idea? Can people suggest other day trips? I would only take one or, at the most two. Art would not be primary to me, since there will be so much in Mantova. Charm and gardens are what comes to mind.
--I will have been so over fed by friends in my 10 days in Genova, by the time I'm in Lombardia I will probably want to eat lightly and be longing for Japanese food (mostly joking).

The hotel I've chosen is Scaravella Residence. It seems lovely, though now I will at least glance at Benarrivata.
Also, thanks for the condolences.

Other day trips: Verona, Cremona... Verona would be just about right for a well-planned day. We spent a day in Cremona and wish we'd had a little longer, maybe spent the night. Low key and less crowded, some lovely piazze, violin museum and many workshops where you can watch instruments being made. The annual Stradivari Festival runs thru Oct. 19th. I think that would be interesting to check out, but I don't know what it means re crowds.

I probably wouldn't pick Lake Garda. It's a bit far travel-wise (for me anyway), and the ferries would be on the off-season schedules which would make it a little harder to get around. I also prefer the northern end of the lake more than the southern end.

More than artificial lakes they're a widening of the river Mincio.Yes there are benches and people wandering around. We sat there for a while to rest one day
​​​https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspo...ucale.html?m=1

Cremona is nice, not very touristy but quite a lot to see.
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspo...nuary.html?m=1
​​​From Mantova there are boat trips along the Mincio River. I've never been but it sounds a relaxing way to spend the day.