more days in Florence or Verona, pre cruise from Venice in late November?
 

We are doing a cruise this November - December from Venice to Rome. We are flying ton Venice and due to miles have 6 days pre cruise and then almost 2 full days in Venice before we sail. Since we have done Milan, Cinque Terre, med cruises with Amalfi Coast... so we are thinking to take the train to Florence for 3 night stay with a train day trip to Pisa, then train back to Verona for 3 nights with day trips to Riva del Garda and Padua before heading into Venice for the 2 days. (We have seen Venice before). My husband likes history (thus Florence) and small towns with lots of character (thus Verona).

So, my question is 3 nights in each place or 4 in Florence and only 2 in Verona? It is November and it will be cold if that is a consideration. Is there enough to do in the Verona area?

Lots more in Florence than in Verona.

There is also Bologna and Vicenza, (both more interesting and beautiful than Verona, IMHO,) and many places other posters have mentioned. Hope they post them for you.

Hi Roz!

What about more days in Firenze with day trips to Siena and San Gimigniano? Those places are gorgeous!

Enjoy your trip and let s know!

Verona is not a small town -- or at least not as small as Vicenza. If you don't mind an alternate suggestion, I would try to include Ravenna if you have not been already. I quite like Verona, so I'm not trying to talk you out of it. Just adding info so you have the right expectations.

In Nov/Dec, I think it might be not really fun to go for a day trip to Riva del Garda. Pretty as it is, it is also very windy (it's a popular spot for wind surfing). I think it would be too cold for me. I especially wouldn't want to take a boat all the way up there, and unless you have a car, a bus is your option (no trains up there). Remember that daylight hours will be rather short at that time of year.

For history lovers, a day trip to Trento from Verona might be a lot of fun. Just an hour away by scenic train ride and easy to "do" the whole town + plus the castle & its fascinating Eagle's tower in a few hours + lunch.

At that time of year, I might take advantage of the relative quiet of Florence and stay there the entire time. I might spend the money on a driver to take me out to the scenic wine country for a day. I'd probably go to Siena,. I don't know if your husband's interests in history include WW2, but there is a quite moving American cemetery just a short bus ride out of Florence. Or if he is more interested in Machiavelli, his house it just a few stops more on the same bus.

I was in San Gimignano around in early December one year, and it is was also cold & windy!! Without a car, I'm not sure I'd bother with the two-stage bus journey, but I do't like busses.

You can get to Riva del Garda by train from Verona to Rovereto and then a bus or a taxi to Riva. I don't know how long this takes but there are probably fewer buses in November. And it sounds like November is not the best time for this excursion.

>>Lots more in Florence than in Verona.
There is also Bologna and Vicenza, (both more interesting and beautiful than Verona, IMHO,)<<

Agree.

>>Verona is not a small town -- or at least not as small as Vicenza. <<

Agree. Verona isn't small, and has lots of tourists. Your perception of it may be a bit off. I'm a Vicenza fan.

thanks so much for the info. The ship is going to Ravenna - first port from Venice so it looks like I need to look into days trips to Trento and Vincenza from Verona (not Padua?? or do 4 nights Florence and just go to Bologna for 2 nights on my way back to Venice? The reason for Verona was from another forum that said, the place of Romeo & Juliet...romantic... and in November, even if normally touristy I figured it wouldn't be crowded. We are doing this trip for our 35th Anniversary Nov. 27th, which is why November.

I like the idea of checking out Siena and yes, my husband is a WW2 buff. Spent 4 days last year in Normandy, France.

Ok, back to research - any more thoughts?
Roz

The romeo 7 Julie stuff is a little bit kitschy, but iif you are going for an anniversary,all of the historic core of Verona is very beauitful and you are right there will be a minimum of tourists. Verona also has enough indoor activity to keep you occupied in the rain, especially if you'd enjoy a bit of shopping along with the castle museum & chruches.. If it really pours for 2 days, hop on the train to Bologna, which is covered in porticoes, ad have a delicious lunch & take in some museums (I suggest the medieval museum for the history lover) If you get a beautiful day, think about heading over to Sirmione for a lakeside lunch. In tourist season it is jammed, but on a nice day in November it might be perfect.

Verona will NOT have nearly the number of visitors at that time of year since the Opera Festival will long be over.

Having been there numerous times I would agree that Siena might be better; you can EASILY do the Ravenna mosaics in a day as we did from Verona earlier this month.

I would also consider Bologna rather than Verona for things to do, for certain.

I too would choose Bologna, maybe just for the food, the best I have had in Italy.
Why not research several places, then let weather be the deciding factor.

Thank you everyone! I think I will forget Verona and do an airbnb for 5 nights in Florence and do day trips, then maybe the last night in Venice before we board the ship the next day. Although the ship doesn't sail until 4pm on the 23rd, we board on the 22nd so arriving in Venice on the 21st means we will have most of the 22nd in Venice too and not just a travel day getting there.

Any suggestions for where to stay on the 21st of November in Venice. I am thinking something either close to the port or close to the train station so we could check out on time, but leave our bags and see some of Venice since we can't board until the afternoon. My husband did wonder about staying a little farther out by the Mestre train station so we could get a feel for the Venice suburbs so to speak. I think it will just waste the travel day on the 21st and not give us more time on the 22nd to see Venice.
Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again for all the advice. I have a whole list of places now to research for day trips from Florence and of course find a good air bnb.

Roz