Northern Italy
 

We have a destination wedding in Volterra in September. We have been to Tuscany twice before.

He are thinking of going to Gubbio, Verona, Lake Garda, and Milano after the wedding.

Do you have any favorite hotels or restaurants in these places? Or any other suggestions?

We will have a car until we reach Milan.

Thank you.

We stayed on Lake Garda in two locations on opposite sides of the lake while driving to and from the Dolomites.
First, we stayed in Salò on the SW shore. It was highly recommended by an Italian friend. Most tourists there were Italian or German. Lovely town with a promenade along the lake. We stayed at Hotel Bellerive.
On our return from the Dolomites, we stayed on the NE shore in Malcesine at Hotel Il Castello.
We liked both towns; Saló was more sophisticated, nice shops. Malcesine had a touristy area but once on lakefront, it was nice.More English speaking visitors. Better Mountain View’s here at north end of lake. The Hotel Il Castello has a sandy beach.

Thank you Happy. I appreciate the information.

If you're interested in and appreciate classical art, I'd book tickets to see the Last Supper. They only let in a dozen visitors at a time, IIRC for a period of fifteen minutes, and those fifteen minutes were the highlight of a previous trip to Italy. They sell out ... so purchase as soon as you know for sure you'll be in Milan.

I suppose you know the other gems along your itinerary, like
Perugia
Urbino
San Leo
San Marino
Classe
Ravenna
Ferarra
Mantova
Capo di Ponte (prehistoric rock carvings)
Bergamo

Ravenna and Urbino
On the way to Urbino: and click on the right arrow to get to Urbino.

and click on right arrow to get to Ravenna, left arrow to get to Bologna, which is another possibility, although from Gubbio Urbino makes sense if going over the mountains. Urbino has to train access.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I appreciate them.

We enjoyed two nights in a junior suite at Hotel Mayer & Splendid in Desenzano on Lake Garda in 2012. It had a great little balcony with a lake view and it was a nice town to wander around. There was easy boat access to other places around the lake.

Gubbio and Urbino were two wondrous Umbrian towns.

Thank you all again. We are working our way through the suggestions and other ideas.

Must sees:

Urbino
Ascoli Piceno
Ravenna
Bologna

For a quick stop ... you can't beat the mosaics of Ravenna. Stupendous ... we were there in early October. They are all remarkable, especially the first two places we visited.

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...cs-of-ravenna/

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6f65cf132c.jpg

Thank you as always.

As we have been to a number of the places recommended, our current plan (which could change by this afternoon) is Gubbio, Verona, and Milan.

We do not want change locations too often. We will by-pass Lake Garda and take the train one day from Milan to Lecco. Although we are interested in cave drawings and etchings, Capo di Ponte seems a little to vigorous for us.

In Volterra, we will be staying in Borga da Vinci and in Gubbio, Vescovado 7. Verona and Milano TBD.

If you go to Gubbio, be sure to ride the Bucket of Bolts (make sure your life insurance is all paid up). It's actually fun and you get some great views. We were in Milan for three days in September. We loved it.

I prefer Como to Lecco.
IMO, Como is more interesting as a city and has a more lovely neighbourhood (botanical gardens, rope railway to Brunate, Lake Como boats with open decks, historic cog wheel railway to viewpoint Monte Generoso not far away, etc.). Lecco is more industrial, the lake shore is more rocky, no boats, only catamarans on the lake (no open deck).

Thank you Mai and Neck, I will look into both your suggestions.

A thousand years ago, we left Milan to return to NYC. I got lost and I found myself in the middle of 5,000 bike race. Boy, were they angry. Then I stopped a man with few teeth, a shotgun and a bandolier for directions to the airport. He sent me to an airport designed for crop dusters.

When we finally got to Milano, I bought a cake and took it on the plane and shared it with my family who picked us up at the airport. It was more than three ounces.

I loved staying in Como - at least visit it as this is a neat regional city.

I agree with spending some time in the city of Como. It seems it's always disparaged by people who've never actually stayed there, but only passed through on their way to the tourist hubs.

Thank you Palenq and Holly.