plambers

HI. DH and I planning to go to Northern Italy next summer. WE have been to Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan and last September Tuscany, Sienna, Cinque Terre.

As of now we have a flight to Bologna arriving May 29. We are considering 4 or 5 nights in Bologna (day trip to Ravenna). On departure day from Bologna, we will rent a car. We need an automatic. Plan is to drive to Piedmonte area for 4 nights. Wanted to stay in Rocche Costa Magna (thanks Mai Tai Tom) but it appears sold out! Not sure if truffle hunt is worth it in summer. Day trips here.

Then we will drive to Turin for 2 nights and then 2 nights Orta San Guilio on Lake Orta. We dont' have our return flight yet so have alot of flexibility.

What am I missing? WE can spend more time in this area but not sure where. Don't want to visit Milan again. Thanks for any help.

HappyTrvlr

Instead of Lake Orta , stay on Lake Maggiore or Lake Como for a better experience.

yorkshire

If you nix the lakes, you could drive through Marche instead, which pairs nicely with Bologna, fly out of Ancona.

plambers

can i ask why please?

plambers

so we have wanted to visit le marche also but worried it will be too similiar to tuscany, where we spent time last september. would we still be able to viist the piedmonte and turin? but just not the lakes? originally we were flyingin into milan but we have heard so many great things about bologna, it piqued our interest...

yorkshire

Just noting an alternative, since you seemed unsure about Piedmont. I did not find Marche overly similar to Tuscany, no more than Piedmont would be.

HappyTrvlr

Italian Lakes. Spend part of a day in Lake Orta or stay overnight . Very small. Then go see the larger, beautiful lakes- Maggiore, Como and/or Garda.
We have spent a lot of time on Lake Como, less on the two others but each is different and all three are beautiful.

janetkupfer8032

I am doing similar trip in November. Como, Milan,Bergamo, Turin , Bologna and Genoa. I rent apts in those cities and then head out to the smaller towns on day trips. Am anxious to go to Ravenna, Parma, Mantua and Cremona to name a few. What do you think?

neckervd

If you have a car it doesn't matter whether you stay at Orta San Giulio or alolng another lake.
Dirive just from Orta to Omegna - Intra (Lake Maggiore) take the car ferry to Laveno and go on to Ponte Tresa - Lake Lugano - Lake Como.
You may also drive from Orta to the Lake motorway (entry Meina or Arona) and reach the other lakes by motorway.
Marche is different from Tuscany, but there is a lot to see in Piemonte (up to the glaciers) and in the Lombardian and Ticines Lake area.

neckervd

To Jane:
Torino, Cuneo, Asti, Pavia, Cremona, Mantova, Bergamo, Parma, Genova, Ferrara, Ravenna are all fine places.
But there may be thick fog over the whole area in November

plambers

where else would you suggest we visit? or could we visit bologna, langhe area and then tour le marche area? we can't fiy out of ancona so it would have to be bologna or milan for departure. just can't get my arms around this trip so appreciate the help.
are the tzls as prevalent in le marche?

jangita

I would encourage you to stick to your initial plan and not try to include Le Marche for this trip. With a car you can stop in Modena or Parma on your way to Piemonte without much of a detour.
Truffle hunt is not advised for the summer.
Don't forget about the lovely Alba for your Piemont exploration.
Torino is certainly "worth" more than 2 nights.
I think 2 nights at Lake Orta would be lovely and restful at the end of your vacation. It's less than an hour drive to MXP from there.
Try to enjoy the planning--it's Italy afterall!

plambers

Jangita, thanks. I am just dreading the driving portion in the larger cities like Turin.
Wondering if we should stay in Bologna for a week and to day trips to Ravenna, Modena and Parma. Then train it to Turin for 2 nights. I could rent a car in Turin and head to Alba. Or I also see there is a train from Turin to Alba and I could rent the car here.
What other spots am I missing in Northern Italy?

neckervd

"What other spots am I missing in Northern Italy?"
Tons of them! italy is like a big open air museum where yoiu find real gems and other places to visit every 10 miles or so.
Everybody has to make a choice and your first choice wasn't bad in my opinion.

jangita

[QUOTE=plambers;17387501]Jangita, thanks. I am just dreading the driving portion in the larger cities like Turin.

You are so right. You do not want to drive in the cities!
You could take the train from Bologna, having done your day trips from there by train too, to Torino.

Rent the car leaving Torino.

Leely2

Agree with renting the car upon departing Torino (which is a wonderful city, I like it better than Bologna because to me it is more beautiful with better food--I'd stay three nights...).

Also, I've taken two delightful trips to Le Marche but it doesn't seem to fit with the rest of your itinerary.

yorkshire

Agree, sorry I distracted you--it just seemed like you were stuck and looking for ideas and not settled on where you wanted to go. Glad you have it sorted! The Alba area is lovely.