My wife and I are interested in visiting Northern Italy. We are planing on staying 10 days. We enjoy visiting the villages, cafes and local markets . We will have a car and enjoy the sites. Suggestions on where to base in order to visit adjacent areas. Thanks in advance we are planning Sept-Oct 2024

Your question is too broad for useful responses - there are thousands of possibilities. However, if you have 11 nights (10 days) I suggest staying in no more than three places which are not too far from each other so you don't spend too much time moving from one place to the next (of course you could base in just one place if you wished, which would be relaxing). If you really have no clue about where to visit, I highly recommend a visit to your local library for inspiration. Additionally, public transport in Italy is good and if you are visiting places well connected by trains and buses you may well find that a car is not an advantage.

since you don't know where you are going, how do you know a car is the right solution?

not going to find local markets in villages

Do you have flights booked or even planned, which airports?

do you understand how ZTLs work, if not read on https://www.autoeurope.co.uk/travel-...to-avoid-them/

If you know where you will fly into, this will have a major bearing on any recommendations. Venice, Milan, Bergamo? With only 10 days you can't hope to cover the whole of the area and with shortening days at the end of the summer you will be restricted on sightseeing time. For first timers to the area, maybe consider a flight into Verona or Venice, depending on availability and spend a few days in Venice, then perhaps Lake Garda. You won't need a car for Venice (obviously), but it would be very handy to see all the towns around the Lake.

Come back once you've honed your choices.

Northern italy can be:
the highest mountains and glaciers of Europe
crowded and almost empty mediterranean beaches
almost deserted villages with neither shops nor hotels or restaurants
beautifull churches and monasteries in the middle of nothing
big cities with tons of stunning medieval buildings and all kinds of museums
areas where the mother tongue of locals is not Italian, but French, German, Ladin, Furlan or Slovenian
famous vineyards and wine cellars
etc. etc......

So, what are you interested in

To narrow your choices for ten days, take a look at Milan, Lake Como, and Venice. Land at MXP, and spend a night or two in Milan. Then head to Lake Como. We have spend four trips there in Bellagio and stay up at the the top of the hill, away from the day trippers. Then head to Venice, always so special, spectacular. One time we spent two weeks in Venice with wonderful day trips as well as lots of time staying put in Venice itself. There is no place like Venice. Happy Planning. It would be helpful if you stretched your ten days to two weeks. After spending the time and money to fly to Italy, a better value would be staying there two weeks if possible.

it would be a great time to visit bologna, turin, the langhe valley region and maybe lake orta. we just did this may/june for 3 weeks and loved it. varied and not very touristy but your'd be there for truffle season and harvest season.

It sounds like this is your first trip to Italy, or at least the north. True? If it's exclusively the north, and not to include Florence and Bologna, consider the following.

- Fly into Venice and spend 2 nights
- Take the train to Bolzano and spend 4 nights, day trips into the Dolomites, bus or rented car
- Take the train to Lake Como and spend 2 nights (Bellagio)
- Take the train to Milan and spend 3 nights, fly out of Milan

Total = 11 nights or 10 full days. Rent a car locally in Bolzano or use the good bus system to access the villages in this area. If you like driving, you could keep the car all the way through Como and into Milan. I'm partial to mountains, hence the 4 nights in the Dolomites. Adjust that to your pleasure.

Just got back from Bologna & Turin - - and this time of year is also great because the cities are so moody, dynamic, and convivial - - and a feast for the eye (and palate) with the highly variegated color shadings and shadows, punctuated by bright city lights and cozy cafes: