Off the beaten path - Italy
 

I'm going to Italy in October. We are heading to Rome, Florence, Venice and Sorrento.

We are looking for some interesting things to do in Italy. Maybe something that only the locals know about....

I'm worried that we will get tired of museums, churches and palaces by the end of our two week trip.

Anyone out there have any interesting ideas for offbeat sites? We have already booked our hotels, so we can only do day trips from our cities.

By the way - a football game is already on our list.....

1)See how many flavors of gelato you can eat; keep a list and post it here. Melon....mmmmm.

2)Hit the morning produce market in the Campo de Fiore, Rome.

3)Join the evening stroll, or paseo, wherever you are. We enjoyed the Piazza della Republicca area in Florence (great street performers!) and Piazza Navona in Rome.

4)In Venice take the motoscafi over to the Lido and back in the evening. The sunset over the lagoon and the islands is amazing.

I really don't think you will get bored!

In Florence go to Piazza Michealangelo (may not be the exact name). It's far enough out of the center to be off the main tourist track, but has wonderful views and is popular with locals.

In Venice, go to St. Marks Cathedral (Duomo San Marco) when the lights are on. When it's lit, the entire place looks like it is made of gold and is amazing. I know they light it for masses, you can ask for other times.

In Rome, rent a bike and ride out the Apian Way. Also, we all liked the ruins at Ostia Antica outside Rome. They are extensive and you could easily spend an entire day seeing what an ancient Roman city looked like (a lot like now, minus electricity). If you can't make it to Pompeii/Herculaneum, Ostia Antica is an alternative.

You're going to Rome, Florence, Venice and Sorrento all in two weeks? You won't have time to get bored.

The Pyramid of Cestius in Rome is very interesting and doesn't seem to get many tourists. There is also a tiny museum in the old city walls nearby that is very neat and from the looks of the visitors register they don't get many foreign visitors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Cestius

Tracy

You have a full plate for only 2 weeks. Next time you will have time for off-the-path.

I don't know if I agree with the comments on not having enough time to get off the beaten path. We prefer to travel off the beaten path a bit, even if we are short on time. I think it just depends on how much SavTrav wants to see and what his/her interests are. We only spent 3 days/nights on our first trip to Rome and ended up at the pyramid I mentioned above because we thought it looked interesting.

Tracy