Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Rome, Florence, Venice & Lake Como

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Rome, Florence, Venice & Lake Como

Am planning a trip for my wife & I to all of the above for mid-October. It will be our first time in Italy. I would appreciate suggestions regarding hotels, restaurants, sites, mode of travel, etc. Thanks...

Hi It might be easier for people to make useful suggestions if you could specify how long the trip will be, what you have in mind for expenses on hotels and restaurants, and what sites/sights interest you. Also if you do a search on those cities on this web site you will find a wealth of information on hotel and restaurant suggestions, and also on advance purchase of tickets for the Uffizi museum in Florence.

We'll be in Italy for 3 weeks.

Last year I was in Italy at this time, and at all the places you are inquiring about. A great time of year, still warm but not hot. Personally I would try and fly into Rome, and then fly out of Milan. Depending on where you're coming from, Milan is cheaper to fly in and out of. Or backwards, it doesn't matter, but even if you can't it's ok. Do you plan on renting a car? Are you budget minded, or have a decent amount of money to spend? All these are factors when planning your trip. My husband is from Tuscany and I have traveled quite a bit through it. What are your interests? Do you want a go-go-go trip, or would you like a few days of leisure?

You're right, more details are in order!! My wife and I are mid-40s. This is our first trip to Italy. My father was born in a small town east of Rome - Rivisondelli (sp?), so I have relatives there that I'd like to look up. We have three weeks total to devote to Italy. I'm thinking of Rome, Florence, Venice, and Lake Como. Not sure how much time to spend in each. I'm also thinking of renting a car; but am not sure if rail is a better way to go. This is a special trip for us - 20 year anniversary!! So, budget is not my primary concern. I'm thinking of flying into Rome & staying at a really nice place to help w/ getting acclimated. In Florence & Venice , the accommodations don't have to be five star but need to be clean & w/ a private bath. I'd rather err on the side of more expensive rather than be disappointed. $150 - $200 per night would be OK but, of course, I'd rather not pay that much if it's not necessary. I just don't know what to expect. We want to do all the normal sightseeing; but we don't plan to be going 100mph all the time. We want to relax and soak in Italy, not steamroll thru....

Hi My suggestions for hotels in Venice are the Flora, where I have stayed, and the Bel Sito where I haven't stayed but have heard only good things about. Both are on a chic shopping street just a few minutes from San Marco, both are moderately priced, both offer good service. At the Flora rooms are smallish but charming. Breakfast is included and is served each morning in a dining room, or in the charming courtyard in good weather. Flora:phone 011 39 041 520 5844, fax 011 39 041 522 8217, email [email protected], web site www.hotelflora.it. Bel Sito Tel.011-39-041-5223365 or fax 011-39-041-5204083 I loved Venice, would recommend at least 4 days there to both relax and enjoy, but 5 or six days would be even better. For Florence, if you do a Search on this forum you will find many good hotel and restaurant recommendations, also for Venice as well. A good restaurant in Venice is Restaurant Da Raffaele, Ponte delle Ostreghe, 2347, San Marco. phone 041 523 2317. It is a 2 minute walk from either the Flora or Bel Sito hotel. It is located adjacent to a small canal and you can sit outside in good weather. They get a lot of touritsts, but locals as well. I also liked Trattoria/Pizzeria San Toma, a casual place located in campo San Toma, 2 minutes from the vaporetto stop of the same name. Casual, everything from pizza to full meals and good food. They also have an outdoor seating area. I recommend dining at 8:30 or later in Italy to avoid dining with only Americans. For Florence, recommend 4-5 days at a minimum, plus an extra day or two to explore Siena or other areas in Tuscany. Florence can be exhausting, it is art and history heaven, and if you are a dedicated sight seer and museum goer you can easily wear yourselves out and still not see it all, so you might want to prioritize and whatever you don't see you will see some other time. Two restaurants I recommend in Florence are Restaurant Acqua al Due, Vigna Vecchia 40, phone 055 284 170. LIT 9500 ($60) for two with wine (10/99). Very casual, enjoyable, service a bit cold but they are very busy. Food ranging from salads and omlettes to excellent veal chop. Very popular with young Italians. Restaurant Acqua Cotta, via dei Pilastri 51, phone 055 242 907. Santa Croce area, LIT 200,000 ($120) for two with wine (10/99). Neighborhood place with excellent food. Large selection. You can spend less if you don’t order meat as a main course. Keep us posted on your wonderful trip, before AND after.

If your trip to Lake Como includes Bellagio, the Hotel du Lac is great. Bellagio is a wonderful place to recover from jet lag, so I'd be inclined to start my trip there. If you're only going to major cities, I suggest taking trains (and in the case of Bellagio, the ferry from Lago di Como). Of course you may need to rent one briefly if there's no other way to get to Rivisondelli. The main thing I think people going to Italy for the first time need to know is that banana gelato made with real bananas is a grayish beige color. Even if you don't order banana, checking it out is a quick quality control measure.

I am not sure if I agree with Elaine, I think 3 day in Venice would be fine. Compared to other Italian cities I found it a bit too touristy and not as friendly. By the way, when you book your hotel in Venice make sure it is walking distance from one of the ferry stops on the Grand Canal, especially if you are flying out of Venice when you go home. Most flights for the states leave early in the morning so you will have to drag your luggage to the ferry shuttle to get tothe airport and an ungodly hour of the morning (we did it at4.30 am!). Also remember whe you arrive by train you will need to take the ferry to your hotel which means dragging your luggage from the ferry stop to wherever your hotel is!! Venice is beautiful and like no other city in the world but it is also expensive and the food is not as good as in Florence and Rome. We stayed 6 full days in Rome and though it was ample time to see the sights, relax and eat everywhere we wanted to. We also got a good taste of Italian culture and customs in this time. Rome is truely an amazing city. Arriving in Rome is like merging onto the freeway at 100mph. There is so much to see and do that we never found ourselves bored. We actually enjoyed walking, eating and watching the world go by more than some of the museums and tourist traps which the books reccommend. In my opinion we found St Peters as the best sight and the Forum as the dullest. But thats just my opinion. We stayed at the Hotel Due Torri which is in old Rome near the Piazza Navona and Pantheon. The hotel is real quaint and has the true flavor of Rome. The plumbing is modern and the rooms are clean. The staff is excellent and the location is perfect for walking anywhere in central Rome. In my opinion the area around the Spanish steps, Piazza Navona and Pantheon is the best and most 'Roman'. I would recommend not staying anywhere near the Termini train station which is dull and a bit seedy, although the prices there are a bit cheaper. We paid about $160 a night. For more info about Rome see my postings -- 'ALL ABOUT ROME' and 'MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS IN ROME'. I will bring them to the top of the list for you..... If you have any other question about Rome or Venice, please Email me!!

By the way, if you can pinpoint a hotel book it now! Even if you need block out more time than you will actually stay and change it later. Good hotels in Rome and Venice book up real fast!! (especially the Due Torri).

Definitely do not rent a car! The train is excellent in Italy, and it goes to most of the small towns too. The most miserable people we saw were the tourists who had to spend their vacation navigating tight streets and getting lost. Taking the train is a breeze. With the Italy Rail Pass, you just show up at the correct Binario when the train you want is due to arrive, and then get on it and go. No reservations, no hassle. Get a first class ticket--you won't have to worry about getting a seat because the first class cars are usually only about half full. And on a train, you can relax and watch the scenery, not worry about where you are going.

You are going to some absolutely incredible places! My husband is Italian, and though we have no relatives to visit, every trip we take there ( 4x I think) is memorable. We especially loved Rome, allow at least 4 days for that. Venice was very expensive we thought comparatively speaking to other Italian places. I'd probably suggest two days max for Venice, but as you read this forum, others will disagree. But there is so much to see and do anyplace -You can't go wrong. Italy has so much to offer in terms of art and history, or just walking/browsing not to mention wonderful little cafes and trattorias in which to find good food and inexpensive wine. You can sightsee ALOT and just plain ol' relax. Just don't drive IN the cities (and of course you can't drive in Venice). We used to take the train alot our first couple times there, and found the trains on time, clean and in general very good (not quite like Switzerland but still good.) Have a wonderful trip.

My best advice, after reading the other replies is for you to remember that what you are reading are only OPINIONS of the individuals. Whether you should spend 2 days in Venice and 4 days in Florence has a lot to do (in my opinion)with what you and your wife enjoy. From my perspective, I enjoyed spending hours watching the gondolas go by and spending the evenings in Piazza San Marco listening to the music and people watching. Venice also offers the small islands of San Michelle, Burano, Murano etc. I found Venice to be more relaxing than Florence or Rome. The best advice I heard before our trip is that if you are not a museum person at home, don't expect to become one just because you are in Florence etc. If you do your homework ahead of time, you should be able to figure out the things you'd like to do and the time necessary to do it in each city or locale. As for the trains; I doubt if first class travel is necessary just to ensure a seat. Second class on the Eurostars is quite nice and we had no problems with getting seats during May and June. Enjoy!

Oh, Dave! Three weeks in Italy...what a wonderful time you are going to have. You will receive so much great advice from these experienced people on this forum. I have only been once, and the help I received here was invaluable. I am not a "pro", but will add my limited two-cents-worth. I agree...would stay in Old Rome, so you can just wander out your hotel and walk and enjoy. Actually, our first night we stayed in the LeGrande, which is near the Station Termini and was wonderful...gorgeous lobby, LINEN sheets, marble bathroom. It is closed right now for renovations for the Melinnium extravaganza, but the Excelsior is a sister hotel and is supposed to be wonderful as well. Piazza Navona is pretty touristy but fun to sit in an outdoor cafe at night with a glass of wine and listen to the guitar and watch the people. We trained to Venice from Rome. Would recommend you look into The Accademia in Venice. It is in Dorsodura area, across the Accademia bridge, so a little quieter and a charming hotel. See if you can get one of the "superior" rooms overlooking the rear garden. Ours was no. 18, if I remember correctly, and was a beautiful large, very romantic room with inlaid parquet floors, tall arched windows which swung open over the garden, lovely bath, etc. Not a canal view, but very lovely and romantic. It is one of the two rooms in the inn which are in the part of the building which dates to the 1200's. Ask for Luciano. We trained to Florence from Venice. Would suggest one of the nice villas overlooking the city...quiet with beautiful view. Others will have to help you here, as we stayed in historic city center and found it noisy and crowded. I agree with Elaine-she gives such good advice-Florence can be overwhelming. Recommend you get tickets in advance to the Ufizzi Gallery, either on-line or get them when you first arrive for the day you plan to visit. This will ensure that you don't spend four hours (literally) waiting in line. Also get to the Accademia early to see the David. We were fifth in line at 8:00 a.m. for the 8:30 opening, and the line stretched around the block by 8:10. When you get in, go straight to the David, so you can enjoy it in the quiet, before the tour groups get there 15 minutes later and you have to view it over 150 heads. We did eat at Aqua al Due...very good. Also, get gilato at Vivoli, near the Bargello. Try the "riso" flavor (rice). It is delicious. I would suggest more time in Tuscany, though. I agree with Monica, the trains or great, but would suggest you rent a car from Florence, take the S222 out of town to the south and the Chianti wine area, just exploring the little villages and enjoying this amazing area. You can really only enjoy this area, in my opinion, with a car, which gives you the ability to just wander and stop and enjoy the little wineries and views. One place for you to check out in Tuscany is Villa Vignamaggio, just outside of Greve in Chianti. Pull them up on web at www.vignamaggio.com. You can see the villa in the video "Much Ado About Nothing" (Kenneth Brannagh). It is lovely, pretty secluded, and a good base for exploring Tuscany during the day and returning at night, or just hanging out and relaxing.They do have pool and tennis courts, but the atmosphere is very serene and secluded. Also loved San Gimignano. We drove to Siena, then through Pongiabonsi (sp?) and to San Gimignano. Hotel Antica Do Pozzo looked very nice and romantic. The restaurant at hotel Bel Soggorno was very good and romantic...ask for a table by the large windows overlooking the valley. We were seated at 7:50, and had no problem getting a choice table...by 8:30 the place was packed (the Italians eat late and 8:30 is early for them.) Candles, white tablecloth, wonderful food--wild boar, carpaccio caldo, brunello, and finishe with vin santo and almond biscotti. Divine. Also, a wonderul small tattorria for Sunday lunch that was recommended by a local couple who live on a nearby villa...Chiribiri. Very small, filled with local families...always a good sign. On the way to San G., you will pass Monteriggioni, a very small, walled, old town. Hotel Monteriggioni looked very nice...you could probably ask them to send you a brochure. You and your wife would probably enjoy picking up a set of tapes at a local bookstore and learning a little of the language. It's fun to keep them in your car and pick up a bit and then use it there! Makes your visit a lot more fun. Then we drove into Rome, turned the car into the airport, and would suggest spending the last night in Rome, once again to wander around a little and sit in the outdoor cafe and wish Rome goodbye. What a marvelous trip you will have! Don't forget to toss a coin into the Trevi fountain...so you'll be sure to return!