Two very special very small towns for me is Cantolupo in Molise (it is really just a village) and Regello (southeast of Florence) and Congeliano (in Veneto) that is not really little but still small. Also Agordo in the Dolomities. So many places, so little time!

Oooops, guess that is four, not two ;;), Another tiny tiny spot is Cavalri (sp?) just east of Chiaravi. It is too sweet for words.

what a fun thread! we love lacoste, st. paul de vence, kitzbuehl. we are going to italy and the south of france next month and my husband paints. if there a must-paint view or town, do let me know!

<<if there a must-paint view or town, do let me know!>>

Take a look at http://www.maisondetreholidays.com/P...ighlights.html - - a nice overview of the abundant way-too-many choices you have as you drive west from the Cote d'Azur towards Avignon. You'll weep over not having a year to explore all of these.

Positano , Amalfi Coast

Would you believe my small town is actually under the protection of the English crown since Henry VIII in 1512. Read about it on this article www.italymag.co.uk/italy_regions/lazio

A few other small towns-Centeno, Proceno and Onano- on the Tuscany/Lazio border were once governed by an Irish man, Joseph Denham from Cork..I'm doing research on it right now.
www.elegantetruria.com

Topping for Jones10hhs

Clisson, Loire-Atlantique, and also Langeais in the Indre et loire, both in France.

Montefalco in Italy, Olivet in France.

it has to be ASOLO in the veneto,followed by volterra in tuscany

Urnerboden, Uri, Switzerland

and how could i forget VARENNA ON LAKE COMO AND SIRMIONE ON LAKE GARDA AND THEN GORDES IN PROVENCE

Montepulciano, without a doubt. Granted, I spent my honeymoon there, so perhaps I'm a bit biased...but it's truly heaven on earth, in my opinion!

I also was very enchanted by Durnstein, Austria. The church has a "Carolina blue" steeple- how could I resist? :)

Telc, Czech Republic. Halfway between Prague and Vienna, this restored Rennaisance town is beautiful. Great photo ops near the lakes that surround the city.

And I can't omit my father's birthplace and it truly is a great little town:

Idar-Oberstein with its church carved out of the mountain.

Google Idar-Oberstein and you will see what I mean.

topping for Myra

Topping

We are still hoping to visit Italy in July/Aug 2006.
After seeing the AAA report that bookings to Italy for summer 2006 are up 250%....I am considering small towns.
Can you recomend any -small, less crowded with tourists, towns that are easily reachable by train?
We would prefer not to rent a car.

Thanks in advance

Justincase,

A lot of people advise balancing small cities into an intinerary. If you study this thread, then there are more small towns than you can plot on a map.

Now what are your interest?

These three are accessible by Train:
Vicenza - Architecture
Varenna - a smaller village on Lake Como
Pontresina (Switzerland) - On the bernina route. In winter it's a ski resort.

Here is one idea (needs fourteen days, or more). Use Venice and Rome (fly open jaw) and the Lakes and then a few small towns in Tuscany.

Burano in Italy and Gourdon in France.

Nafplion, Greece

Montalcino, Italy

Thanks for a great old thread!

Pavlov in the Czech Republic www.funnyholiday.cz and Rovin in Croatia

This was so good. Lets Continue it.

Thun in Switzerland.
Peniscola (old town) in Spain
Bad Munstereifel in Germany

Castle Combe, Snowshill and Lacock in England - unbelievably quaint.
Millions in Italy - Erice (Sicily), Civita, ...
We typically travel to small villages versus the large centres (many under 100 people).

I got curious as to which of the above could be visited without a rental car.
Here are the towns from above that seem to have train service. All that I did was use a list of name of trains stations (so there may be some errors. especially in the land of multiple names and meanings.) A few are phrased as 'possible'.

It seems like there are plenty of choices here.

Bassano del Grappa
Sperlonga (ocean front)
Volterra
Menaggio
Bellagio
Varenna
Monza
Bergamo
Trento
Sirmione
Bucine
Ravenna
Camogli
Verona
San Gimignano
Montepulciano
Piazza (Chianti)
Lucignano D’Asso (near Pienza) Possibly
Castiglioncello del Trinoro (Tuscany, Val D’Orcia) Possibly
Spello
Gubbio (Umbria)
Spoleto
Todi
Massa Martana (near Todi)
Castelluccio - Possible service
Bomarzo
Orte (near Viterbo)
Pisciotta (Campania)
Maratea (Basilicata)
Matera(Basilicata)
Lagonegro (inland of Maratea, Basilicata)
Martina Franca (Puglia) – Possible Service
Alberobello (Puglia) – Possible service
Otranto (Puglia)
Gallipoli (Salento, Puglia)
Trani (Puglia)
Polignano a Mare (Puglia)
Vico (Puglia)
Monte S Angelo (Puglia)
Peschici (Gargano, Puglia)
Sant Agat in Puglia(east of Foggia, Puglia)
Cisternino (near Ostuni, Puglia)
San Salvatore di Fitalia
Pietrapertosa
Camaiore (Tuscany)
Barga (Tuscany) – possible service
Pontremoli (Tuscany)
Solagna (near Bassano del Grappa)
Orte (Tuscia/Etruria)
Bomarzo (Tuscia/Etruria)
Viterbo (Tuscia/Etruria)
Vetralla (Tuscia/Etruria)
Giglio Island (Tuscany) – possible service
Lucignano (outside Monte San Savino, near Arezzo)
Glorenza (walled village, near the Italy/Austria border)
Grado (fishing village, Veneto)
Sulmona (Abruzzo)
Chiusi
San Gimignano
Cortona
San Giovanni Valdarno (45 minutes from Florence)
Congeliano (Veneto)
Cavalri (east of Chiaravi)

End of the list
Use at your own risk.

What towns in the Chianti region? Would love to know...

To the top

for Julieann.

Here's another vote for Erice in Sicily!
Dave

I, too. would have to choose Civita de'Bagnoreggio. We had a lovely cup of wine made locally and the best bruschetta I've ever tasted. It's like a little town lost in time, so peaceful and beautiful, and it really seems to sit amongst the clouds.Unforgettable.

Certaldo in Italy (its in Tuscany) :)

montepulciaon

Too much Italian wine I guess - let me respell that last post.
Montepulciano, Italy

Hi Doble, just one spelling correction:

It is Calvari (just east of Chiavari). Calvari is certainly not a tourist destination but it is a special little village.

Mine is Pietravairano. It is located in the Caserta region. My grandparents came from there and I was lucky enough to see some of it this past February. It is located on a mountain and the people were so nice.

marking

Too many to count in Italy but one is Civita B. Others include Erice in Sicily and Hum and Bale in Croatia.

Oh, and Lacock and Painswick in England. There are scads in Scotland and Wales as well.

Ferrazzano ...
a teensy tiny & absolutely beautiful hilltop town just above Campobasso. My grandmother's family is still there, and when anybody in our family visits, no matter how distantly related we might be, we get lavished with kindness and generosity (and superb food, of course!)

I'd never heard of any non-Italians going there (besides my family) until very recently, when my brother read that Ferrazzano is the home of the relatives of someone a bit more celebrated than we are ( ;) ) -- Robert De Niro.

Fowey in England, or just darn near anywhere in Cornwall.

Loved St. Remy de Provence.