Two-Week Italy Itinerary
 

Hello all,

Looking for advice on the following itinerary for two weeks in the spring. ChatGPT contributed to parts of it, so I'm eager for human feedback!

We are young (30s), interested in food, wine, culture, history, etc. I've been to Italy twice; my husband has never been. He wants to see St. Peter's — plus Rome is the best return flight option — which is why we're squeezing in those two nights at the end. I know it's not enough :)Questions:

• I fear we're shortchanging Turin itself, but as winelovers we're eager to get out to the wineries. Should we drop one of days 3-5 and spend that day in Turin instead?
• Any opinions on driving or training to Bologna? I've read comments about driving difficulty in Bologna due to ZTL — how big of a challenge is this?

Thanks in advance!

It'll be faster and cheaper to take the train. ZTLs the trick is have a destination outside the ZTL. Either to park or turn in the car. You're supposed to know the rules of the road including all the signs. But to avoid the risk of accidentally crossing one don't go near one.

You only really have 1.5 days in Rome at best. Last day you fly out. The first one even with an early train from Florence is going to cost you half a day. I'd think hard about those three days you've got for Bologna. That's a lot for one single day visiting the city. Might be better to skip something. Some where.

I agree with Traveler_Nick, that's a long way and lots of time to go to Bologna for such a short time and basically only for a food tour, even though Bologna is a food destination. Skip that and add that time to Rome, especially since your husband hasn't been there. There is so much there in addition to the Vatican, and you will find all of your objectives there!

As wine lovers you might find the areas of Tuscany or all the wine zones based on Valpolicella (basically between Venice and Verona and then down into the Po valley) more interesting than say Asti. Though Barola is certainly worth a bit of a visit. I'd recommend asking your wine merchant for a letter of introduction to some of the finer Barola vinyards especially if you set your heart on one in particular.