Barb19

My husband and I will be traveling to Italy in April. My tentative itinerary is as follows:<BR>3 nights Venice<BR>1 night Bassano del Grappa or Asolo<BR>2 nights Verona<BR>2 nights Bologna or Ferrara<BR>1 night somewhere near the Venice airport.<BR><BR>I would appreciate any advice on which towns to stay in, hotels ($100 - 200), restaurants, sights etc. Has anyone stayed at the Villa Pisani? How near the airport is it? Does anyone know a nice town with a decent hotel near the airport? Thanks for any help.

mclaurie

Barb, I'll get you started on the Venice part. If you're new to the forum, be aware you can do a search in the &quot;text search&quot; box at the top of the page. Type in Venice AND hotels and you'll get LOTS of good info. Same for the other locations. <BR>In Venice, the Hotel Galleria is very popular on this forum &amp; is priced at the low end of your budget. I stayed at the Accademia Hotel (www.pensioneaccademia.it/) last month &amp; paid 225 euros for a superior double with a water view. La Calcina is near the Accademia but right at the stop for the boat to the airport- more on that later. Other reasonably priced hotels people like are the Violino D'Oro (well located), the Marconi (right near the Rialto Bridge so can get noisy - try to get a room with a balcony here)<BR>The only places near the airport are in Venice Mestre which is on the mainland. People are discouraged from staying there as it's not IN Venice. If your flight is very early you'll probably have to spring for a private water taxi (80-85 euros). The Alilaguno waterbus is about 10 euros per person.

mclaurie

Have had problems continuing to post. Check website www.venere.com for hotels available during your stay. Then check reviews here or on rants &amp; raves. Suggest staying at La Calcina on your last night -right near Zattere Alilaguna<BR>stop.

Grandma

We just did this route in October. Instead of Bassano or Asolo I would opt for a nite in Trento. (an hour from Bassano) We had lunch in Bassano on our way from Venice. (Asolo is lovely, but there's a lot more to do in Trento and you get a different aspect of Italian culture ...the Germanic influence.) 2 nights in Verona is adequate... there's a lot to explore there. I'd put Bologna and Ferrara at one day each. And I'd stay the last nite in Venice and get up early to get to the airport! Heck, I might not even sleep. -

rex

Don't know whether to agree or disagree - - Trento is great, for sure, or so it seems to me - - but I have only day tripped there. Check out Ai due Mori (restaurant) if you go there.<BR><BR>But I liked Bassano del Grappa too - - it's more &quot;Italian&quot; (Trento is a bit more &quot;Tyrolean&quot. <BR><BR>stayed here:<BR><BR>Albergo (Hotel) Al Castello<BR>Via Bonamigo 36061<BR>Bassano del Grappa<BR>Tel: 011 39 042.422.8665<BR>Fax: 011 39 042.422.8665<BR><BR>(no e-mail, but that was three years ago).<BR><BR>And wonderful meal at Birreria Ottone.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

sandi_travelnut

I would recommend:<BR><BR>Venice: Locando Leon Bianco (approx $150 US for 2) lovely, family-owned and run hotel on the grand canal<BR><BR>Verona: Guilietta e Romeo hotel. (Vicolo Tre Marchetti, 3) Very clean, excellent location to the main piazza and friendly staff. (The hotel was about $150.00 US)

Grandma

Rex... we picked up your restaurant suggestion for Trento and had two lovely meals there!<BR>(We've been all over Italy and Trento was one of those places we'd bypassed.) I agree if one wants to stick to the purely &quot;Italian&quot; experience a new traveler to Italy might want to defer this experience to a later time.

JBX

Barb19,<BR>A couple months ago I saw an article in travel section of local newspaper talking about the world's largest public wine fair held yearly in Verona. The 37th VinItaly will be on April 10 - 14, 2003; it's only open to the public on April 12th &amp; 13th. Cost is $30/day; open from 9am to 7pm. Usually wine conventions are only open to wine reps, bar owners, restauranters and so this is a great opportunity to sample &amp; talk with wine connossiurs (sp?). Website for this event is www.vinitaly.com or can find out more info at Verona tourist office, 011-39-045-806-8680. Also, for accommadation listings in Verona look at www.verona-apt.net.<BR>

HowardR

I can't recommend a hotel in the Bologna/Ferrara area, but I would suggest staying in Bologna and making a side trip to Ferrara. Both are worth your time.<BR>I can recommend a wonderful restaurant in the center of Ferrara--Il Bagattino Trattoria on Via Correggiari 6.