Meredith

Hi, all,

On our upcoming Italy trip, we will be driving from Florence to Venice, leaving Florence probably around 9 or 10 a.m. and arriving in Venice to drop off our rental car no later than 3 p.m. We're looking for advice on where to stop in between for lunch and maybe a little bit of exploring.

Bologna is at about the halfway point and surely has amazing places to eat for lunch. But is it easy enough to get in and out of the city? We're looking for something relaxing, so I'm not sure if Bologna would be too big for what we're looking for. Also, we'll have all of our luggage in the car, in case crime is an issue.

Padua looks like it's basically on the path between Florence and Venice, but just much closer to Venice... we'll have our two young kids with us (who demand food at lunchtime), so not sure if that's the best choice for us either.

Any advice on this? In case it makes any difference, this will be on a Saturday.

Thanks!
Meredith

PalenQ

Verona is a neat old city about half-way and of course has anything you'd want.

but instead of a large city I suggest you pick something smaller like Mantua - really lovely city on nice lakes and much easier to drive to -though you know all Italian cities seem to have ZTL no-go zones for private vehicles- we often get posts here from folks who have returned and months later got rather steep fines for violating the no-car-zone- caught by cameras with license plates -learn the rule of the no-go zones and how to recognize the signs.

http://www.autoeurope.com/go/italy-ztl-zones/

There can be backups on the causeway going into Venice so allow time for that possibility.

MmePerdu

Instead of setting yourself up for driving hell in cities, why not just stop when you get hungry and you see someplace beside the road? I think it'll be hard to go wrong. Parking and congestion zones won't be an issue and you can then recommend the place here when someone asks here where to stop, be the expert.

bvlenci

The drive is almost entirely on the autostrada, and there are no goo alternative back roads, since the road crosses the Apennine mountain chain. It's also one of the most annoying and boring stretches of autostrada I've ever driven on, with lots of tunnels and heavy truck traffic.

If you want to eat in Bologna, the sensible thing to do would be to take the train to Venice; Bologna is one of the stops, and the station is very near the center of town. You'd need to buy two separate tickets. The train is a lot faster than driving, and usually costs less.

We live not far from Bologna, and go there often, but we've never taken the car, except for once when we were bringing some furniture to a relative and once when we were coming back after the last train. Driving in Bologna is hell. The time we were taking furniture, our relative offered to meet us at the city gate and pilot us in, and we gratefully accepted. The other time we accidentally ended up in a limited traffic zone; we were behind a bus, which blocked the sign from our view. Luckily, I think it also blocked our car from the camera's view, because we never got a ticket.

If you need to drive for some reason, or if you're masochists, I would suggest stopping somewhere else to eat, maybe even at an Autogrill on the autostrada. Eating in any of the cities mentioned would involve getting off the autostrada and back on, and none of them have driving situations much better than Bologna's. The fact is that Italian cities are not suited for driving; their centers were built long before cars existed. The city governments don't do anything to encourage driving in the city centers, and do a lot to discourage it.

Read up on ZTLs (limited traffic zones) before driving in Italy.

frencharmoire

First of all, just checking: Are you sure your car rental office for the drop off is open at 3pm?

Good restaurants in Italy only serve lunch between 12.30 & 2.30. Therefore, if you are committed to dropping off your car by no later than 3pm, you would need be finishing up lunch no further than a reasonable drive to your rental drop-off, and you must budget some time for taking a wrong turn, getting lost or encountering traffic.

Bologna is totally out -- and personally I wouldn't attempt to drive into any city.

Just about the only resonable plan for me would be to find a place in the northwest suburbs of Padova and drive straight there. Take a look at the palazzi in and near the town of Stra along the Brenta canal. Eat at somplace like this, with easy parking

https://www.facebook.com/OsteriaDaCiano

If you don't like the looks of that, use Google to find the town of Stra on a map, and then ask Google to show you restaurants nearby there. Pick one you like. Make sure it is open the day you are traveling.

frencharmoire

Here's more about the Villa Pisani in Stra if you arrive early enough to have any time to explore it. Again, make sure it is open in the morning the day you are traveling

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/v...sani-labirinto

frencharmoire

By the way, have you thought of returning the car in Florence and taking the train? The kids can eat lunch on the train and would probably enjoy the hi-speed ride. You can return the car at the Florence airport the night before.

asps

I would stop in Ferrara. Cooking in Ferrara is quite distintive, some dishes can be found only there (salama da sugo, pumpkin ravioli, Ferrarese bread).

socaltraveler

I may get slammed by the foodies for suggesting this, but with young kids in tow, I suggest you stop at one of the AutoGrills on the highway. It really is quite the experience, the best cafeteria food I have ever had, and the attached store is fun to poke around in. Just pick one of the bigger ones that straddle the highway. Pasta prepared to order on the road? Why yes.

MmePerdu

I think socaltraveler's suggestion (and bvlenci's also) is a good one. My favorite places to eat in Italy a few years ago were the railroad workers' cafeterias in Florence and Venice. We'd be the only tourists there and had great fun. Kind of like my first suggestion above, but more specific, you really can't go wrong.

Jean

On Saturdays, only the rental offices at the airport will be open after 12:30/1:00p, depending on the company.

Definitely learn all about ZTLs...

janisj

Can you change your rental to drop it off in Florence? It really doesn't make sense to take the car since obviously you aren't using it after you get to Venice.

I'd take the train . . . or eat at an Autostrada rest stop Autogrill . . . but a train would be much easier/nicer.

frencharmoire

If taking the train makes sense, take the train, but there is really nothing difficult about finding a place to eat and park in Italy while traveling that isn't in a city.

Don't go to a city. But unlike the US or some other places, it's not like there is only 1 or 2 interesting places between Florence and Venice. There are literally hundreds of intereseting places to stop that are interesting to see and easy to park the car. And there are even a hundred more that are farms that serve food that make for a charming experience.

For some traveling families, taking the train will be more dificult, more expensive and not what they wanted to do. I wouldn't take the train just to avoid finding a place to eat lunch on the road. I would take the train because it enhances the experience of traveling in Italy more than driving would. If you don't feel that way, just avoid cities looking for a place to eat. Google maps will offer you dozens of choices. Just figure out where you are likely to be at noon.

PalenQ

Trains make sense in this case -pt a to pt b as fast as possible. Take your own food and drink on train and some may have snackbar cars- save a lot of time arriving in Venice - vs dropping and returning car -for lots on Italian trains - www.trenitalia.com -official site of Italian Railways - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Book early at trenitalia site for nifty discounts -it could be as cheap or cheaper than driving. And you can return the car upon reaching Florence - saving more car rental days.

5alive

My kids loved, loved trains growing up. They still do as teenagers and young adults
.
For young children... the train ride may end up being their favorite thing on the trip. (Sort of like how little ones like the wrapping paper and the box as much as the toy inside.)

And I'd bring food along bought beforehand but also definitely something on board. That will also be fun.

Meredith

Thanks so much for all of the great replies!! I really appreciate it!

We've decided we're actually going to be driving from San Gimignano to Venice rather than Florence - does that change anyone's opinion about taking a car vs. train? I believe the closest Avis is in Florence, so we'd have to drive there to drop off the car and get on a train, rather than just heading straight out in the car from San Gimignano.

About arriving in Venice by 3 p.m., Avis is the ONLY option we could find that was open that late, which is why we chose it. All of the rest closed earlier. But now I'm starting to second-guess this information... going to call Avis directly tomorrow to confirm!

And regarding where to stop along the way, thank you all for confirming that it's too difficult to drive into a city. If we stay with the rental car option, then we'll probably check out the Autogrill. I do think our kids would enjoy that.

Thanks, again, everyone!

PalenQ

Yes it taking the autostrada straight thru driving makes sense- esp from San Gimi.

socaltraveler

I really do think your kids will enjoy the Autogrill. I wish I had known more about it the time we drove from Venice to Florence, looking blindly for a small town in which to stop for lunch, not knowing about the lunch hours. I think we ended up with pretty bad pizza slices in the middle of nowhere. Autogrill would have been so much better. And faster. And parking.

PalenQ

Get a car with a trunk and in rest stops on freeways put bags in it -there have been reports of theft at these places.