Elisabeth54

Hello Fodorites,
As my husband and I live in Northern Europe the easiest way for us to travel to our beloved Italy is by car.
We consider ourselves very fortunate because it gives us a chance to travel slowly and to enjoy some interesting towns on the way South and on the way back.

This time our destination is Tuscany where we have found a nice looking apartment in a small agriturismo at only five minutes drive from Montepulciano. That part organized we are now filling in the rest of our trip and this is where we could use some suggestions.

On our way South we will pass three towns: Pavia, Piacenza and Parma. We would like to choose one of them to explore in greater detail but we find it hard to choose between the three. All thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.

All in all we will have two weeks for travel and one week to stay in Montepulciano to explore the eastern part of Tuscany and perhaps some interesting places in Umbria. We will leave Firenze for a visit in Winter, it will be far too crowded in May.

On the way back North we are thinking of spending a few nights in Lucca and from there make our way further North. Not sure if the route via the coast (La Spezia, Genua) will not be overcrowded. We are not very much interested in beach holidays and prefer to take the roads less traveled by.

In the past I have been pleasantly surprised by tips and suggestions via this forum so I'm looking forward to hearing from you Italy experts. Grazie in anticipo!

lrice

Hi Elizabeth,

I haven’t been but have done quite a bit of research on Parma. It seems like a well-kept, manicured affluent small city. The history sounds fascinating with Maria Luisa, Napoleon and the Hapsburgs at the center of much of it.

Did you decide between the three?

neckervd

If you like Renaissance paintings (museum), a beautiful battisterio and a fine cahedral, chose Parma, the home town of Giuseppe Verdi.
Pavia along the Ticino river (and the Certosa da Pvia, between Milan and Pavia) is nice too, so are Piacenza, Cremona, Mantova, Modena..........

Elisabeth54

Hello Irice and Neckervd, thank you for your interest and comments.
Frankly, w e are still deciding between Parma and Cremona. Will make a definite booking tomorrow.
Northern Italy has so much to offer. Enough for a life time!

lrice

Parma and Cremona have a similar population. Perhaps someone here can describe what the vibe is like of each city.

Here are some questions below:

Bustling?
Quiet?
Touristy?
Local markets? How often?
Locals on piazzas and in cafes?
Does the town close down during the day?
Pedestrian center?

We spent a month in Aix en Provence and a month in Sevilla. The local market in Aix made it easy to blend in and “live like a local.” We loved Sevilla but we were tourists almost every day because there was so much to see.

just_tina

Parma is much bigger than Cremona - just under 200,000 people compared to about 70,000 in Cremona. Also, Parma is a university town so it has much more of a 'city' feel to it, than Cremona. Some tourists visit both but neither could be described as touristy. Here's a day we spent in Cremona: https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspo...n-january.html We returned a couple of years later specifically to visit the museums, in particular the Violin museum which is one of the highlights. Both times we went on a Sunday and there was a market or something going on in the main square.