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Trip to Italy

I've never heard anyone give such glowing recommendations of Rome as a few on here. It's a cool city but IMO it doesn't come anywhere close to Paris. The Vatican is amazing.
 
Shorty, why do you like Rome so much? It's kinda dirty
 
Wake95 said:
I have heard this from others as well. What about flying into Rome...spend a few days there....drive to Spoleto for a couple days....then on to Assisi for a coupe days...then back to Rome to fly out? Good trip? Would you do anything differently? How many days in each place would give us time to see the sights and not feel rushed? Would prob plan a trip for 10 days...2 weeks max.
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I do love those cities but you don't need multiple days at each IMO.
 
Rome is in my top 5 in Europe also, and definitely over Paris. However, I have also spent much more time in Rome. People's opinions of Rome vary by what they are looking for on a visit. If you are an ancient history buff (as I am-getting my PhD in Bible and Ancient Near East currently) then Rome surpasses Paris easily aside from the Louvre. Rome nightlife is what you make of it. There are not a ton of traditional pubs/bars, but the few that exist are quite fun. They tend to be frequented by other small travel groups (I tend to travel alone on my way back from the Middle East) and can make for a nice place to make connections with others who are also sightseeing leisurely by themselves.
 
Spent two summers in Northern Italy doing archeology. If you're committed to heading to Northern Italy I think Verona, Vicenza, Venice and Florence are all worth seeing. I also think Milan is underrated. A lot of the history there got bombed flat in WWII but it's a happening, cosmopolitan city with a lot of nightlife if you're into that sort of thing.

If I have the chance to go back to Northern Italy I'm definitely headed for Cinque Terra. But I never got down to the southern part so I need to do that at some point first.
 
Wake95 said:
I have heard this from others as well. What about flying into Rome...spend a few days there....drive to Spoleto for a couple days....then on to Assisi for a coupe days...then back to Rome to fly out? Good trip? Would you do anything differently? How many days in each place would give us time to see the sights and not feel rushed? Would prob plan a trip for 10 days...2 weeks max.
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I would say 4 days is good for you to get a good taste of Perugia as well as taking short drives to Spoleto and Assissi. Assissi is absolutely beautiful but its more of a tourist town - you can see what you want to see in less than a day. Perugia is a historic city and more of a cultural experience that you can immerse yourself in for a couple of days/nights. I would suspect that your airline and hotel options would be better in Perugia than in Spoleto or Assissi also.
 
John Ruskin said:
my family is from Bari and I can tell you that's not where I was heading the first time I visited Europe (Italy)

Lake Como is well down the list of regions of Italy to visit to "immerse" yourselves in the Italian life, IMHO, ESPECIALLY if it's your first visit.
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did you ever go to Bari?
 
thinking about planning a trip to Italy in September, good time to go? Think I'd do Rome for 3 nights, Florence for 3 nights and Venice for 2 nights. Any rec's on hotels in any of these places? would flying into Florence make sense or should I pay more and fly into rome and out of venice?
 
BostonDeac said:
thinking about planning a trip to Italy in September, good time to go? Think I'd do Rome for 3 nights, Florence for 3 nights and Venice for 2 nights. Any rec's on hotels in any of these places? would flying into Florence make sense or should I pay more and fly into rome and out of venice?
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We're planning a Florence, Rome, Sorrento trip for May, with the kids. September should be great. I don't think you'd fly into Florence with that itinerary because you don't want to backtrack on your travel and Florence is between Rome and Venice. Last time we went, we flew into Venice and out of Rome, with Tuscany and Capri in between. It takes a while to get to the Venice airport from the tourist areas and it was a brutal place to fly into after being on a plane overnight.

We're hitting this place up for a couple of nights in Rome: http://www.romecavalieri.com/ , but other than that we're booking airbnb in Florence since we have the kids and a hotel in Sorrento. Planning to visit Tuscany sites from Florence and Capri/Amalfi/Pompeii from Sorrento.
 
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BiffTannen said:
We're planning a Florence, Rome, Sorrento trip for May, with the kids. September should be great. I don't think you'd fly into Florence with that itinerary because you don't want to backtrack on your travel and Florence is between Rome and Venice. Last time we went, we flew into Venice and out of Rome, with Tuscany and Capri in between. It takes a while to get to the Venice airport from the tourist areas and it was a brutal place to fly into after being on a plane overnight.

We're hitting this place up for a couple of nights in Rome: http://www.romecavalieri.com/ , but other than that we're booking airbnb in Florence since we have the kids and a hotel in Sorrento. Planning to visit Tuscany sites from Florence and Capri/Amalfi/Pompeii from Sorrento.
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A private water taxi will take you straight from the airport to your hotel
 
Wake95 said:
Total newbie here to European travel. Have always wanted to travel to northern Italy to see where my acestors are from (Lake Como area). Any recommendations would be appreciated (ie time of year to go, where to fly into, how to get around, where to stay, side trips). We will be traveling with pre-teen kids. We r not into the touristy scene. Would just like to relax and immerse ourselves in Italian life. Possible side trip up into Switzerland?
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So much to do; so much to see that I'll leave to others. Just enjoy every minute; it's get no better.
 
BiffTannen said:
We're planning a Florence, Rome, Sorrento trip for May, with the kids. September should be great. I don't think you'd fly into Florence with that itinerary because you don't want to backtrack on your travel and Florence is between Rome and Venice. Last time we went, we flew into Venice and out of Rome, with Tuscany and Capri in between. It takes a while to get to the Venice airport from the tourist areas and it was a brutal place to fly into after being on a plane overnight.

We're hitting this place up for a couple of nights in Rome: http://www.romecavalieri.com/ , but other than that we're booking airbnb in Florence since we have the kids and a hotel in Sorrento. Planning to visit Tuscany sites from Florence and Capri/Amalfi/Pompeii from Sorrento.
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Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are awesome, I can recommend a couple restaurants in Sorrento if you want. I HIGHLY recommend checking out Siena from Florence as well.
 
spiffylubes said:
Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are awesome, I can recommend a couple restaurants in Sorrento if you want. I HIGHLY recommend checking out Siena from Florence as well.
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I did Florence and Siena a few years ago. Sorrento resty recs would be good.
 
BiffTannen said:
I did Florence and Siena a few years ago. Sorrento resty recs would be good.
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I don't have a ton, but the 2 places I remember best (from 2+ years ago) are Inn Bufalito (probably better for kids, but I don't know how old your kids are) and Il Buco (1 Michelin star, but I don't remember it really having that stereotypical "Michelin" rated feel, it was just really nice and fantastic).

FWIW the restaurant we had lunch at down near the ferry dock had good pizza, it was one of the first meals we had in Italy since we went to Capri the first full day we were there. Can't recommend any places specifically on Capri, we were there in the down season and a lot of things were closed. Same goes for Positano, we ate at a place on the beach, but only a handful of restaurants were open.

If you're still looking for a hotel and don't mind a higher priced place, the Hotel Bellevue Syrene was amazing, and would be even more amazing during the warmer months (we went in November) when the docks are open and stuff. It's the #3 hotel in the world for 2016 on TripAdvisor. Probably much more expensive in May than November though...

Go to San Gimignano, the best gelato place in the world is there!
 
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