Another Italy question...itinerary help...

Sorry for all of the Italy questions. Even though I've been to some ridiculous and sketchy places, Italy intimidates me!

I still can't decide what cities to visit. Please help!

We are flying into Rome and staying in Italy for 6 nights. We are then heading to Munich for 2 nights (we are flexible on how we get to Munich.. overnight train, flying, short train, etc.)

How should we divide up our 6 nights?
Things that might be helpful to know...
-We won't be renting a car, using trains the whole time. Possibly get a train pass if it's worth the money.

-We are not museum people, especially art museums, not our thing (great fit for Italy, eh?)

-We love sitting at cafes for hours, people watching

-Food is VERY important to us

-No city/town is too big/small, quiet/hectic

-We are not opposed to staying in a different city every night, don't mind a hectic itinerary

-The cheaper the better

Hopefully some of you Italy experts have the time to play travel agent for me.

TIA!

Message edited 7/22/2009 8:48:39 AM.

Re: Another Italy question...itinerary help...

I love florence- great shopping with the straw market and really beautiful buildings

venice is not to be missed, take a gondola ride and try and stay in one of the hotels on the canals- St. Marks square is so beautiful- and I know you said you are not into museums but still take the Doge's palace tour- you can also go to a handblown glass factory too there

Re: Another Italy question...itinerary help...

DH & I went to Rome for the first time back in June. Not sure if I'm going to be of any help though.

Truthfully, we aren't fans. Thats not to say that Rome doesn't have some beautiful places to see. Its just we thought it was too touristy for us. Too dirty & the people were a bit rude, compared to all the other cities & towns we had visited up to that point.

We spent the last 2 days of our trip in Rome. The other 15 days were spent in smaller off the beaten path towns, that to us truly defined "Italy"...no crowds, fresh HOMEMADE food, friendly & inviting people who smiled & wanted to know where you were from & if you were enjoying your stay in their country.

As far as food goes in Rome...DEFINATELY without a DOUBT look for resturants OFF the beaten path. I can't stress this enough. We ate at a few places that were just plain out awful. One of my dishes was still frozen when I got it.

I don't have many ideas on things to do in Rome because we literally stuck to the touristy attractions...They are worth seeing...if you just ignore the crowds. I did enjoy the Trevi Fountain...but we could barely stop to enjoy it. Too many people trying to jump in front of you for a picture.

I had saved this entry from Tripadvisor about possible day trips from Rome. We never got around to attempting them because we were just "done" with sightseeing @ this point. Maybe you could get a few ideas for day trips OUTSIDE of Rome.

"In this forum many visitors ask for ideas for day trips from Rome. It seems that Ostia Antica, Tivoli, and Orvieto are among the favorites.

I'd like to start a new topic to give some alternative ideas, maybe for those of you who are a bit more adventurous... This post was inspired by another one on Sutri and Viterbo.

The northern part of Lazio has a lot to offer, and it's just an hour drive or a little more, from Rome. If you drive, you should take the Via Cassia heading north. Otherwise you can go there by train, but then traveling from town to town might be inconvenient, so renting a car is the best option for this trip.


When you drive out on the Via Cassia, you could stop in Bracciano, to see the lake and the beautiful castle ( a lot of celebrities get married there, I think the last one was Tom Cruise), and the medieval little town. Another beautiful town facing the lake is Anguillara Sabazia, with nice churches and views of the lake. Then continue north to find Sutri and Capranica, built on "tufo" (translation??). The real gems though are Viterbo, with superb medieval architecture and Tuscania, a beautiful town with its walls, piazzas, and incredible Romanic churches (I think in the crypt of one of them Orson Wells shot the inside scenes of his Othello...!). I've also heard that Montefiascone is beautiful.

Maybe if you're staying a few days in Rome, you can rent a car and head north, taking Viterbo or Tuscania as a base to explore the area, it's really worth it! And, I was forgetting, the food is very good, and you'll be away from the most touristy destinations yet surrounded by beauty!

We booked two tours with www.viator.com. One is for the shuttle bus to Pompeii for the day and the other is a day trip to Orvieto/Assisi. They have other tours listed as well. Good Luck.

Another tour company is Appian Line.

You could easily travel by bus/train to Ostia Antica, more info

www.italyheaven.co.uk/rome/ostiaantica.html

some suggested day trips are also listed on this page


http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/daytrips.html


areas such as Frascati (up in the castelli romani) are beautiful to visit....great place to eat! Castelli Romani are popular with us from holding our wedding reception to visiting on a weekend to eat and have a stroll.

italyheaven.co.uk/lazio/castelliromani.html

Finally can also suggest Anzio/Nettuno...of course depends on what you are looking for in a day trip...and time of year but here is the info

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/lazio/anzio.html

You have many options, easy to do independantly or by tour.."

Message edited 7/22/2009 1:44:28 PM.

Re: Another Italy question...itinerary help...

on our honeymoon we started in rome, then hit florence, venice, pisa and cortina (which was a tiny town on our way to our next stop austria).

we were with Cosmos tour group so they take you to the touristy stores. But if you stroll around you'll find lots of things off the beaten path. I got a fab leather jacket at some little leather store for $100 euros, when the tour stop we made at a leather shop was like 4 x's the price. (this was 5 years ago though.)

Definitely visit the Colleseum, trevvi fountain, spanish steps. If you're not into art, then maybe skip the Sistine chapel, although it is quite beautiful and im not an art person either. We also saw the leaning tower of pisa..which is a sketchy area right out side the tower area..but there is also a marketplace to walk around, and grass to sit on, etc. One of the dinners we went to in Florence i believe we made a stop at the Pope's summer home..Castle Gondalfo i think. also a nice little square area to shop /eat in..there was a church there and we saw a wedding go on.

WE spent hours walking around Venice. WE walked from one end to the other and hit the Rialto bridge. Theres tons of little shops, eateries etc. all along the way. the Murano glass shop is there and tons of places sell their work.

if you love to people watch, just plop yourself into St. marks square..such a beautiful place.

Have fun!

Re: Another Italy question...itinerary help...

I loved Florence and Genoa. Genoa has cobblestone streets and little shops and it's on water.

Re: Another Italy question...itinerary help...

VENICE....FLORENCE....I would also stop in some of the smaller cities in Tuscany. I lived in Montepulciano for a while and it was amazing.Montalcino is nice too. They're all similar. It's a nice time of year for that too. It's mountainous and filled with wineries. Quaint and beautiful. I would actually go with the train. I felt it took you everywhere and was affordable. Unless there's a strike. Good luck and enjoy!

Re: Another Italy question...itinerary help...

by far my favorite place in Italy is ASSISI. gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. DH and I as Catholics a also really enjoyed the Basilica of St. Francis and all the history there. it's such a neat place to walk around. you feel like you're back in the Middle Ages with the architecture and everything.

We also liked Padua... the city itself was okay, but it really interesting to see St. Anthony's tomb, the church, etc. etc.

i also liked Parma...a real nice, small city with good food and shopping.