Planning a trip to Italy!

I will be planning a trip to Italy with my sister for September. I am planning to visit Rome, Tuscany area, Florence and Venice. Does anyone have any recommendations for day trips, restaurants, hotels?
Was considering adding Milan, anyone been? Is it worth it?

Thanks!

Planning a trip to Italy!

Only ever been to Rome but here's what I know:

-- there's a restaurant called Edi's and it's the best food we ate there (we actually went there twice since we liked it so much). It's somewhere by the Spanish Steps (like a block or two away)

-- Rome has free walking tours every day you could do (you just tip them at the end) if you want to keep your trip affordable.

-- Get lots o' gelato while you're there, of course ... I think the "best" place (according to my research) was San Crispino. DH and I went there - it was kind out of the way but so so worth it.

-- The Colosseum is really pretty at night (they light it up) and makes for some really nice pictures

-- we stayed at Hotel Centrale which was pretty cheap and the room was really nice (and it was right next to that restaurant I mentioned - Edi's). It's a bit far from the "center" of the city, but it's right by the Spanish Steps so it's not that bad

-- we went to the Mouth of Truth which was soooo not worth it, in my opinion - it's kind of out of the way, and they actually charge you money to take a picture with your hand in the mouth. We just walked past it.

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

was there for NYE

i can email you a detailed map of all the sites/hotels we stayed/attractions

we went to milan,florence,venice,pisa,padua and verona

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

I studied in Florence and have been a couple times. Stayed at Balestri Hotel most recently and our room and view were amazing, right on the Ponte De Vecchio for great value.

I highly recommend a day trip from Florence to see Siena, it is an amazing city , the Piazza del Campo is breathtaking.

Trattoria Da Garibardi is a great place to eat in Florence as well.

For Rome I highly recommend buying a pass to skip the lines at the Vatican if you plan to go, it takes hours off the wait.

I have other places to recommend but those are off the top of my head lol will check our album when I get home.

You are going to love it!

eta: I was in Milan once when I was studying there and was underwhelmed by the experience, to be fair it was a day trip but of all the cities there and Pisa were the least remarkable IMO I would add that day to Florence/Tuscany or Venice

Message edited 6/18/2014 2:28:15 PM.

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

If you are not claustrophobic, look into doing the scavi tour below St. Peter's. It is a tour of the ancient ruins on top of which the Vatican was built, including the tomb of St. Peter. It is a guided tour and they only allow a limited number of visitors. I believe you can make a request online for tickets.

Also, I recommend getting a private guide for Ancient Rome. We only had 2 days in Rome st the end of our trip to Positano, but with the guide we covered a lot of ground and it allowed us to bypass the lines at the Colosseum.

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

I too studied in Florence and have been to Italy three times aside from that summer course. I was an art history major so I can tell you about the museums and churches if you are interested.

If you can swing it. Siena is a great city. Have been a few times to San Gimignano. I highly suggest the later as it is relatively close to Florence and an interesting walled city.

Perugia was another interesting trip we took.

I also took a trip to Naples and Pompeii when we stayed in Rome.

It is hard. 6 weeks in Florence and still couldn't see everything. Not sure how much time you have too much to see and never enough time.

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

Thanks so much for all of the advice. We have planned a little more, we will be starting in Venice, going to Florence, spending two days driving through Tuscany countryside, onto Rome and then Sorrento.

Anyone have any experience on the amalfi coast?

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Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

9 nights: 2 nights Venice, 1 Night Florence, 2 nights Tuscany countryside, 2 nights Rome, 2 nights Sorrento

Planning a trip to Italy!

Wow that's a lot to fit in 9 days! If I were you I'd cut something out. With the trains and travelling in between, a lot of time is eaten up just moving from city to city.

But I'm more of a stay on a city for at least 3 night type of person. I'd probably add another night on to Rome and maybe cut out Sorrento for time reasons. I'd add another night on to Florence, too.

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Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

I agree with the above posters thats why I asked how long you were going for bc I think thats a lot for 9 days. There is so much to see in each city. Personally I would only do 2-3 cities in 9 days.

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

Thanks everyone. As this will probably be the only time I make this trip I want to try to hit the major attractions and get a taste for each city.

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

Amalfi Coast is amazing! We stayed in Ravello, but Positano and Amalfi are equally as breathtaking. We also took the ferry to Capri and stayed there for two nights. It was super relaxing and beyond gorgeous!

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

Are you flying in and out of the same city? Regardless, I still think you are crazy for doing all that!

Anyway here goes:

I've been to Milan, but I wasn't a fan. It could be because of the overall experience I was having (tons of mosquitoes!) and not the city. Other people love it!

Rome: been many times and loved it. DH loves Rome for the history. Some must sees are the Colosseum, The Forum, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Spanish Steps. I would put aside the Vatican for one day and then do the Spanish Steps, and Trevi in the evening. The next day I would do the Pantheon, The Collosseum, and the Forum. The Gelato place mentioned (San Crispino) is really good. It's right near the Pantheon. We ate at a few good places, but I can't remember the names-- sorry. Check out Chowhound for good recommendations!

Sorrento: I didn't stay in Sorrento. I did stay in Positano, which was wonderful! I assume you are basing yourselves in Sorrento to make things easier. You will probably have time for Pompeii, Vesuvius, and try to take a ferry to Capri for a day trip. As for food, I liked Naples for food. Really good sfiogtelli (forgive my spelling!) at Attanasio. Out of this world! I also visited a fantastic winery and restaurant by Vesuvius. You could taste the saltiness on the soil from the volcano-- if that makes any sense.

Florence: The first time I went I stayed in AC hotels--ehh. Nice room but far from the center. Last time I went with my mom and we stayed in a Florence View. Rooms were old, but you are staying right by the Duomo. Location is important to me. The food market is nice to see as is the leather market. I just loved walking around Florence. The Accedemia is worth seeing. I didn't stay in the Tuscun countryside-- we just did a day trip wine tasting, etc. I forget what tour we did. Grom has the best gelato IMO. Make sure to have some beans and lots of Florentine steak.

Venice- I went 14 years ago. I can't remember a thing! I'm going again in two weeks. Hopefully I can update more.

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Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

Message edited 12/9/2014 3:36:59 PM.

Planning a trip to Italy!

Just remembered aqua al due pasta tasting menu in Florence , amazing!

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Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

Ok so Venice. It's long- sorry! 

We stayed at a B&B called Casa Gottardi in San Polo. It's about a 5 minute walk to Rialto Bridge from the B&B. I was really happy with this place. It was 100€ a night and that included in-room breakfast. The owner's son greeted us and he was really knowledgable about Venice and made excellent suggestions. The bathroom was a bit old, but buildings are quite old in Venice in general. The size of the room was big for Europe. For me the price was great compared to the rest of Venice. The downside was the B&B is on the top floor (3 or 4th floor, I forget). Another downside was after it rained there was this awful musty smell. I suspect there was a problem with the roof and that smell happens when it rains. It went away when we came back to our room later that day. I'd still stay there again. 

We didn't go on a gondola ride because I did one on my first visit and I was not interested in paying the high cost again of 70€. That being said, I wouldn't miss going in a gondola ride. My husband didn't really care, but he would have been fine if I had wanted to. We also didn't go to the church because I went on my first visit, and we get churched out really easily. 

Places worth it to see: 
San Marco piazza
Doge's Palace
The bridge of sighs 
The Grand Canal
Rialto Bridge
And just plain getting lost! 

We also went to the archeological museum, but I like that sort of thing. 

I'd also suggest seeing other areas and not just San Marco. The restaurants in San Marco aren't really good at all-- really touristy. There is a good shopping street outside of San Marco called Strata Nouva (excuse my spelling!) it's a bit of a walk but it's less crowded than San Marco.

There is a Grom gelato in Venice also. It's a chain, but don't let that deter you! It's better than some of the other gelato out there. Sadly, I didn't indulge in too much gelato. I did indulge in too much wine, and I don't like to mix wine with ice cream. 

We went to one nice restaurant called Osteria Anice Stellato. It was a really good fish restaurant. 

However, we didn't really focus on restaurants. They are overpriced in Venice and we were more interested in the cicchetti you can get at different baccari throughout the city. You can get a small glass of house (red or white) wine (ask for an Ombra) for 1-2€. You then order different cicchetti for 1-3€ a piece. It's like tapas Italian style. The idea is you go throughout the city and have a cicchetti here and there. They are so delicious and cheap! They have different types of small sandwiches, ham or fish on toast pieces, fried pieces of calamari and fish, and different types of meatballs, and of course cheese. It is what the locals do, apparently. you can also get pastas and meals there, too-- much cheaper than touristy places and better. Check opening times on the Internet, because some have weird opening times and most are closed between lunch and dinner times. 

We went to: 
La Cantina (on the strata Nouva). This place is a more upscale baccaro. Still delicious. They make the cicchetti fresh to order. We had some smoked salmon,  dorade, and baccalade (white type fish shredded up in a paste-- Venetian specialty) on toast. 

Al Timon in Cannaregio; only open in the evenings. This pot is super trendy, but it's on a canal and out of touristy area. We had a chick pea meatball and then artichoke and cheese on toast. We wanted more but this place was a quick stop and when we went back to have lunch, it was closed :( . 

Osteria al Mariner. This was a quick stop, too, but it was pretty good. It was in Cannaregio. 

All' Arco in San Polo. Nice sandwiches and good porchetta. I believe this is an afternoon only place. 

Do Draghi between Dorsoduro and San Croce- we had a nice piece of ham with blue cheese on toast points that were delicious! They also had little pizza cicchetti. 

Osteria alla ciurmain san Polo- nice fish cicchetti! 

Estra vino e Cucina- we did a wine tasting here with the Venetian Vine. It was a really good tasting and we were also served some cicchetti. I would have liked a bit more food, but I felt it was really informative for Italian wine in the region. I've always been more of a French wine lover, so I'm trying to learn more about Italian wines. It was 75€ a person. 

Cantina do Mori in San Polo- this is a historical Baccaro. They had some nice cicchetti. Definitely stop in for some! They are open from 8-14 and then 16.30-19.30. Every time DH and I went past it was closed, so check on the times. They are closed some days.

Cantina do Spade in San Polo- this place was my favorite! I think we stopped in about 5 times, lol! It was 5 minutes from where we were staying. We had dinner here one time and the pasta was really good! But the main reason we went so much was for this special kind of fried zucchini flower.OMG heaven! Most stuffed zucchini flowers in Venice had mozzarella and anchovies. I do not really like anchovies, so these flowers were a nice change. They were stuffed with that baccalade fish and cream. But when they make the cream, it's really creamy, like a soft cheese. They are just plain amazing! The calamari and other seafood is pretty good here, too.

As you can see, most of the baccari are in areas outside of San Marco. 

This post is so food and wine centred, sorry! DH and I just wanted to do a food and wine trip, so that's why. 

A water taxi from the airport will be pretty expensive, about 100€ +. We took a train from Munich and there is a water bus from the station. The price is 7€, so I think a water taxi would be about 40-50€. They also may no t be able to drop you off at the front door of where you are staying, so you will be walking anyway. I think 7€ a ticket one way is ridiculous! That being said, bring some comfy walking shoes, because that is what you will be doing! 

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions! 

Re: Planning a trip to Italy!

Thank you so much for the very detailed response!

We will be staying at the Arcadia Boutique Hotel which is located in the Cannaregio area. From my research there is a water bus that will bring us from the airport to a nearby bridge very close to the hotel. Leaving Venice we will be taking train to Florence.

We booked a session through Row Venice, which while not a traditional gondola ride, gives you a lesson on rowing a similar boat. That should be a fun experience.

Will certainly add some of your restaurant recommendations to our plans, I have never even heard of "cicchetti" lol so that is very helpful!

Really looking forward to the trip about 1 month away now!

Planning a trip to Italy!

I see that this was an old post.......but.......just in case. :) We went on our honeymoon and splurged a bit :) We did a similar trip to what you are doing...started off in Venice, then went to the Tuscany region (with day trips to Florence and Sienna), then to Sorrento, and then off to Rome. Amazing trip! A few recommendations of our favs:
Tuscany region (travling to sienna and florence too)-- we stayed at Castello de Serra ( http://www.castellodelleserre.com/) We loved our time in Tuscany. THe owner is originally from Italy, lived in California for a while and then took over this "b&B"-- they were super helpful and knowledgeable about the surround regions. There are some AMAZING restaurants in the area too. If you are in the region, I HIGHLY recommend this one (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1048238-d2279170-Reviews-Ischieto-Rapolano_Terme_Tuscany.html)


As for Sorrento, we stayed in http://www.mediterraneosorrento.com/ -- pretty good hotel.

As for Rome-- I woulld greatly recommend "Antica Pesa" for a restaurant -- http://www.anticapesa.it/eng/

Enjoy!

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Keep in mind the water bus takes over an hour. The speed boat is more expensive but much faster. Just make sure you budget time wise to catch your train.