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Started By
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Italy Spring 2020
Posted on 6/27/19 at 1:42 pm
Posted on 6/27/19 at 1:42 pm
Looking for a starting place in planning an Italy trip next April, starting Holy Thursday/Good Friday and coming back the following weekend. I know Holy Week in Rome will be chaos, so thinking maybe Florence/Tuscany Easter weekend, a stop or two in between and end in Rome the following weekend. Hubby and I love good food and wine, and we have 2 girls, 10 and 13 - this will be their first time to Europe. Any advice on must see places, how much time needed in each place, etc. is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
This post was edited on 6/27/19 at 2:03 pm
6
Posted on 6/27/19 at 2:43 pm to bigern19
Yes, it is crazy crazy crazy busy/crowded during Holy Week in Rome, and airfare will be expensive at that peak time. Still, if that's when the kids are off, that's when you go...
My suggestion, since you say you're food lovers, is to start in Bologna and then move south: you could do some combination of Modena, Parma, Florence, Siena, ending up in Rome. Bologna is one of Italy's great food cities.
I wouldn't try to do ALL of those places, but rather get a few general guidebooks (check public library e book collections online) and read up on each of those places. See what resonates with you, talk w/spouse on priorities (scenery, art/architecture, cooking classes, vineyards/wine, cheese, balsamic vinegar, shopping, outdoors, whatever), and think about what your kids like to do....
Resist the urge to over-schedule...Italy is a place to slow down, drink an espresso (not a contradiction, I assure you), have a second gelato, and relax. It can be a miserable country if you run from site to site with a checklist in hand and are obsessed with a schedule.
My suggestion, since you say you're food lovers, is to start in Bologna and then move south: you could do some combination of Modena, Parma, Florence, Siena, ending up in Rome. Bologna is one of Italy's great food cities.
I wouldn't try to do ALL of those places, but rather get a few general guidebooks (check public library e book collections online) and read up on each of those places. See what resonates with you, talk w/spouse on priorities (scenery, art/architecture, cooking classes, vineyards/wine, cheese, balsamic vinegar, shopping, outdoors, whatever), and think about what your kids like to do....
Resist the urge to over-schedule...Italy is a place to slow down, drink an espresso (not a contradiction, I assure you), have a second gelato, and relax. It can be a miserable country if you run from site to site with a checklist in hand and are obsessed with a schedule.
Posted on 6/27/19 at 4:44 pm to bigern19
Anything on either side of Good Friday will be jam packed in Italy. With the time you have, maybe just fly into Florence and stay there only. Don't want to try to crowd too much in during such a busy week. Would be a great starting point. Take a tour of Tuscany for the day if you can. Go to Sienna. San Gimignano is an Italian hill town in Tuscany, southwest of Florence and is amazing. Could all be done on the same tour potentially.
Make your reservations as early as you can for air and hotel.
Great place to stay in Florence!
Buy your tickets in advance for popular sites like the Uffizi Gallery. Could save hours of waiting in line.
Train system is fast and efficient, so generally resist the urge to rent a car.
If you go to Rome, we stopped off in Orvieto for two nights on the way by train. What a great little city. Walled fortress on top of a hill. Our favorite place actually.
Make your reservations as early as you can for air and hotel.
Great place to stay in Florence!
Buy your tickets in advance for popular sites like the Uffizi Gallery. Could save hours of waiting in line.
Train system is fast and efficient, so generally resist the urge to rent a car.
If you go to Rome, we stopped off in Orvieto for two nights on the way by train. What a great little city. Walled fortress on top of a hill. Our favorite place actually.
This post was edited on 6/28/19 at 6:10 am
Posted on 6/27/19 at 9:48 pm to bigern19
We spent Easter in Italy last year. We spent a week here www.chianticortine.com , spent three days in Florence which is about 20 miles north of the place I just referenced, then ended in Venice. That was a spectacular trip. .... In 2014 we were in Rome on Easter Sunday and attended mass at the Vatican. Of course that was mobbed with people, but other than that the crowds in Rome were very manageable. The week before Easter we spent on the Amalfi Coast which was fantastic. .
Posted on 6/28/19 at 6:45 am to bigern19
If you are traveling from Florence to Rome, Siena is on the way, and that was my favorite place in Italy.
Posted on 6/28/19 at 9:30 am to Nole Man
Thank you all - this gives me a starting point. I don't want to pack too much into a short stay and be over scheduled, so may have to do without Rome this trip or catch it at the back end for a short time before we fly back.
Again, thank you all for the input!
Again, thank you all for the input!
Posted on 6/28/19 at 9:37 am to bigern19
The biggest flaw in many travel plans is trying to cram so much into one trip. It's a natural feeling and we fight it in our family all the time. I think when it comes to international travel you always have to have the mindset of I will come back one day!
This post was edited on 6/28/19 at 9:38 am
Posted on 7/8/19 at 9:07 pm to geauxpurple
geauxpurple - how did you get around from chianticortine? Did you rent a car? If you don’t rent a car, what are the other options for getting around from a relatively remote location such as this?
Posted on 7/8/19 at 9:36 pm to bigern19
We just did this exact trip:
Left Holy Thursday and landed Friday in Milan. Drove to Bellagio and stayed the Friday and Saturday.
Sunday woke up and drove to Venice for two night.
Day 5 went to Florence for two nights.
Finished in Rome for 2 nights and flew home on the Saturday.
Thoughts:
LOVED LOVED LOVED Lake Como. Helped recoup from the flight and was slower paced. Hotels were very affordable and we did a day trip to Lugano, Switzerland.
The drive from Bellagio to Venice was a bitch as it was a holiday weekend. Bad idea on our part. Venice was nice but felt out of the way and likely would pass. However a highlight of our trip was a cooking class in Venice.
Drive to Florence took longer than desired and finding parking in the city center was a mess. Hindsight we should have trained from Venice. Loved Florence and did a great full day wine tour.
Trained to Rome was easy and spent a lot of time exploring the city. By this time we were a bit tired so ending in the busiest city was tough. Plus the crowds were pretty big.
We are foodies and loved our trip. I would say try to do 2 cities rather than 4 to allow you more time to immerse yourself since this is your first trip. Try not to rush and enjoy things as much as possible. I have a whole list of places we ate drank and were merry if you are interested.
Left Holy Thursday and landed Friday in Milan. Drove to Bellagio and stayed the Friday and Saturday.
Sunday woke up and drove to Venice for two night.
Day 5 went to Florence for two nights.
Finished in Rome for 2 nights and flew home on the Saturday.
Thoughts:
LOVED LOVED LOVED Lake Como. Helped recoup from the flight and was slower paced. Hotels were very affordable and we did a day trip to Lugano, Switzerland.
The drive from Bellagio to Venice was a bitch as it was a holiday weekend. Bad idea on our part. Venice was nice but felt out of the way and likely would pass. However a highlight of our trip was a cooking class in Venice.
Drive to Florence took longer than desired and finding parking in the city center was a mess. Hindsight we should have trained from Venice. Loved Florence and did a great full day wine tour.
Trained to Rome was easy and spent a lot of time exploring the city. By this time we were a bit tired so ending in the busiest city was tough. Plus the crowds were pretty big.
We are foodies and loved our trip. I would say try to do 2 cities rather than 4 to allow you more time to immerse yourself since this is your first trip. Try not to rush and enjoy things as much as possible. I have a whole list of places we ate drank and were merry if you are interested.
Posted on 7/9/19 at 7:38 am to bigern19
Gern:
Did you HAVE to identify as “bi” here?
You people!
Seriously, Have a great trip.
Train travel in Italy is my only suggestion.
Did you HAVE to identify as “bi” here?
You people!
Seriously, Have a great trip. Train travel in Italy is my only suggestion.
Posted on 7/9/19 at 8:19 am to soccerfüt
quote:
Seriously, Have a great trip.
Train travel in Italy is my only suggestion.
This summer we flew in country twice. It was cheap and fast. For instance we were going to take a train from Almalfi Coast to Venice. Instead we went to Pompeii for almost 4 hours and flew to Venice for like $50 each. Instead of being on a train for so long we were there in 45 minutes. We were in our hotel room by 4pm.
As for other advice all of Italy is so crowded. People are traveling internationally like never before. 1.5 billion international tourist trips last year and about 1/2 billion were to less than 300 destinations. In my opinion it makes planning very important. Have a sense of what you wan to do and recognize the rewards and challenges your itinerary offers. Something to be said for zigging when everyone else is zagging. Our 13 and 11 year old girls (no pics) liked Rome the least, but they also did the most stuff there in terms of guided tours and sight seeing.
Posted on 7/9/19 at 9:04 am to Bimbo Fisher
quote:Yes. We rented a car for a week. You almost have to because it is remote. But it is beautiful,and a perfect base from which to explore the Tuscan hill towns. It is halfway between Florence and Siena. We spent 3 days in Florence without the car after leaving the villa (arriving Easter Sunday), but we drove to Siena, Montalcino, Montalpulciano, San Gimangiano (15 minutes away) among many other places. That was the second time we took that trip. We love it. The nearest town to the villa is San Donato in Poggio. It is a nice little hill town with some good restaurants.
Did you rent a car?
Posted on 7/9/19 at 9:10 am to Jp1LSU
quote:
As for other advice all of Italy is so crowded.
Sorry, nope. The same old repetitive destinations in Italy are crowded to the point of being unpleasant (Amalfi Coast/Capri in season, Cinque Terre year round now, Florence, Venice, Tuscany esp scenic hill towns), but there are plenty of less-traveled regions. Head south to Basilicata (Matera and Maratea, esp), to Calabria, to Puglia....go all the way to Sicily and you'll find archaeological sites that easily surpass Pompeii & Herculaneum. Generally, the south is not overrun with run-of-the-mill bus-based mass tourism, not full of cheap Chinese-made souvenirs or menus printed in English (or with photographs).
Just don't go to those same 300 places and there is LOTS of space and still many interesting things to see.
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