Wanted: Recommendations for a trip to Italy

[goosifer]

As I may have previously mentioned, my wife and I are at a point in our lives where we are going to knock off some bucket list travel. First trip was the Panama canal, which we did last month. Next trip is six weeks in Italy in September and October, 2019. I'm planning the trip myself, and have made a lot of progress sketching out the itinerary. I have a lot more work to do on the details for accommodations and tours. I figured I would throw this out there for folks to share their favorite things related to Italy, be it cities, activities, food and or memories.

FWIW, below is a preliminary list of the cities we intend to visit. We will be traveling by train everywhere--too afraid to drive in Italy!

Turin
Barolo
Alba
Rapallo
Pisa
Florence
Siena
Montalcino
Montepulciano
Sorrento
Pompeii
Sorrento
Salerno
Amalfi & Ravello
Catania
Syracuse
Taormina or Augusta
Palermo
Cefalu
Rome
Venice
San Marco
Murano
Venice
Verona
Valpolicella
Bologna
Modena
Parma
Nice, France
 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by goosifer

[Hunter007]

17 minutes ago, goosifer said:

As I may have previously mentioned, my wife and I are at a point in our lives where we are going to knock off some bucket list travel. First trip was the Panama canal, which we did last month. Next trip is six weeks in Italy in September and October, 2019. I'm planning the trip myself, and have made a lot of progress sketching out the itinerary. I have a lot more work to do on the details for accommodations and tours. I figured I would throw this out there for folks to share their favorite things related to Italy, be it cities, activities, food and or memories.

FWIW, below is a preliminary list of the cities we intend to visit. We will be traveling by train everywhere--too afraid to drive in Italy!

Turin
Barolo
Alba
Rapallo
Pisa
Florence
Siena
Montalcino
Montepulciano
Sorrento
Pompeii
Sorrento
Salerno
Amalfi & Ravello
Catania
Syracuse
Taormina or Augusta
Palermo
Cefalu
Palermo
Rome
Rome
Venice
San Marco
Murano
Venice
Verona
Valpolicella
Bologna
Modena
Parma
Nice, France
 

 

 

Add portofino Cinque Terre Monte Carlo to your list really almost every town in italy has something to see you will never see it all  in one lifetime. 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[Hunter007]

Sestri Levante

Portofino 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[goosifer]

10 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

Add portofino 

I'm hoping to do that as a day trip from Rapallo. Was just looking at that this evening, in fact. There is a ferry that runs a loop from Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino and San Fruttuoso. 

I scoured the coast from Genoa to La Spezia looking for a nice, yet not crazy priced, hotel on the coast with a queen bed (we aren't, shall we say, tiny people). Settled on the Best Western Plus Tigullio Royal Hotel in Rapallo. Their lead pic suckered me in:

Edited February 5, 2019 by goosifer

[goosifer]

3 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

Sestri Levante

Portofino 

Tell some of the story behind your pics. They are very scenic.

[turkeyfeathers]

This sounds neat 

[Hunter007]

Just now, goosifer said:

Tell some of the story behind your pics. They are very scenic.

I go there  almost every other year    and I still have not seen it all  I always rented  a car but the trains a  pretty good overthere also .

 

[Hunter007]

[goosifer]

2 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

This sounds neat 

Italy has a concept called agriturismo where you rent a room in farmhouses, places that grow grapes, olives, etc. It's like airbnb out in the countryside before airbnb existed. The problem is you need to get to these places by car, and since we won't be renting a car, it can get logistically complicated and or pricy. So instead, I am trying to stick close to the train stations, but in smaller cities instead of the big cities. In fact, we are only doing Rome because my wife (and my SIL who will be joining us for a week) wanted to see Rome. Umbria didn't make the cut this trip, but we will see Siena/Tuscany next door.

[Hunter007]

Yea driving there really parking there is a problem. 

If you don't like tight spaces  I would not recommend driving there . 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[Otto]

Don’t  be afraid to rent a car or drive there.  It is not too much different than a busier city here in the US, maybe they drive a little faster.  I drove a small bus (15 passenger) there on two different trips and it was fine.  It helps to have a good navigator there because the signage is not as prevalent as here, and it’s in Italian!    If you don’t know how to drive a stick, be sure to rent an automatic.  Trains are great, but you still have to make your way from train station to hotel then to the sights.  Very helpful to have a car at your disposal.  

I hope you don’t plan to visit all those cities on one trip!  (Unless you are staying for a year). You could easily spend a week in Rome and only scratch the surface.  Better to linger in one spot and see it all rather than bounce around from one spot to the next.  

My family is from Sicily, so I have a special appreciation for its’ beauty and culture.  Depending on time of year, I would hope you can spend some time there.   Much cheaper than the main tourist areas of Italy as well   

[goosifer]

3 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

Last pic Lucca? My wife has an interest in photography and has a lot of different lens. Given we are going carry on baggage only, though, she will be stuck with just using her phone, unfortunately. 

[Hunter007]

4 minutes ago, goosifer said:

Italy has a concept called agriturismo where you rent a room in farmhouses, places that grow grapes, olives, etc. It's like airbnb out in the countryside before airbnb existed. The problem is you need to get to these places by car, and since we won't be renting a car, it can get logistically complicated and or pricy. So instead, I am trying to stick close to the train stations, but in smaller cities instead of the big cities. In fact, we are only doing Rome because my wife (and my SIL who will be joining us for a week) wanted to see Rome. Umbria didn't make the cut this trip, but we will see Siena/Tuscany next door.

Driving on the highway there is  no big deal it is driving in the city's and secondary roads that you need some nerves to do a lot of the  roads are  designed for horses there ancient very little space to maneuver in .

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[Hunter007]

3 minutes ago, goosifer said:

Last pic Lucca? My wife has an interest in photography and has a lot of different lens. Given we are going carry on baggage only, though, she will be stuck with just using her phone, unfortunately. 

Montepulciano

[Marion]

Deleted

[Hunter007]

We will be here for a very long time if you want to see all my pics from over there 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[goosifer]

2 minutes ago, Otto said:

Don’t  be afraid to rent a car or drive there.  It is not too much different than a busier city here in the US, maybe they drive a little faster.  I drove a small bus (15 passenger) there on two different trips and it was fine.  It helps to have a good navigator there because the signage is not as prevalent as here, and it’s in Italian!    If you don’t know how to drive a stick, be sure to rent an automatic.  Trains are great, but you still have to make your way from train station to hotel then to the sights.  Very helpful to have a car at your disposal.  

I hope you don’t plan to visit all those cities on one trip!  (Unless you are staying for a year). You could easily spend a week in Rome and only scratch the surface.  Better to linger in one spot and see it all rather than bounce around from one spot to the next.  

My family is from Sicily, so I have a special appreciation for its’ beauty and culture.  Depending on time of year, I would hope you can spend some time there.   Much cheaper than the main tourist areas of Italy as well   

I'm more worried about getting shaken down from a cop in a small town than driving per se. I drove in Paris and Normandy a few years ago and did OK. (It was a nice 5 series BMW convertible. My wife says I'm lucky we don't have a three car garage.)

I see your point about not trying to see too much in one trip. I am trying to stay 3-4 nights per city so we don't move around too much, and to move to cities close to each other. The only long haul is to and from Sicily. All the hotels and tours are refundable, so if it gets to be too much, we can cancel the outing and just chill. I'm also trying to plan for some down time in each city.

I made the decision that beyond a couple of certain churches, plazas and museums, I am going to focus on scenery, craftsmanship, food, wine and culture. That really influenced how I allocated time and cities. I will be staying a week in Sicily, and will try to do some family research in San Guiseppe Jato near Palermo while there.

[Hunter007]

[goosifer]

3 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

We will be here for a very long time if you want to see all my pics from over there 

 

 

 

No need to share all of them. But if you have a particularly memorable story, or something that really made a lasting impression, would love to hear about that.

[Hunter007]

11 minutes ago, goosifer said:

No need to share all of them. But if you have a particularly memorable story, or something that really made a lasting impression, would love to hear about that.

Liguria Coast and Amalfi Coast and the lakes of northern  italy Lago di Como  and the other ones near by in my opinion are the best places if you want to take some nice pictures but it's all nice !! 

If you have a Italian last name and can speak it they will treat you better then if you don't  I can tell you . 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[goosifer]

4 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

Liguria Coast and Amalfi Coast and the lakes of northern  italy Lago di Como  and the other ones near by .

If you have a Italian last name and can speak it they will treat you better then if you don't  I can tell you . 

 

 

Have the name, but don't speak Italian. I will learn the tourist basic words before I leave, and I do speak some French, fwiw. What camera and lens did you use in Italy? Your pics look great. I was looking at my wife's pics from when we went to the Amalfi coast a few years ago, and they look gray compared to yours. (don't tell her that, though). I wanted to go to Lake Como, but wife is so anti-Milan (doesn't want to even change trains in the station, sigh), and I needed to trim the list, so it got cut.

[Hunter007]

19 minutes ago, goosifer said:

Have the name, but don't speak Italian. I will learn the tourist basic words before I leave, and I do speak some French, fwiw. What camera and lens did you use in Italy? Your pics look great. I was looking at my wife's pics from when we went to the Amalfi coast a few years ago, and they look gray compared to yours. (don't tell her that, though). I wanted to go to Lake Como, but wife is so anti-Milan (doesn't want to even change trains in the station, sigh), and I needed to trim the list, so it got cut.

Lol those are from my Samsung 7 phone   actually the thing is awesome I rarely use my other camera anymore which is Sony. 

If you are flying in to Milan I would seriously think about renting a car and going around those lakes starting with como take the road that skirts the lakes awesome views . Just make sure you have good GPS and know how to use it  since you said you don't speak Italian. 

Then drop it back off  at the airport  and do those other things on that list by train .

 

Places you don't want to drive in the city's of  rome and liguria coast unless you have nerves of steel .  O and get the smallest car you can fit all your stuff into ,  trust me it will be apparent when you see how everything is smaller over there  , and the gas is  4 times more . 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[nyslowhand]

4 hours ago, goosifer said:

I made the decision that beyond a couple of certain churches, plazas and museums, I am going to focus on scenery, craftsmanship, food, wine and culture. That really influenced how I allocated time and cities. I will be staying a week in Sicily, and will try to do some family research in San Guiseppe Jato near Palermo while there.

Great plan! Anyone going to Europe (esp Italy) and expecting to visit any of the true historical sites will be disappointed. IE; Colosseum, Leaning Tower, Famous fountains, Vatican, Roman Empire relics, etc.

Sounds like you're not using a travel agent, so assuming you haven't been briefed on the dirty little secrets of "tourist hot spots". Pickpockets, photo taking scams, shady local tour guide services & cabbies, etc. Spent 3yrs in Germany during my military service, so I traveled a lot. Best way to see the real sights, how they live and get a real sense of Italy, France, etc is to get off the beaten path.

BTW - If you've never done any genealogy yourself it'd be beneficial to pay a local search specialist in the city/area you mentioned before arriving. They know how & where to look and for the few hundred dollars it'll be a deal.

Have fun! Enjoy! I'm jealous!

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by nyslowhand

[Hunter007]

Just picking up a car at the airport is very convenient , you may want to consider renting one for at least part of your trip and actually if you get use to driving over there you probably will want to keep it for all your trip, you will not get bothered by the cops over there they use traffic cameras to bust you , 

And cops in italy are well paid they have no need to shake people down especially a American  I have cousins that are cops over there  ,  btw most the cops come from south italy just because you have a southern  Italian last name  they would not bother you more then likely. .

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Storm914

[Chef]

Ok here are my Italy suggestions. Forget about the churches, museums, all that crap. Eat, drink, walk, relax. It is a beautiful and amazing place. If you try to see every god dam museum there you will not see anything else. See the Colosseum from the outside, it’s a waste of time to go in. Find the small out of the way restaurants, eat what’s not on the written menu if offered. The Amalfi coast is beautiful, don’t stay to long it’s also a tourist trap. Sicily is amazing, go there and drink espresso fredo, it’s The Godfather ( pun intended) of all that Starbucks frozen crap. Eat cured meats, drink red wine, have fun




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