Italy - Where to go?

So many places so little time....

I'm no expert but my pick would be Sienna/Florence/Pisa, not too far apart fro a trip to include them all. The former is a lovely market town with great atmosphere, the surrounding countryside is great and the villages classically picturesque Tuscany. Florence and Pisa probably need no introduction.

May/June could be pretty hot for an elderly couple though.

How about Venice? Popular for a reason! Good to get around for less mobile visitors too as it is so compact.

Bruce

I love Siena, but it can be tough on the shoe-leather, especially if you want to visit all the contrade!
If it's your first time in Italy, Florence has a high density of art/culture/ancient buildings, but how do you choose between Rome/Florence/Milan? Just not possible really. You'll find excellent coffee shops/selections of cakes/gelateria in any Italian town.
I prefer Venice out of season, but water taxis or gondole will save you walking anywhere but will empty your pockets.
The lakes (Garda/Como etc) are beautiful, but a different holiday from the culture trail - I suppose Garda is near Verona, which is an option - open air Opera is recommended (as long as it doesn't rain, like it did when I went).
As Bruce says, Siena/Florence/Pisa is a good axis for a holiday, but I could say the same for Naples/Amalfi, Rome, Venice/Padova, and so on. Depends on what floats your boat
Whatever you choose, it's a wonderful place to visit - enjoy.

Rome is one big Ancient monument, good tube/buses.
Naples bonkers traffic but good access for Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Pizzas are good too, not surprisingly.
I can't imagine any Italian town without good coffee shops.

A lot of very good places to go to - however treat the trip as a combat mission into enemy territory and be expecting to be ambushed, have all bags visible at all times, do not distracted by dirt being thrown on to you and being helped by "kind" people. If traveling with luggage do not let it out of your sight otherwise it will go out of your sight for ever.

In other words watch out for the thieves and pick pockets.

otherwise have a great time - I would add votes for Rome, Sienna, Florence, never been too impressed with Milan.

The InterCity and Eurostar trains are a great way to get around. The local buses are good say for going from Siena to San Gimignano

Go to Florence and visit the Uffizi. If you visit one art gallery in your whole life it should be this one. Go to Florence anyway, whether art's important or not.

When it comes to cakes Italians are more into very elaborate ice/cream/cake dessert concoctions. Expensive but amazing.

The Italian Lakes are further north above Milan and Verona. Como is the most famous IIRC. Use google maps.

I absolutely love Rome and I am off there and Tivoli again this year but it is virtually impossible not to walk, despite the metro and bus system. The Coliseum and forum is a day of walking on it's own and the Palatine is one of my favourite places in the world.

I shall also be driving down to Naples to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum, but again, lots of walking is involved and I think it is almost inevitable when visiting these ancient monuments and museums.

Mark

Amalfi coast is terrific - Fantastic Drive. Sorrento is lovely and all the coastal towns, Positano and such are picture postcard perfect, although it's some years since I've been and apparently pretty touristy these days (mind it always was). Walk up Vesuvius (quite spooky at top and tests your fitness) and around Herculaneum. I'd move to Amalfi if an option and Italy wasn't quite so errrr.... 'relaxed'. Naples is quite nuts but at least you can drive in, park and drive out again.

Florence is undeniably beautiful but I found it kinda one dimensional. Although in a good way.

Venice is a bit crappy IMO. And wet. And crowded.

Turin is a bit horrible comparatively but you could always go up towatds the French border a bit. The Alps are great though in Spring/Early Summer

Milan is great, places to see, shops, people, food, cafes, football, easy to get around. Loads to do.

Lake Garda is just stunning.

Never been to Rome though...

Take an Italian phrasebook. I can't remember the number of times I've asked "Do you speak English?" and got the response No, do you speak Italian?" !! Which is kinda fair enough...

Italy is pretty terrific for the most part though.

If it's likely to be your parent's only visit to Italy, and bearing in mind they probably don't want to travel around the country, then really it's got to be Rome, with Florence as runner up.

If they only want lovely scenery then the northern lakes are the place to go - either Garda or Como.

The Amalfi coast, south of Naples. Stunning. Positano, for example. You can visit Naples, & the surrounding historical sites.
Option 2.
Lake Garda. Another stunning place, & you can visit Verona in a day quite easily. Its a small city, so you can walk through it quite easily.
I actually liked Venice, even though my pre-conceived idea was of an over-priced tourist trap.
Or then you've always got Rome, but to "do it", there's probably a bit of walking involved.
I love Italy.
Matt.

Hi Dave

Went to Amalfi coast last year, Stunningly beautiful but not the easiest place to get around, most of the sites do require a fair bit of walking.. Pompeii, Vesuvius. Ravelo has a music festival each year which may be of interest.

Thought lake Garda was fabulous last time I went, stayed in Desenzano in the south which has a train station which made it very simple to get around, Venice, Verona, Milan the list goes on, even went down to Ferrari one day. All the lakeside towns are easy to get to with the ferries. The only organized trip we did was to the Dolomites. Could have gone to the opera but not really my sort of music but found a cafe which had live music on several night a week.

Wherever you go I am sure you will enjoy.

Graham

Another vote for Florence and Siena here, along with Pisa all within (very) easy train commute of each other. Great coffee in all of them.

The Ferrari Museum in Maranello is well worth a visit.

I found Milan too snooty when I stayed there.

steve

I wouldn't drive in Italy tho many brave souls do. The train from Rome to Florence is wonderful, stop at Orvieto it's half way and take the tram to the top. Lovely little hill town for a visit. There is a very small Romanesque chapel that is the most serene and spiritual place I"Ve ever been in. As the train goes up the central valley you can see lots of hill towns on outcrops, just lovely.

If staying in Florence and you don't want to walk, take busses into the hill towns around, the scenery is spectacular and you're not wearing your parents out. From the train station you can get a day trip to Sienna or San Giminagno, I"m sure I butchered that name. I found Florence to be the best for art. It's also just wonderful to sit in a square and watch people go by. If you have more energy sit your folks down and take off for the Bargello for sculpture or other museums like Uffizi. Ask to get a wheelchair for your folks if they get too tired. You get overloaded very easily on any museum.

Everyone goes to see the David yet the hall to it has his best sculptures, the Captives, they're emerging from the marble in a rough state, the 4th one is in Paris. Just sit and admire what's happening with the stone and light and shadow. I have a great small sketch of one when I was really tired of standing.

Get to the Medici Tombs first thing in the morning, it will fill up fast, I hate the commotion of all the flag waving guides. The Madonna there is also a major piece pointed out by my art instructor. Often overlooked because of the other major works.

Verona has a wonderful colosseum that puts on operas in summer. And the Castello in town was remodeled by the best architect/artist, every handle and hinge and window is superbly crafted.

Don't miss out on going into major clothing stores and admiring the clothes. Italian fashion is the best, often very subtle but just beautiful. I saw a Versace woman's suit that was made out of snake skin, it was jaw dropping in the window. I shied away from a wool sweater in a small town that I still think of today. It was pricy tho.

Don't forget to say Ciao often and complement them on their city or merchandise with eye contact. You'll get a warmer reception. Take your time, ask if they have anything special on or off the menu. I had a family dinner that way that was incredible in a small town. Grandpa had picked the mushrooms himself that morning for the ravioli. Savor every bite.

If you go to Venice you must go to Chioggia. Link below. If you want a bit of beach action whilst there pop over to Sottomarino where there are some really nice hotels and great sand. The pace is slow and is a great haven from the hectic outside world.

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/veneto/chioggia.html

I know some of the best printing presses in Italy - if that's of any use to you..?!

You mention 'ancient buildings'....How about something a little more modern ? Carlo Scarpa was one of Italy's very finest architects of the 20th century - beautiful and sensitive works in modern materials. His works are peppered across the country but for a concise introduction I would strongly recommend a visit to the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona or the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice - beautiful museums/galleries well worth a wander around - and you get the art/collections thrown in too....!

Steve.

Thanks SC I couldn't remember the name Carlo Scarpa, I saw several of his works in Italy but the Castelvecchio was the most amazing thing I saw. Modern and ancient fused together in a beautiful way.

No problem mudwolf. Yes, he really was quite special...Certainly one of my favourite architects, after Mies of course...!

Steve.

All, thankyou for your replies and advice. Glad you could all agree on one place to go!

I sent the link to this page to my folks so they could have a look. Trying to explain that the advice came from a place called 'The Padded Cell' written by people who like black boxes who were responding to 'Dave Brubeck' was quite an undertaking...

Anyway, seeing as how it is 'their' holiday (I a mainly going to provide security and baggage handling services) I tried to leave it up to them to choose.

So Lake Garda it is. With me driving a people carrier on the odd day, to Verona/ Milan/ Dolomites/ possibly Venice.

This 'Desenzano' place mentioned by Mr. Alfa4life looks like a good base.

Not going till start of June, however I will report back with findings.

Thanks again.

RE driving to Venice - I have heard comments about the cost of car parking in Venice - you might wish to consider traveling to Venice by train - at least then you are close to the various water based transportation.

A good option for Garda and around is Malcesine. You can take a cable car up to the top of Monte Baldo, for a mind-numbing view over the lake
Whatever, have a great time!

Malcesine, honeymooned there. It was a lovely place then, and historic with its castle and literary associations, with good access around and across the Lake by bus and ferry.

Cable car up Monte Baldo for stunning views, and you can walk up to or down from the half-way point. We walked down from halfway down, and were summoned in off the path warmly by one of the farming families for drinks for grandma's 100th birthday.

We also went to Verona by bus for an overnight there. Opera (Aida) in the Roman Arena (exciting for me as both an opera fan and ancient historian). Lovely town centre, market, street life, and the FABULOUS church of San Zeno, ancient basilican architecture, stripy.

At the southern end of Lake Garda is Sirmione, another nice lakeside town and site of Virgil's mansion of exile from Rome. The other lakeside places we particularly enjoyed were Gardone and Limone on the western side and northern end.

You can hire a car, or book an excursion around/across the Lake by ferry or bus.