Five Days in Italy?

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by WestIndianArchie

Going on X-Mas Day

On the list
- Milan
- Venice
- Pisa
- Florence

Any styleforum worthy places I shoud check out?

Right now i'm just hoping for a good RTW shirt.

another question - have you been before? I wouldn't miss rome if you haven;t been before.

you can skip pisa, in my opinion, and maybe switch milan for bolanga.


but moving around makes sense - I'd use the train, though.

 

[whnay.]

Or take a side trip to Lake Como, it will be cold but still lovely.

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by whnay.

Or take a side trip to Lake Como, it will be cold but still lovely.

We were there a few months ago. We probably didn't do it right, but we were surrounded by other tourists the whole time. All the little towns on the lake feel like they belong in Epcot Center. The food was okay.

Still, stunningly beautiful.

 

[FreedBird]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

another question - have you been before? I wouldn't miss rome if you haven;t been before.

you can skip pisa, in my opinion, and maybe switch milan for bolanga.


but moving around makes sense - I'd use the train, though.

+1 a car is totally useless in Venezia and a pain in Firenze and Milano. If you wanted to do some smaller towns like Pienza, Volterra, Cortona, etc. a car makes a little more sense.

 

[why]

Goriano Sicoli

 

[WestIndianArchie]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

another question - have you been before? I wouldn't miss rome if you haven;t been before.

you can skip pisa, in my opinion, and maybe switch milan for bolanga.


but moving around makes sense - I'd use the train, though.

I'm gonna miss Rome. Just means another reason to come back.

 

[WestIndianArchie]

Originally Posted by justsayno

driving in Italy, really?

That's what I said. She has this idea of us tooling around in an Alfa Romeo, us both re-learning how to drive standard.

Umm, no.

 

[WestIndianArchie]

Originally Posted by FreedBird

Check out Boggi for good RTW shirts for a decent price. They have an outlet in Milan and a shop in Florence. I don't know about Venice or Pisa, maybe. When you in Florence check out the shoe store Gilardini they have two shops right next to the duomo. They carry a brand there called Franceschetti that is absolutely gorgeous. For ties Tie Your Tie has a great selection of wool ties there now. The most important thing you should be worry about thought is buying a delicious bistecca all florentina. Eat at Trattoria da Mario. Buon viaggio!

^^Thanks. And steak is always good.

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by whnay.

Or take a side trip to Lake Como, it will be cold but still lovely.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

We were there a few months ago. We probably didn't do it right, but we were surrounded by other tourists the whole time. All the little towns on the lake feel like they belong in Epcot Center. The food was okay.

Still, stunningly beautiful.

We stayed at the Villa d'Este on our last trip. The sailing was great...something to consider doing.


- B

 

[scarphe]

the smaller cities have more to offer than the larger ones you wish to see.
just to a list few
perugia
ascoli piceno
padova
ferrera
ravenna
salerno

 

[Will]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

We stayed at the Villa d'Este on our last trip. The sailing was great...something to consider doing.


- B

But probably not in January....

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by Will

But probably not in January....

Wimp.

- B

 

[Doral]

I lived in Italy for 8 years during the 80's and I just went back this summer in July. I spent 19 days. Flew from Houston into Rome stayed 4 days. Train to Florence, 4 days. Train from Florence to Pisa for one day side trip. Only stayed in Pisa a couple of hours. Saw Tower had dinner and then went back to Florence. Took train to Venice 3 days. Took train to Milano 4 days. Took overnight train to Pairs spent 3 days and then flew back to Houston. You will not see hardly anything in 5 days. You will spend the majority of your time on trains and checking in and out of hotels. Warning! No matter what you do, do not, I repeat do not check any bags. Take a carry-on only. Even for your GF. Trust me, I speak from experience. I would not rent a car either you will spend the rest of your time lost and asking for directions (do you or your GF speak Italian). You can not drive in Venice and a car is useless in Florence as you can not drive in the city center. It will sit in a parking garage all day. In addition gas is about $8.00 a gallon or more. Try to make one of the cities your base. Like Florence on Vience and the take the train to the other cities. I would suggest that you be a tourist and enjoy the sites. Have your GF go on line and find a company that gives tours in each of the cities that you visit and let them show you around. They will show you the highlights and then after the tour you can branch on your own. Most of them will let you make reservations on line before you arrive. Check out Tripadvisor.com http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum...i20-Italy.html. Look under Forms, Europe Forms, Italy. There is an abundance of information for all the cities that you want to visit from pepole who have been there. Enjoy your trip, Ciao DC

 

[romafan]

Lots of good advice here. It seems like you are biting off too much. In 5 days you will not be able to cover everything. Nix the car. Eliminate the southern/Tuscan portion of the itinerary (are you flying into Milan?). Don't waste your time trying to track down specific clothing shops - be a tourist and if you see something interesting pop in.

edit* I saw that Venice is experiencing record 'acqua alta' levels. See if your hotel can provide Wellies or hipboots (or bring your own). You don't want to be confined to the raised walkways....

 

[Britalian]

Possible efficient route:
Fly into Milan (?)
Eurostar across to Venice
Eurostar down to Florence, possibly stopping off en route at beautiful Ferrara for few hours; well worth it.
Continue Eurostar to Florence.
You might consider a stop off at Verona instead of Ferrara( on the Milan-Venice leg); it would be understandable for a first-time visit.

If you are also flying out of Milan you could get early train to Bologna for hour or so sightseeing (0ne Eurostar hour from Florence) then take the brand new super high speed Eurostar-type train from here to Milan (one hour; it opens for first time in a few days). I hope to use this new train in new year. It only runs between Milan and Bologna in the initail period, unfortunately.

Book all in advance on the Trenitalia site (in English) to make it as easy and comfortable as possible. Five days will fly by but be very enjoyable for you the more you plan and get organised. Others are wise to counsel against driving, too. Sounds good idea, romantic etc, but for such a short time it would be a disproportionate hassle; tolls, directions, familiarity with Italian driving, one ways etc. Not to mention the precious time wasted if you have an accident.

NB. If you do decide to use the train options, check the trenitalia site just before you leave: if a strike is planned on a particular day, you'll want a back-up plan. Welcome to Europe.
Hope you have a great time.

PS Wrap up warm. It gets very cold in the north of Italy.