Help me plan a few days in Italy, starting from Venice.

May 8, 2009 8:13 AM

Business trip in Italy in June, ending with one day in Venice. I am going to stay a few extra days in Italy on my own... should I stay in Venice or go elsewhere? Have to decide about plane tickets in the next 2 hours!

I love to travel but have never been to Italy. I'm on a business trip that will be 3 nights in Rome and 1 night in Venice. Business portion of trip will include sightseeing.

I am staying a few extra days on my own, starting out in Venice. Some options I'm considering:

- Hang out in Venice, fly home from Venice
- Fly home from Milan, exploring the area between Venice and Milan
- Spend a day in Venice and a day or two in Florence, fly home from Rome (wasting too much time on the train?)

What would you do? My boss wants to buy the plane tickets around lunchtime today, so I have to make a decision soon.

The business part of the trip ends on a Wednesday... so I am thinking I'd fly back to the US on Saturday or Sunday.

A little about how I like to travel...
- I am an amateur photographer
- I am not crazy about touristy things (no tours!)
- I prefer to explore an area rather than visit a list of specific sights
- I research like crazy in advance
- I'm more interested in authentic, old Italy rather than big, modern city life
- I have no interest in fancy restaurants or nightlife (I prefer local, rustic, inexpensive food)
- I am planning a possible return trip to Italy next spring with my fiancee, which could be 2-3 weeks long.

posted by kdern to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

You say you like authentic, old italy and not big, modern city life however you really should check out Rome if you haven't been there. It's one of the most fascinating cities I have ever been to, and there is so much to do there I could literally spend weeks. Although parts of Rome have that metropolis feel, this city is old and has so much history and things to check out that it's almost frightening.

You say you will be traveling to Italy with your fiancee, and this would be a perfect time to check out the rustic, more rural areas ie. wine tasting etc, but I couldn't fathom a trip to Italy without checking Rome out. Truly an incredible, historic city. Just my 2.
posted by OuttaHere at 8:23 AM on May 8

I recommend Bologna. It's about two hours by train from Venice, not very touristy, great food, very photogenic. Having the oldest university in Europe should qualify it as "authentic old Italy."
posted by Wet Spot at 8:28 AM on May 8

I'm going to vote for "stay in Venice." The reason is that Venice rewards haphazard exploration, and it's worth staying long enough to see the islands. No matter how crazily you research, one of the most rewarding things you can do in Venice is go out walking and get lost.

On the other hand, I love Florence too. Venice and Florence are both smallish cities, smaller than either Milan or Rome. I'd leave Milan and Rome for the longer trip and hang out in just Venice and/or Florence.

Whatever you do, have fun!
posted by Pallas Athena at 8:48 AM on May 8

While I grew to hate Venice over the two weeks I stayed there, a few days seems perfect. Some warnings.

Venice:

-It's kind of a city-under-glass, the small size means it can be pretty hard to get away from tourists (and there are a lot in June) or find real "authentic" city life (Try heading north, above the old Jewish Quarter).

-I found it really hard to find decent places to eat.

-However, Venice is unlike any other city you're likely to visit. An honest-to-god medieval city with twisting, winding passages and rivers for streets and buildings older than the concept of nation-stations. It's supremely beautiful and singular. If you just want to wander off in one direction, you're bound to be surprised. You will fill up your camera. You can and will get lost, it's a pretty amazing feeling, like being inside an RPG almost, I kept expecting to encounter a kobol. It's also sinking, so you might want to see it while you can. Also, The History. Cause seriously. It's Venice. You can have coffee in places described in 18th century romance novels and it's the same place. It's pretty fucking neat.

-Also there is a place that will fill up your empty wine bottles for you with wine from the barrel.

-Also there is a surprisingly good Indian place run by Italian hippies.

Florence!

I adore Florence (partly cause I have some family there) but not in the summer. Again, it can get pretty Tourist-Packed but the Alter-Arno (the *other* side of the river) is less trafficed. The Pitti Palace there has some beautiful painted ceilings and a vast garden perfect for strolling. And seriously, it sounds cliche, but all the amazing art really is better in person. Seeing the David in person, in particular, made me realize why it's been talked about since the 1500s. The tourists will be in full force but Florence is big enough that you can checkout the (and walk to) all the outer neighborhoods.

-The lines for the Uffizi will be long. Very. Very. Long.

-That open-air market on the Via Abrhamo Lincoln (I think) is a nice slice of daily life and will get your Italian meat fix. Plus, chimpmunks being sold in cages!

-If you can avoid tourist traps the food is excellent. Still, even the busiest areas have some gems. Osteria del Gatto e la Volpe, near the Dumo, is decent and caters to students so the prices are reasonable. Don't know how it is during the tourist crush.

I'd stay in one place to get a better feel for it rather than try to jet around, but Venice is a little overwhelming/frustrating for days on end. Given the choice, I'd rather be in Florence where you can still get some "daily life" flavor, or drive into the suburbs. Pisa, outside the famous square, has a run-down-town feeling I quite enjoyed after the frenzy of Florence.

Know nothing about Milan except it's reputation as an Industrial town.
posted by The Whelk at 8:48 AM on May 8

stay in Venice. A few days is perfect.
posted by agentwills at 8:54 AM on May 8

OK - 2 questions...

How about the idea of exploring the area between Venice and Florence, possibly by train?

Any thoughts on the towns around Venice (in the Veneto)?
posted by kdern at 9:02 AM on May 8

You could do Venice in two days easy, but definitely take opportunities to get lost and wander down sidestreets, like The Whelk suggests. Go to the Guggenheim -- amazing.

Florence will be madness in June so you might want to avoid it especially if you'd only have a couple of days there. BUT, definitely do a Tuscan tour when you go with your fiancee next year -- I'm slightly biased because my family is from Tuscany, but it's incredibly beautiful and you can hit Siena, Florence, and lots of smaller Tuscan towns (Pisa - only for the tower and only for an afternoon, San Gimigniano, Pienza, etc) and then go up to Liguria and see the gorgeous Cinque Terre, which is probably the most stunning place I've ever been.
posted by pised at 9:06 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]

I would also recommend leaving Venice if you don't like super touristy things. You can see all the stuff you need to see there in a short amount of time.

Florence is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and it's more of a functioning city (not as much as Rome, but still). In my limited experience, Florence also had better food options, if you're into that. I had the best meal of my life here.
posted by thebergfather at 9:12 AM on May 8

I was actually (prepare for blasphemy) a little disappointed by Venice. Nice to visit for a day and see the Plaza and the pigeons, ride in a gondola and all that, but there is so much hype that it really just can't live up to its reputation, imho.

I'd stay near Florence. A visit to the Uffizi is a must. I never thought a single work of art could be so impressive (I'd seen the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo in the Louvre, for comparison's sake) as the statue of David. It's just that incredible. The attention to detail, like the blood flow to the hands and how that affects his stance, is just amazing.

If you can stay in the Florence area, also visit Assisi. It's very friendly--people bring their pets there because St. Thomas was the patron saint of children and animals--and it's quite scenic. There's a great little store at the top of the hill that sells the best olive oil around. And just steps from the cathedral there's a place that sells delicious gelato.

You've also got Pisa, which despite being surrounded by touristy stalls is actually quite pretty once you hit the grassy square where the bell tower and the famous leaning tower stand, and well worth visiting.

And Siena, which sadly I did not get to see myself, but by all reports is the perfect medieval town.
posted by misha at 10:42 AM on May 8

Three days isn't a lot of time, so don't waste it traveling. Stay in Venice. Fly home from Venice. But find a small hotel as far away as possible from Piazza San Marco, so that it's quiet and peaceful. Plan a day trip to one of the smaller islands--not Murano but one of the others. Post your query on slowtrav.com Italy section, saying what you said here. They have great suggestions. Here's a walking tour I did in the fall that I spread out over several wonderful days. Granted, it was in November. However, the tour takes you through a lot of small, less visited parts of Venice.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122411174975038299.html
posted by Elsie at 11:35 AM on May 8

Rather than waste another day travelling I would stay in Venice. I would get up early and wander, down back streets over small bridges, take a valporetto to the next stop. I would look up as well as down and would not be in a hurry. I would wander at a gentle pace and when I came to a dead end I would happily turn around and go somewhere else; through every open door and arch; I would find where the locals drink and snack and read their papers and I would stop being in such a hurry to see somewhere else.
posted by adamvasco at 11:36 AM on May 8

Distances are relatively short, meaning: the train ride from Florence to Rome is about 1h30, from Venice to Milan 2h30, Florence to Milan can be as short as 2h10, so you might be "wasting" just a couple hours in the early morning or in the late afternoon, and have a whole day ahead of you to visit the cities. On the other hand, you might just spend 2 or 3 days relaxing in either Padua, or Verona, or Mantua, which are close to Venice and all of them are amazing and relatively off-the track cities.

(if you decide to stay in Florence and your stay includes the 24th, keep in mind it's the local saint patron's day, some places are closed. OTOH, fireworks show over the river in the evening!)
posted by _dario at 11:56 AM on May 8

Thanks for all the advice. All the opinions were helpful.

I've decided to fly out of Florence 3 days after the business trip is over, which allows me the flexibility to divide my time between Venice, Florence and possibly a visit to Siena.
posted by kdern at 1:03 PM on May 8

not a big fan of venice myself - florence might be a little stretch if you want to go in three days by train and back.

you could stay in the area between florence and milan: go to the Garda Lake: on the north top you have the start of the Dolomite Alps and on the South you have plenty of lovely cities like Desenzano, Salo, Sirmione...

it is really worth it.

Visit Florence and Rome a little more off-season
posted by madeinitaly at 12:40 AM on May 9