Northern Italy travel recommendations?

May 1, 2006 9:18 AM

Northern Italy recommendations? When travelling across the top of Italy--south of the Alps but north of Venice--from Slovenia to France what are some of your favorite places to visit? Any must-sees? I'll be making this trip near the end of May with three other people in a car. We expect the Italy part of the trip to last a mere couple of days.
posted by rumbles to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

Unfortunately I've never been there, but I always heard the Cinque Terre are amazing. Likely full of ugly tourists, though, and probably not convenient at all with a car.
posted by borkingchikapa at 9:21 AM on May 1, 2006

Vicenza was one of my favorite Italian cities -- it looked the way I always pictured Romeo & Juliet's Verona to look, with lots of tiny winding streets and gorgeous villas -- but I'm not sure if that's too far south?

Is there a reason you're staying that far north? Just trying to avoid the big tourist cities, or something else? Clarifying might help people answer a bit better.
posted by occhiblu at 9:33 AM on May 1, 2006

The reason we'll be travelling through the northern part of Italy is that we're needing to get back to France to catch return flights to North America. Basically, our time in Italy is sandwiched between our time in Slovenia (hotels have been booked, etc.) and the need to get back to France. That's why we won't be dipping too far south nor too far north (into the mountains). Sorta a B-line from Slovenia to France (with some variation).
posted by rumbles at 9:39 AM on May 1, 2006

The lil missus and I just got back yesterday, and we found Bologna to be really nice, and hardly any touristicos in sight. Try the Hotel Drapperie... on a very nice street with the best produce market in Italy.
posted by DenOfSizer at 9:54 AM on May 1, 2006

(Bologna, though indeed lovely, is not exactly north of Venice, however.)
posted by occhiblu at 9:57 AM on May 1, 2006

Milan is awesome an should be right on the route you want to take.
posted by Alison at 10:03 AM on May 1, 2006

Often overshadowed by Venice, Verona is a great city to visit, with lots of cultural attractions such as the open-air opera, which may have opened for the summer by the time you pass through.
posted by DannyUKNYC at 10:18 AM on May 1, 2006

I will second Verona. I spent one night there last summer, but that was enough time to get a feel for the city and take in the opera at the Arena.
posted by sbrollins at 10:46 AM on May 1, 2006

That's the area of some of the best driving roads in the world. You're going to be driving anyways. If you are at all interested in motoring and scenery I think you should definitely spend some time taking a detour through some of the better roads. And perhaps visit Maranello, home of Ferrari.
posted by insomnus at 11:57 AM on May 1, 2006

The wine growing region in Friuli, around Cormons and Cividad de Friuli is beautiful and has great red wine. Udine is one of the friendliest towns I have visited. One of the best meals I ever had was in Iseo on Lake Iseo near Bergamo. Verona is pretty, but the all the towns around that region of Italy are beautiful. At least in Verona you can sample the local specialty: pickled horse meat salad (horse is the carne of choice in Verona.)
posted by zaelic at 12:19 PM on May 1, 2006

Also, remeber that in Milan they take the tradition of "snacks with happy hour drinks" very seriously: you can really eat up a storm by ordering a beer after five PM. Bars put out all kinds of snacks for free. Check out the neighborhood of Naviglia for true gluttony.
posted by zaelic at 12:21 PM on May 1, 2006

I love love love Italy, it is proof that divinity loves everyone and everything "with a flair." Fields and fields of sunflowers. Absolutely beautiful.

Some favs that stick out in the mind...


Lake Cuomo (a gorgeous drive around, lovely towns right on the lake... )

ostia antica (day trip from Venice)

Sienna (Tuscany) ... and of course Florence (if you're on the cheap, you can find amazing places to stay right by the Duomo) - 10 years ago I stayed in Hotel Europa (ask for the room at the top of the stairs, it truly looks over the Duomo ...) and it was great... but that was 10 years ago... so no promises... :)

Cinque Terre _is_ great, or rather (possibly) was. They suffered a ton of mud slides in the last decade, and I haven't heard how it held up. I'd consult a couple of travel discussion groups before making that definitive.

Personally, I'd try to do a very leisurely drive through the Liguria, which to me is the embodiment of Dr. Seuss's OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO (with your house up here, and your bathroom over there...) ... seeing step farming for flowers on the side of the Alps blows your mind. Its connects Italy to France along the Mediterranean Sea and the water is just sooooo blue... mmmm.
posted by eatdonuts at 1:06 PM on May 1, 2006

depending on what route you take, you'll likely be going through torino, which is lovely. the national museum of cinema (called the "mole") is worth a visit not only for the collection but for the amazing view of the surrounding region you can get from the tower atop the building. there's great food and a great medieval feel in the older part of the town, and it's a nice place to spend an afternoon.

slightly north of torino, but worth the detour, is the teeny tiny town of traversella and the oh-so-wonderful albergo miniere, where i had one of the best meals of my entire life.
posted by judith at 3:43 PM on May 1, 2006

I have done my share of traveling, and some of my fondest memories are of a small harbor town in Slovenia near the Italian border named Piran (Pirano to the Italians). It is a wonderful place - like that whole coast, it's very Italian, despite being in Slovenia, and the bonus is it's much less touristy (and cheaper). I've got a few pictures of it here. There's a grand castle up on the cliffs you can eat dinner at, and it's not a long drive to the other cool places in Slovenia, like Postojna or Bled. Highly recommended.
posted by TunnelArmr at 8:43 AM on May 2, 2006

Verona is indeed a funky place, though perhaps further south than you suggest your itinerary will be. Verona is more or less on the "direct line" from Venice to France via the autostrade (motorways, freeways). In general the autostrade are great for getting somewhere in a hurry without seeing anything of the country you're travelling through. Avoiding the autostrade will lead you to many wonderful small town experiences.

So, go north, to the Dolomite mountains. San Candido near the border with Austria is a beautiful little town with an intriguing insight into Germanic versus Italian art and religion: the fierce and stern Collegiate Monastery versus the wildly rococco San Michele church right next door. Belluno is also noteworthy in the area north of Venice. Don't count on travelling too many miles per day on these roads, but the experience will make it all worth while. A leisurely week's drive would be wonderful.

Further east is Lago D'Orta, a small lake to the east of Lago Maggiore. It is beautiful and less populous than the larger lakes. A magical place.

Nearer France is Santa Margherita Ligure, a few kms from the more famous Portofino, but no less beguiling with its harbour and hilly backdrop.

Ah hell - go wherever you want. It's impossible to have a bad time in Italy.
posted by TiredStarling at 2:52 AM on May 3, 2006