Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with venice and florence

Can you help me plan my trip to Germany, France and Italy?

BitterYouth — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:29:22 -0800

I will be in Berlin, Prague, Venice, Florence, Rome, Marseilles and Paris this summer. I've never been to any of these places before. I will be spending about 2 days per city apart from Prague which is only 1 day. I realize it is a hectic trip and hard to see so much in such a short time, but that's the way the budget and time worked out. I will be traveling with two other students.

Advice I could use: where to stay (good hostels that you've stayed at?), tips/tricks to make things cheaper or easier to see (for example in Rome, I'm told that getting the bus tour package allows me to skip lines at the main tourist spots). We’re students and on a small budget and limited time in each city, so any ideas for making things efficient/cheaper would be awesome. Also things to see that I definitely don’t wanna miss in any of these places?

I have been using lonelyisland, ricksteves and seat61 but I was looking for more personalized advice.

THANK YOU!

Transportation - I'm traveling by train between most cities (already booked). So EuroRail pass is a nonissue at this point.

I have read some previous relevant threads, particularly this one about staying in Rome.

PS - I've never asked a Q before so I might be doing this all wrong....have mercy.

Two of us are spending a week in Italy soon -- Rome, Florence, Venice. Help us find some cool places to stay!

chasing — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 15:28:57 -0800

Two of us are spending a week in Italy soon -- Rome, Florence, Venice. Help us find some cool places to stay! I know there are traditional hotels all over the place, but are there any options we might not be considering that are both relatively inexpensive *and* interesting? (Quirky also okay.)

Proximity to cools stuff is a definite plus, and we don't need to be bargain-basement. But, y'know. Rather not *waste* money. Hostels have crossed our minds, but we're not all all interested in sharing a room or bunk or whatever with folks we don't know.

Anyway: I'm trying to see if there's anything we're overlooking as we do our planning.

Oh: And it's for two of us -- a couple.

Thanks!

Relaxation and veggie delights in Rome/Florence/Venice

nicoleincanada — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:45:49 -0800

Venetians, Romans, Florentines, lend me your suggestions! More specifically, nice places to relax and tasty vegetarian eats in the aforementioned cities. I like solo city travel, but I tend to get kinda stressed out and overwhelmed when there's to much to see and do. I'd love to know of any places/activities in Venice, Florence and especially Rome that I'd find lovely and relaxing, but still a good use of limited tourist time.

I'm the sort of person who loves to while away time in cafes, so there's little chance of me neglecting that option. I'm looking more for places like, for example, Les Bains du Marais, which is where I wish I'd gone for a break on my last overly stressy visit to Paris. (Though by all means, suggest your absolute favourite cafe or gelato place or whatnot.)

I'll be in Italy over the next couple of weeks, if weather is a factor in your suggestions. And as mentioned, traveling alone, if that makes a difference.

On the veg front, I'm not all that concerned about finding vegetarian food options wherever I wind up (I'm lacto-ovo, and this is Italy, after all). I'm mainly interested in super-duper-awesome vegetarian places that are worth seeking out.

(FWIW, I'd also welcome any general suggestions of fun things to see/do/experience in these cities that aren't listed in the usual guidebooks, though that kind of question been pretty thoroughly addressed on AskMeFi before.)

Your ideas for nontraditional, off the beaten path, interesting, insightful things to do or see in or close to Venice, Florence, and Rome, Italy?

Askr — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:13:54 -0800

What are your favorite nontraditional, nontouristy, alternative, culturally-insightful things to do in or near Venice, Florence, and Rome? I mean the deeper anthropological kind of culture, not museums, opera, etc. I'm not looking for the usual must-see tourist destinations or the things that epitomize a city. I want the fascinating little finds you accidentally stumbled on and loved, but which few or no tours would have found because they aren't "sights". If it can give me a glimpse of how contemporary Italians see the world, to appreciate a bit more what it's like to be them, that's a turbo bonus. No points off for plain old fun activities either. I've read every Italy thread on here and haven't quite found what I'm after. My parents invited me on a guided package tour of Venice, Florence, and Rome next week and the following week. Italy's not high on my list of travel destinations and I'm not a package tour kind of guy at all, but it's free, foreign, and family, so I'm going and am sure I'll have a good time. I'd like your help in reducing that touristy malaise feeling and replacing some of it with interesting insights and experiences.

There is a lot of the usual museum/monument time on the itinerary. I'm not a museum/monument kind of guy. Paintings paintings paintings, churches, aaagh! Don't care! Don't wanna take all the same obligatory pictures everyone has taken for a century or follow a guide around the whole time as they tell me about this or that set of ruins. For me, travel is about learning about how the world looks through other cultures' eyes. I know some of this can be informed by their history or past cultural products such as art or architecture, but what I want is to get glimpses of what life is like for ordinary people there right now to the degree I can in a very short time - what their big issues are, what their worldview is and how it differs from mine. Optimism, cynicism, assumptions, prejudices, filters, priorities, norms, oddities. A guided package tour of sights is not a great way to do this but it's what I have to work with.

So I want to break away from the tour group at least once per city and go do my own thing - - interesting, educational, insightful, off the beaten path kinds of things, especially any that help me understand what life is like for normal contemporary Italians. I don't want to see sights (I'll already see plenty, e.g. David, Sistine, etc.); What I want is some hint of contemporary cultural anthropology. It could be anything - some interesting local custom, some political event, some unique civic activity, some un-famous piece of history that influences the present in a fascinating way, some cultural fixture (e.g., I wish there were some soccer games during my stay). What have you found in or near these three places that was your special find that people wouldn't normally find on a tour, and which enriched your experience and understanding of Italy and Italians?

One hurdle is that I speak almost no Italian, not having planned to go there. So it would need to be something observable absent language or there would need to be English speakers or literature, a tall order. Below is the itinerary, including what I'm considering skipping. There are a fair number of free afternoons and evenings built in. What is nearby that's not on this list, that you loved, that isn't a "sight" but was a great find? Not looking for restaurant/bar recommendations unless they happen to deliver what I'm looking for. If you don't have anything in the sort of cultural anthro insight category, yeah, just list anything fun or interesting or unusual that's not a major tourist sight. For example I keep seeing recommendations to go to Siena near Florence. But why? What do people like about it?

No need to focus on these knowns in your reply:
-This is a very short time to develop any real cultural insight
-Art and architecture and ruins and history are important
-Don't discount what you can learn from quality guides
-Not speaking Italian limits your options

Grazie!

Itinerary:

Nov 12-14: Venice
-backstreets walking tour (also planning on "getting lost")
-St. Mark's Basilica & Doges' Palace
-Accademia art museum. SKIP THIS
-a free afternoon
-2 free evenings and 1 planned dinner

Nov 15-17: Florence
-Accademia Gallery w/ David
-"Renaissance walk" - Duomo, Baptistery, etc. SKIP ONE OF THESE TWO
-Oltrarno area - walk/talk re Roman, medieval and 19th century Florence. SKIP ONE OF THESE TWO
-Uffizi art museum. MAYBE POP IN FOR AN HOUR OR TWO. (I know it's huge)
-2 free afternoons
-2 free evenings and 1 planned dinner

Nov 18-20: Rome
-Vatican Museum, Sistine, St. Peter's.
-Some free time in Vatican area for crypt, dome, whatever.
-Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon
-Free afternoon near area of Palatine ruins, Mamertine prison, etc.
-A few free hours in heart of city
-Evening stroll through historic heart of city.
-2 planned dinners and 1 free evening
.

Where to go in Venice and Florence?

warble — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:51:52 -0800

The boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Italy in late October. We are still struggling with one thing, though: what to do during planned day trips to Florence and Venice. If you had to recommend one or two destinations or experiences that really epitomize the spirit of these two cities, what would they be? So here's the deal. We are going to be in Italy for a week and a half. We will be spending a couple days in Rome, and then moving to Bologna where we have rented a studio apartment for a week. From Bologna, we are planning two day trips to Florence and Venice. We have a good idea of the things we'd like to do in Rome and Bologna - we're just overwhelmed by the number of things available to do in our day trip cities, and we're not sure what to focus on.

I think we are most overwhelmed by Florence. Reading guide books and sites online about the city mention the beautiful art and museums. However, we also read about the long lines at the museums and wonder which ones are worth it, or if we should even be visiting a museum at all.

The same applies to Venice. The only thing we've settled on it taking a ride in a boat down the grand canal, but we've heard differing opinions even on that. In a city with so much history that so many people love there has to be a good way to get a feel for what a unique place Venice is.

We are obviously planning on doing some meandering/walking in both cities, and taking the time to sit and eat some good food and do some light shopping, but we both feel like we want a goal during our day - a place to walk to and visit inside, a tour to attend, a unique experience, something! - and since our time is so short it's hard to figure out what would give us a brief but true taste of these cities.

Any suggestions?

Take a tour across Italy or stay in Rome?

atmu — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:08:31 -0800

Going to Italy - Stay in Rome the whole trip or take a tour to several cities? My parents and I are going to Italy in mid October for 7-10 days. We plan on staying in Rome primarily, but are also considering whether or not we want to go on a tour which will include Florence and Venice.

Tour info: if we go on one of the tours, it 'll be about 3 nights in Florence, 3 in Rome, 1 in Venice. Or maybe no Venice at all.

If we do not go on a tour, we'll be staying in Rome, unable to visit Florence and Venice because of the distance.

My questions are these: are the tours in Italy worth it? Or would it be better to just stay in Rome for the whole trip and visit the close surrounding areas? If so, are there enough things to do and see in Rome, taking into account that me and my brother are 22 & 27, while our parents are 55+? Are Florence and/or Venice a must-see?

Firsthand stories of your experiences would be great =]

My first trip to Europe!

ersatzkat — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:21:50 -0800

Travelling to Italy in May - looking for advice on Venice, Bologna, and Florence. We're taking a honeymoon trip in mid-May - flying to Bologna, then planning a couple days in Venice (and seeing Murano), a couple in Florence, a couple-three in Bologna then flying home.

I've looked at older ItalyThreads, and found some useful links for hotel reservations, but I was hoping to solicit additional advice based on personal experiences. Restaurants, hotels, bars you loved? Some clever shopping district a guidebook might not mention? (I love paper, leather journals, glass beads (I make my own jewelry), scarves and shawls.)

Did you find the trains easy to use? I'd like to just rent a car to avoid the schlepping of luggage from here to there, but I understand it's wicked expensive. Anything that you can tell me that Lonely Planet might not, I'd greatly appreciate it.