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Italy

Discussion in 'General' started by rd400racer, Jan 13, 2022.

  1. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member

    This year my wife turns 60, son is 30 and daughter is getting married. We figure that calls for a celebratory trip so we're heading to Italy. Been a long time since I ventured overseas. Here's our plan...looking for input because I know a few of you travel there often (or recently).

    10-12 day trip. Our plan is to find an Airbnb in Milan as a base and then venture out daily to Florence, Venice. Lake Como, Bologna (of course), and possibly head into the southern corner of Switzerland for a day. We're having a family meeting tomorrow night to see if there is anything we're missing and I'd appreciate honest input to this plan. It will be 6 people. I would like to avoid renting a car if possible but am I dumb to think this way? Bullet train gets us to most of these places in 2 hours or less.

    And yes, I realize I'm very close to the famous auto companies and race tracks, but I'm the only one that's truly interested in that. I do get an afternoon at the Ducati factory scheduled while the girls shop:D
     
    G2G and acorn27 like this.
  2. acorn27

    acorn27 4 out of 3 people in the world struggle with math

    Nice! Been to all those places, albeit nearly 20 years ago. The only thing I can add, and it’s quite a ways south I believe, is maybe try to get to Rome. So much amazing stuff there to see as well. We used the train to get around the country and it was great.
     
    Yzasserina likes this.
  3. Yzasserina

    Yzasserina sound it out

    I would base in Florence. I find Milan like Frankfurt with a Duomo. And from Florence, you can do Siena, Lucca, and Rome is gettable. Do not skip Venice.
     
  4. 27

    27 Well-Known Member

    Been a long time since I’ve been there, before the Chinese buyout of Milan, so it may have changed... but that city was awesome, we base camped there as well and travelled around Italy. I distinctly remember our hotel, we got the cheapest thing we could, $12/night, and I couldn’t get over the amount of work and skill it took to cut and polish the marble into that hotel and who knows what century. Couldn’t imagine what an average or expensive place looked like because ours was a palace. Every dive looking restaurant was the best food we’d had in Europe. Just an incredible time.

    Have fun and adventure as you will I’m sure.
     
  5. henry_carlson

    henry_carlson BREAD_RACING

    Thats a soccer lovers dream trip!
     
    rd400racer likes this.
  6. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member

    Very interesting, never considered that. I think the reason we picked Milan was simply because it seemed like there were more flights, but never checked deeply.
     
  7. Waterboy

    Waterboy Rain Man

    Depending on your goals for the trip, you can roll down to Pompei and don't forget Rome/Vatican City if you're looking to see historical stuff.. Piza is an easy train ride as well...
     
  8. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member

    Yeah, last time I was there was 1977, so it's been a while for me! Honestly, nobody is really that jacked about going to Rome. We'd rather hike the Dolomites than see the coliseum. That's why we've concentrated on the north.
     
  9. Yzasserina

    Yzasserina sound it out

    That's true, but you can fly into Milan, do Milan (one day for me), then base in Florence. Then do everything else and zip back up to Milan to leave.
     
    rd400racer likes this.
  10. cpettit

    cpettit Well-Known Member

    Torino is a cool city not far from Milan. The Egyptian museum there is awesome. Como is beautiful. We stayed in Bellagio at this place and it was great. The Guzzi factory is on the other side of the lake and the museum is opened for one hour per day. Go if you can.

    If you’re gonna head to Switzerland go north through Aosta from Torino over the St Bernard pass to Montreaux. It’s a route of castles wine, more castles and more wine. Lots of music history there and the food/wine around there is amazing.

    https://abnb.me/rd9Ne29KMmb

     
  11. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member


    Thank you, this is the exact input I'm looking for and excellent recommendations. Guzzi factory sounds cool as does the Swiss route. My wife hopes she'll catch Federer on holiday:D
     
  12. nd4spd

    nd4spd Well-Known Member

    I found the small hole in the wall type places and towns more enjoyable than the tourist traps. I'd go to Portofino and Cinqueterra over Pisa. Rossi's restaurant is worth the trip to Tavulia as is Simoncelli's memorial next town over. Have a reservation for the Ducati factory tour well ahead of time and don't miss the museum tour afterwards.
     
    rd400racer likes this.
  13. bwhip

    bwhip latebraker.com

    Mrs Whip and I went there for the first time in 2019, and it was the most incredible, unforgettable trip I can imagine. We can't wait to go back and see and do more.

    We flew into Rome and out of Venice. Spent four days in Rome, then took the train to Florence, where we spent another four days (with one of those days in Bologna, including the Ducati tour), and then a couple of days in Venice.

    I did a blog post about it, with tons of photos and itinerary info: https://bwhip62.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/at-last-italy/
     
    rd400racer likes this.
  14. Itey

    Itey Well-Known Member

    If you kinda want to fit in, leave your tennis shoes and tshirts at home. Ive been twice to Milan and lissone area. Nice trips
     
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  15. nd4spd

    nd4spd Well-Known Member

    Ferrari museum is also great but expect to be treated like a criminal at their factory store.
     
  16. ibidu1

    ibidu1 Well-Known Member

    I did this trip in 2019, started in milan, then went to lake como (AMAZING motorcycle riders, everyones shredding), then to Verona, Merano/lana, Lago di brasse, travisso, venice, florence/pisa, la spezia beach, cinque terres, genoa, then back to milan. SUPER SUPER epic trip!
     
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  17. trussdude

    trussdude Well-Known Member

    I did a similar trip in the summer of 2019.
    2 nights in Milan with a day trip to Lake Como and Bellagio.
    1 night in Monteroso
    3 nights in Rome
    1 night in Bologna (Ducati Factory tour)
    1 night in Innsbruck
    1 night in Salzburg
    1 night in Vienna

    Italy was alll by trian, picked up a rentel car in Innsbruck and dropped off in Vienna
     
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  18. rd400racer

    rd400racer Well-Known Member


    Excellent blog...your pictures are fantastic! I sent it to the group, they're digging everything about it.
     
  19. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    @Yzasserina is spot on with her advice. Milano is a working city, and other than the duomo, not a whole lot to see, although its not a bad city. I usually base my motorbike there, and get in/out as quickly as possible. A much better base would be Florence, which is more centrally located. The northern valley where Milano is located is just a huge, polluted industrial area. Getting south will get you out of there. However, up north, you will not want to miss Lago Como and the Dolomites. They are spectacular. Cortina is a great town to base out of for exploring the Dolomites. Lots of smaller towns in the area, too, such as Bozen. Just spectacular.

    DON'T rent a car if you can avoid it. There is literally no place to park in the entire country, and you WILL get several hundred euros worth of tickets mailed to you several months later at your address in the USA. You have to pay them, too, because they will send them to an American collection agency.

    I've never really ridden the trains in Italy, other than to/from airports, but sounds like a great way to get around. Don't forget the Amalfi coast, in addition to everything else mentioned above.

    Do be aware that Italy probably has the most covid restrictions of any country in Europe, so plan ahead.

    Hit me up with any other questions, especially about Tavulia, haha. I was just there in October.
     
    Yzasserina likes this.
  20. ibidu1

    ibidu1 Well-Known Member

    I rented a car from avis at the airport, and did a 14 day road trip on it, and not one ticket.
     
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