I am planning a first trip to Italy for 2 ppl and need some suggestions on where to go. We have 3 weeks including flight time. Should we focus on North or South more? Please make some suggestions of worthwhile places to visit that captures natural beauty rather than religious places, by this I mean cathedrals or churches. We are considering fly into Milan and out of Rome on the way home as a potential option and taking a rental car for most travel with exception of Rome. Thanks in advance.
First Trip to Italy - Where to Go?
sagrules on 07/03/2016 - 10:02
Last edited 07/03/2016 - 10:02
Last edited 07/03/2016 - 10:02
Comments
Herculaneum, but don't take any valuables into Naples.
Lost of picturesque little mountain villages in the north.If you go to Rome, don't go to Milan, no need for that.
If you can to Venice, you have to go.
In Italy, people are driving crazy, this is just a heads-up. If you are not familiar with driving on the other side of the road, I would not recommend trying for the first time in Italy. There are plenty of bus/train options, or cheap flights to travel in Europe.
In Rome, watch out for pick pockets this is a well-known city for it. But nothing to worry about if you keep everything secured in a small bag, nothing hanging out of your pockets :)Also, 3 weeks in Italy is quite a long time, why not flying to a different country for a week? Like I said, it's quite easy and flights in Europe are not that expensive.
Thanks for the advice, can you please tell me is credit cards widely acceptable in Italy or do I have to carry around cash?
Also, Venice is definately on the list of places to visit :-)
A lot of places accept CC but not nearly as much as Australia. You'll definitely need to carry cash on you though. As most people have said, there's not a lot to see in Milan and you could probably safely miss it out although. I would say the nightlife and art are the only reason to visit but magnificent art is everywhere in Italy anyway.
If you're going to Venice then you could head further along to Trieste which is a beautiful an very interesting city!.
It's very easy to get around most cities by train and public transport and you won't/can't use a car in Rome/Milan/Venice.
I'm doing a trip from North to South and require a car. I will take your and others advice and skip Milan. Venice was already planned for a stopover :-)
If you are going in the summer, you would be mad not to visit the South.
The Amalfi Coast is beautiful, as is Calabria (I've only been to Tropea though).
Rome, Florence (do Pisa as a day trip out of Florence) and Venice are mandatory.
Never been to Milan or Cingqueterre, but I will be there in August, can't wait!
Rome is a shithole, spend as much time elsewhere as you can.
Keeping it real LOL, you could say the same about every major city worldwide. Rome is the sort of place you want to escape when you are there because it is super hot (in summer), busy, crowded, full of hustlers and vehicles quite happy to run you down. Once you're not there anymore it doesn't seem so bad but it's the sort of place you hit up everything in the shortest time possible and then head off to the more nice places. Athens is the same. See it and leave.
My favourite part of Italy was the Aeolian Islands, stayed on Lipari and day-tripped to the other islands. You will definitely find your natural beauty in this part of the world. Google it.
Thanks for the suggestion. How long did you spend in Italy? Do you think it's too long - 3 weeks?
We spent 31 days in Italy, all of May. I was on a 3 month backpacking holiday with my wife with no set itinerary apart from my start and finish dates. We ended up spending a large part of our time in Italy as it was easily our favourite part of Europe (runner-up was Greek Isles). We just loved the Italian way of life which is to basically take it easy and eat a lot. The best tasting pizza, pasta, gelato, coffee you will ever have. I have never eaten so well in my life. We were also very warmly treated by all of the Italians we met. The places we stayed were Cinque Terre, Amalfi, Rome, Venice, Florence, Aeolian Islands and Sienna and loved them all. Three weeks is definitely not too long especially if you want to relax at the beach-side areas (Cinque/Amalfi/Aeolian).
If going to Florence I highly recommend going to Lucca (halfway between Florence and Pisa), hire a bicycle and ride around the top of the old city walls, one of the most magical things I can recommend.
Yes I am going to Florence, thanks for the recommendation! Will check that out.
Do not miss Cinque Terre. if you can't hike the distance between the towns you can catch the train and stop off at each one.
Venice is also worth visiting, nowhere else like it. Florence is my favourite Italian city.
Lake Como. We went to Bellagio, although there are other places around the lake.
I personally didn't find Milan overly exciting. Book in early if you want to see The Last Supper there. It's booked out well in advance and you only get a few minutes there, the rotations of the viewings are like clockwork due to the humidity/temperature levels that must be maintained within the chapel.