Rome has a system where they sell taxi type badges to "tour guides". Basically the badge allows the driver access to areas and parking that normal traffic is denied.
Allows them to move you around more quickly and they can take you right up to your destination. They are right there when you are ready to leave. Think of a dedicated Uber driver that is also well versed on the local history and knows all the deals to be had.
Sorry I can't help on how to locate them. Ours was a friend on my wife's family.

I visited Florence and Venice during the summer of 1982 so my suggestions are somewhat dated. I will suggest finding a place to sample different kinds of Chianti (one of my favorite memories)and ordering spaghetti carbonara for the first time. My taste buds still get excited upon hearing those words.

`As I've stated here before, my wife traveled to a town outside Bologna for work 35 times over 8 years. I got to go a couple of times.

Pickpockets are real. They work in teams with one slowing down in front of you so the two trailers can steal your bag or wallet. My wife literally body blocked the woman in front of her onto the pavement once when she figured out what was happening. She also got a purse with a steel cable in the leather strap so it can't be cut and ties the zipper pulls together with breadbag ties.

In Venice the restaurants have 3 different menus with descending prices. The "clearly a tourist" menu, the "other Italians" menu and the "Italian with distinct Venetian accent" menu.

Speaking of food, the best food is in Bologna so be sure to give the "Red City" a couple of days on the way from Florence to Venice. There are some interesting (10 Mtn. Division) and chilling (Monte Sole massacre) WWII sites in the Reno Valley southwest of the city.

Please feel free to email be for more details.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blackmore,

Great info and I'll be watching this thread.

Before the pandemic, my wife and I were planning a 2022 trip to Italy; we're now hoping to reschedule for 2024, with visits to Rome, Florence, Pisa, Verona, and Venice.

Verona, the home of my Italian pen pal from high school, will be an interesting side trip for us. My wife and I are going to meet her and her husband for dinner. We never met in person back then but reconnected online a few years ago.

Second what Blackmore says… pickpockets are damn real.

Wife had her wallet pick pocketed right out of purse in the Bus in Rome.

All money then went into a neck carry thing.
Small amounts of cash in the wallet, with rubber bands in front pocket.

Now mind you, front pocket carry is risky but, more controllable.

On a local train back from Cinque Terre, Canadian guy chats me up in between cars (no seats) on way back to Florence.

After hearing our pick pocket stories, he proudly exclaims that he’s never had an issue when he Carrie’s in his from pocket.

He then pats his pocket, looks at me enraged and I threw my hands up and said buddy, it wasn’t me… he’d been cleaned out!

After a week in Italy, you could see the Romani, literally come out of the crowd toward you when you get off the tram in Florence.

I stopped wagged my fingers reaoukuteky and said firmly “Non, non”… and they receded back.

They are thick as fleas at the main tram station in Florence.

On the bus in Rome, I had my wallet in rear buttoned pocket and leaned it against the wheel well… well, several guys tried jostling me off my ass to get at my wallet, a local tapped me and gave me warning.

I knew what they were trying to do, shot one guy an ugly look and he backed off the other kept up, then at the right bump in the road, I leaned into him knocking him over… apologizing profusely

They do work in teams and are highly organized.
Just keep your wits about you and situational awareness etc.

Best restaurant in Florence IMO for Steak Florentine. Trattoria 4 Leoni… though I’m sure there are many, somewhat across from the Pitti palace, down an alley into a small square.

https://www.4leoni.it/

If you want a recommendation on a Agriturismo in Puebla let me know… great people, great area.

Love Italy!

Ore: I’ve heard rumblings that Venice is going to require an entrance certificate… I believe this is an attempt to stem the cruise ship inundation.

BTW the lesser traveled of these cities areas are gems.

Jewish quarter of Venice is very interesting and intimate. Take a left out of the train station and you can’t miss it.

Get an updated Rick Steves book. Pay attention to when he says you should get tickets for attractions.

Some attractions (museums, the Duomo, etc.) are best reserved online with pre-sale tickets.

I convinced my wife before our trip to Rome to understand that you will not be able to see everything you want to. It will not happen so don't try to. You will end up stressing over getting to the next place on the list instead of enjoying the place you are at.

We made a list, sorted it by priority, and planned one attraction a day with a few doubles. This allowed us to see what was important to us and it gave us enough flexibility to stop and see things that caught our attention. Some of the best thing we did came out of a "whats that? Lets check it out." moment.

I've been to Italy for extended trips twice in the past several years including Venice, Florence, and Rome among many others. Venice was my favorite of the three because it's so unique, but they are all compelling destinations for different reasons.

My wife signed us up for gondola rowing lessons in Venice, which sounded ridiculously campy to me, but it was actually great fun. They were traditional 2 position gondolas rowed on canals in a quiet section of the city, and we'd stop every 20 minutes or so for wine, antipasto, proseco, etc. Didn't hurt that our guide was a dead ringer for a 20 something Farah Fawcett.

I'm also fascinated by the art of glass blowing, and really enjoyed a trip to Murano while in Venice. Watching the masters practice their craft is quite memorable.

My rules for visiting Italy:
1. Never pass up a bathroom
2. Never pass up water.
3. Never pass up a place to sit down
4. Never pass up shade
Tour guides are generally oblivious to these rules, and museums are notably absent these comforts. You'll thank me.

Expect to walk a lot, and walk fast. I'm a fast walker, and Italians walk very fast. Also, it can get very hot particularly in Florence, Tuscany, Rome, and points south. Sicily reached 119.8 F in August last year, the all time European heat record.

People often rave about the food in Italy. Despite making efforts to find truly great food, I would say we were more often underwhelmed than not.

We're planning an Italy trip in the spring, 2023.
Following this thread.

We'll be basing in the Rome area, but I want to also get up to Maranello & Milan to see the Ferrari & Alfa museums.
We hosted an Italian exchange student in 2018, so we'll be visiting them & they'll likely be our main guides for the Rome area (and local translators).

If timing works out, may try for GA tickets for race day at Imola for the F1 race.

Dave I have never been to Italy but really want to go. I will be your tour guide. I only require a plane ticket and per diem and I will show you the wonderful sites of Italy.

Pictures please if you decide not to take me

Enjoy!!

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
We're planning an Italy trip in the spring, 2023.
Following this thread.

We'll be basing in the Rome area, but I want to also get up to Maranello & Milan to see the Ferrari & Alfa museums.
We hosted an Italian exchange student in 2018, so we'll be visiting them & they'll likely be our main guides for the Rome area (and local translators).

If timing works out, may try for GA tickets for race day at Imola for the F1 race.

I'd recommend an open-jaw itinerary, flying into one location and flying out of the other Milan-Rome. Keeping you arrival/departure airport in Rome, forces you to back-track, not to mention you spend an inordinate about of time traveling between destinations. Both airports have plenty of flights, personally I prefer Milan with its two airports, easier to get out and make connections elsewhere.

Imola is just outside of Bologna, food capitol of Italy and plenty of hotels & places to stay. Fly into Rome, then a few days in Florence (or skip if you're pressed for time), jump-over the mountains to Bologna for several more days, attend F1 race, then up the Po Valley to Milan...or, do the reverse.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
We're planning an Italy trip in the spring, 2023.
Following this thread.

We'll be basing in the Rome area, but I want to also get up to Maranello & Milan to see the Ferrari & Alfa museums.
We hosted an Italian exchange student in 2018, so we'll be visiting them & they'll likely be our main guides for the Rome area (and local translators).

If timing works out, may try for GA tickets for race day at Imola for the F1 race.

I'd recommend an open-jaw itinerary, flying into one location and flying out of the other Milan-Rome. Keeping you arrival/departure airport in Rome, forces you to back-track, not to mention you spend an inordinate about of time traveling between destinations. Both airports have plenty of flights, personally I prefer Milan with its two airports, easier to get out and make connections elsewhere.

Imola is just outside of Bologna, food capitol of Italy and plenty of hotels & places to stay. Fly into Rome, then a few days in Florence (or skip if you're pressed for time), jump-over the mountains to Bologna for several more days, attend F1 race, then up the Po Valley to Milan...or, do the reverse.

Good to know. We haven't planned out our dates yet, so we aren't sure how we'll structure it.

May do a mid-week fly in/out, and make the Imola part over the weekend. Assuming train would be the best way to get between cities vs renting a car?
Or, if in-country flights are cheap enough, go that route.

For anyone interested in Venice, PBS is showing a program this week entitled Saving Venice:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/saving-venice/

Here in eastern Iowa, it's on Weds at 8PM, check your local listings. Yeah, it's PBS and I expect a lecture about - cue ominous music - GLOBAL WARMING, but I still plan to watch.

Years ago, Robert Benchley sent this telegram:

quote:

ARRIVED VENICE. STREETS FUIL OF WATER. PLEASE ADVISE

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
We're planning an Italy trip in the spring, 2023.
Following this thread.

We'll be basing in the Rome area, but I want to also get up to Maranello & Milan to see the Ferrari & Alfa museums.
We hosted an Italian exchange student in 2018, so we'll be visiting them & they'll likely be our main guides for the Rome area (and local translators).

If timing works out, may try for GA tickets for race day at Imola for the F1 race.

Neither the Ferrari nor the Alfa Museums are particularly easy to get to, and not near much else interesting, IMO. The Ferrari isn't even in Milan, strictly speaking.

While in Milan, I highly recommend visiting the La Triennale, the Design Museum. Napiz Milano for pizza is very good.

Milan - Alfa
I assume the Ferrari museum is in Modena or Maranello, which is closer to Imola, IIRC.

But, Imola 23 is in May, so may be a non-starter.

You'll notice throughout this thread there are multiple references to the Rick Steves guides. There's a good reason. Plus, he has a lot of really good advice on how to travel - things to take, how to protect yourself, etc. Plus, you can quickly recognize the English-speaking tourists by the blue guidebook they are carrying!

All of my interaction with the locals was great. They went out of their way to be cordial and helpful. That happens to me almost everywhere I travel though. I'm a firm believer in you get what you give. Don't be the ugly entitled American tourist and you'll do great. (I know you, you won't be. Just stating what should be the obvious.)

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
Originally posted by jigray3:
My rules for visiting Italy:
1. Never pass up a bathroom
2. Never pass up water.
3. Never pass up a place to sit down
4. Never pass up shade
[QUOTE]Originally posted by honestlou:
5. Never pass up a gelato stand.

Rick Steves says there are three main expenses when you go to Italy - transportation, lodging, and gelato. To jigray's rules, I would add:

quote:

Originally posted by honestlou:
I'm not an expert on Italy, but if you haven't heard of Cinque Terre, look into it. It's a string of 5 seaside villages, very beautiful area with nice people, good food, and amazing views. You can hike the trail between the cities, or take the boat that runs between them all.

I also highly recommend this. It wasn't on my original itinerary until someone mentioned it to me. It was absolutely fantastic! I did the hike. Part of the trail was washed out and closed, so I ended up hiking waaaaayyyy up the hillside around it. At the time, there was a local train that ran between the villages as well.

quote:

I'm also fascinated by the art of glass blowing, and really enjoyed a trip to Murano while in Venice. Watching the masters practice their craft is quite memorable.

Also a good recommendation from jigray. I also highly recommend this. It wasn't on my original itinerary until someone mentioned it to me. It was absolutely fantastic! I did the hike. At the time, there was a local train that ran between the villages as well.

Last time I was in Europe I got some ScottEvest shirts that have a zipper on your chest and condensed everything into one of those slim wallets. I had hands in my pockets but it's pretty hard for someone to unzip a pocket on your chest. I had some throw money on a neck wallet but the chest wallet worked great.

Venice is great in the morning and evening after cruises leave. Try to stay overnight or on Lido. I strongly concur with the Vatican at night, We stayed maybe a few blocks from the Vatican and had an incredible time walking and enjoying the sites. If you can walk its great, after that I would train and bus is last. Taxis were a rip but they worked when we needed to get to the airport one day, our hotel arranged it and got us a reasonable price. Higher than the train but less hassle and a stupid hour in the morning so I thought it was on the high side of reasonable. Last time I was in Florence I was a teenager so I cant help there. Its been too long I need to go back.

On Cinque Terra, agree that it’s special, and happens to be one of my favorites, with a big caveat. It has become overrun with tourists in season. The rail between the villages is typically crammed full to the brim with bodies. If hiking between villages, do not overestimate your fitness. It’s not technically difficult but longer and more vertically challenging than most on the journey expect. You’ll pass lots of folks struggling. Beware pickpockets also favor La Spezia rail station, the terminus of the line. I managed to thwart an attempt there.

If you are visiting Cinque Terra, I recommend staying the night in one of the villages, perhaps Riomaggiore. Crowds exit late afternoon and you can really enjoy the intimate quiet beauty in the evening and early morning.

Honestly, my some of my favorite spots in Italy are on the water. Not only Cinque Terra and Venice, but Lake Cuomo north of Milan, and Sorento and Capri just north of the Amalfi Coast. I enjoy the culture, the history, and the archeology, but honestly, at some point, if I see one more church…

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
Our late April 2023 tour with Tauck ends with two full days in Venice. We're then staying in the city two additional days so I can visit this former Nike Hercules launch site an hour or so from Venice up near Trento:

https://www.basetuono.it/en/

If anyone has been there pls share your experience, either post here or use the email in my profile.

We're spoiled out here, due to one of these nearby
Nike Missile Site - Golden Gate Nataional Recreation Area
The hydraulics and lifts all work so, fun to see them load-up a missile on the rail and get it up into firing position.