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Things to do in Italy in May

Sentrosi2121

Sentrosi2121

Platinum Member
The wife and I are planning on visiting my sister-in-law in Italy for her son's First Communion. This will be the first time I've ever visited Italy. Initial plans are to stay there for 10 days. So I'm figuring that the first and last days are out, as we're travelling, leaving us with 8 days. Leave a couple of days for the First Communion and that's paired down to 6 days. A couple of those days we're probably visiting her aunts and uncles. Any suggestions for the rest of the time there? I'd love to get out of the in-laws and go exploring around Rome and Venice if it is possible.
 
Rome is fantastic. You need 3 days to do it right. Many people like Florence, but it really had nothing special for me. Bologna is the best food in the world, easilly. But, there isn't much sightseeing to do. I haven't been to Venice. I honestly didn't give Naples much time, but I did get ripped off (by the train ticket seller refusing to hand me change) and my wife got food poisoning and there was lots of trash about due to the mafia blocking trash pickups. Pompeii is interesting, but can be skipped if you don't have time. The Amalfi coast is possibly the most beautiful and romantic place in the world. Not much excitement there though (other than the roller coaster like drive from town to town), so go if you like romantic scenery and want to relax. I'd like to go south, but I haven't had a chance yet. The Cinque Terre (5 villages) is like the Amalfi coast but with fishy ports and less dramatic cliffs, many people love it.
 
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Uh... you left out the most important part: Where in Italy does your SIL live?

Also, what's keeping you to 10 days? Having a place to stay dramatically decreases the costs of travel. If you can, increase the days.
 
eat and drink the days away. I second Dullard's suggestions as far as Rome goes. You do need a couple of days to really appreciate it. I went to florence and venice afterwards and had a blast. We went museum stomping and did the typical touristy stuff (gondola rides as an example) while there. worth every penny imo.
 
dullard said:
Rome is fantastic. You need 3 days to do it right. Many people like Florence, but it really had nothing special for me.
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As Dullard said, you can do Rome in 3 days. The ruins will take most of a day, the Vatican can take much of another day, and on the third day, you can see miscellaneous things such as the Trevi fountain and some of the medieval churches. Rome is generally nice, but the area around the train station is really seedy.

Florence, in my opinion, is awesome. I enjoyed Rome as well, but Florence just seemed more magical and more medieval. I wasn't overly impressed with Milan, but I went to Lake Como (in Lecco) and the Parma area and both were really nice IMO. The wife and I are going to do a Tuscany trip soon.
 
Sentrosi2121 said:
Benevento.
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Since that is so close to Naples, I would take a train there. Ask your SIL what is cool to do there. After that, fly or take a train to Rome, depending on the cost/time considerations (a flight might be cheaper). DO NOT do more than two cities, though. Nothing is worse than doing too many cities in a short amount of time.

If you don't want Naples, you could go directly to Rome and then on to Florence. In that case, take the slow train to Florence. Not only is it much cheaper, but it is fucking gorgeous scenery for most of the way, with random mountaintop villages. Bring a bottle of wine and cheese on board and enjoy the show.


10 days is the max my wife can get off of work.
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LAME!
 
florence was my favorite italian city. the duomo, the uffizzi, the ponte vecchio, david. and if you're a fan of assassin's creed 2 you'll even recognize many of the locations from the game.
 
Sentrosi2121 said:
Benevento.

10 days is the max my wife can get off of work.
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You are just about 25 miles north of where this guide starts. It truely is a wonderful area: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/amalfi.htm

There are some well preserved ruins right near Sorrento, on the way to Paestum I believe. It is a set of three of them look exactly like the famous greek acropolis, but are better preserved. Then take the bus up Salerno, Amalfi, Positano, to Sorrento (it is hard to describe how interesting this ride is based on scenery and based on backing up that bus for miles on winding cliff roads when you meet an oncoming vehicle going the other way). I got engaged to my wife in Positano on a black sand beach (deserted in late March, but should have some tourists in May), it is so beautiful there. For breathtaking views, take a small bus directly up (not north, but actually up the cliff) from one of those towns. Try Ravello or Nocelle. Here is a picture I took halfway between Nocelle and Positano, pointing towards Positano. You can just barely make out the 1.5 lane road that I spoke of halfway up the cliff. Or go to where the hollywood stars go for romance: the island of Capri (behind the cliff on that photo and probably just off the horizon).

From Sorrento, take a metro (above ground) rail to Naples. One of the metro stops along the way is Pompeii (a snack shop across the street from Pompeii will handle your luggage for a small fee). Herculaneum is in the area too, I don't recall if it is a metro stop or not. Stay in Naples if you want or skip it entirely. Then take the high speed train to Rome.

That would be the 10 days I'd do from that starting point.

Then, if you can swing it, I'd buy a few more days of unpaid vacation and try Venice (or Florence since it is far, far closer). It is probably worth the small cost of unpaid vacation, especially if you are not going back to Italy any time soon.
 
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Can I jump in on this thread?

My husband and I are going with friends to sail around the coast for two weeks in June and then we have an additional 8 days to do whatever we want. The trip will start (and presumably end) on the coast of Tuscany and our itinerary will include, Tuscany, Pisa, Florence, Bologna, Parma, Elba Island and maybe even Corsica.

Given that we get to make those rounds, where else (in or outside Italy) would you recommend for the remaining time? It'll be my first time overseas!
 
Seconded on Paestum, Salerno, Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento. The drive along the Amalfi coast is simply beautiful. If you want to see a nice Royal Palace, head to the Reggia di Caserta. Also, I dont know how religious you are but Padre Pio's town is close by: Pietrelcina.
 
Spent some time in northern Italy.
Recommend Venice for a day.
Go out to the end of the peninsula at the south end of Lago di Garda (Sirmione is the town on the peninsula). There are some old Roman ruins there.
The Pre-Alps were really nice. Did a loop through Asiago.
 
My wife and I just spent three weeks there.

6 days in Rome, 4 days in Venice, and 6 days in Florence.

You will need at least 2-3 days to see most of the "touristy" stuff in Rome. Plan for a full day to see the vatican/vatican museum. Another day to see colloseum, forum, and the other things like spanish steps.

Venice can be done in 1-2 days. There really isn;t much t see/do there besides san marco square with the doges palace and st. marks basillica. Beyond that it is mostly just walking around.

We aren't really in to art, so we didn't do much in the city of florence besides see the duomo. We spent the rest of the time in florence going out into the countryside horseback riding, touring vineyards, and visiting the smaller cities like sienna, san gimignano, and pisa.

Overall, my favorite things were sienna/san gimignano, touring the countryside, and walking the streets of venice.

Florence itself stinks like exhaust fumes. My guess is because it sits between some mountains so none of the smog can escape. Rome is a dirty city and very hectic, but once you get used to it it's pretty nice. The subway system is great for getting around. DONT DRIVE!

Also, if you want to go to venice, try not to go on a weekend. It will be so packed you will be literally elbow to elbow in the entire city.

edit: If you have any questions about any of those cities, what to do, where to stay, where to eat, or want and pictures of anything, let me know.
 
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AreaCode707 said:
Can I jump in on this thread?

My husband and I are going with friends to sail around the coast for two weeks in June and then we have an additional 8 days to do whatever we want. The trip will start (and presumably end) on the coast of Tuscany and our itinerary will include, Tuscany, Pisa, Florence, Bologna, Parma, Elba Island and maybe even Corsica.

Given that we get to make those rounds, where else (in or outside Italy) would you recommend for the remaining time? It'll be my first time overseas!
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I am glad to hear you're getting away from work and enjoying a nice vacation, AreaCode!

Without knowing specifics, it looks like you have most of your bases covered. In Rome, try to see the ruins (Forum, Colosseum) and the Vatican. In Florence, check out the art museums such as the Uffizi and also, the street markets. Parma is also really nice and has awesome restaurants. While I was there on business, our hostess took us to what she called a "world famous restaurant" and I had the best lasagna I have EVER had. I liked it so much that I INSISTED she take us back the next day. 😀

One thing you might be interested in is going a little further north to the foothills of the Italian Alps, north of Milan. Lake Como is there and is absolutely gorgeous. If you aren't familiar with the lake, it is where the lake scenes in Star Wars: Episode II were filmed. If you saw that movie, I can say that the lake really is that spectacular.

If you see everything you want to see in Italy and can spare a few days, I'd recommend taking a flight to Paris. The city is absolutely fabulous and the Louvre alone is worth the trip. If you want to see EVERYTHING in the Louvre, it would likely take 1.5 to 2 full days. There is so much to do in Paris, though, that the hardest part of being there is to decide what to do.

Regardless, if you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. I'd recommend watching Rick Steves' programs and maybe reading some of his books on the area. He had a great special on Tuscany and toured some of the hilltop towns. I'd also definitely recommend looking into the Roma Pass (or if you were to go to Paris, the Paris Museum Pass). They can save you a lot of time and headaches.
 
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