<p>We are planning the graduation trip of this year, and my D wants to go to Italy (last year my S wanted Japan and it was the most wonderful trip we ever had). Any suggestions?</p>
<p>What sort of info did you have in mind? I mean, where to go in Italy or whether consideration should be made of other places? Let me know, since we go to Western Europe a lot, and I might be able to help you.</p>
<p>If you go to Italy (which is a great place to go), try to spend a day or two at the Cinque Terra. It’s an area on the west coast not too far from Pisa where 5 small villages are strung out along the coast. There’s a breathtaking path linking the 5 villages that is right on the edge of the sea affording fantastic views.</p>
<p>Also make sure you don’t miss Venice - it’s quite unique. Of course there’s also Rome, Florence, and Sienna. Milan has a huge cathedral in the center of town. I haven’t been south of Rome yet.</p>
<p>If you have time and haven’t been there, Italy borders Switzerland which is also a great place to go. If you do, make sure you go to Zermatt where the Matterhorn is. It’s a unique town that doesn’t allow any cars in the town. Make sure you take the tram partway up the mountain to get a great view of the Matterhorn as well as the town.</p>
<p>I have been all over the world, both as a resident and a tourist. I went to Italy for the first time last October, and Umbria where we were, was one of the most consistently beautiful places I have ever seen.</p>
<p>Tanzania: if you are interested in safari.</p>
<p>Brazil is great (though potentially unsafe).</p>
<p>Tikal, Guatemala if you want the rain forest.</p>
<p>Thailand, if you want tropical island life and some interesting cities.</p>
<p>But Italy would be the top of a list that would include France, Spain, Czech Republic (Prague), maybe the coast of former Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey.</p>
<p>We once spent a magical week in Tuscany. We flew in from London to Pisa and rented a car. We drove onto Lucca (where a lot of olive oil is bottled), then on to Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and other small towns. One could spend a lot more time in these cities, expecially Florence and Siena, than we did. I must have climbed every tower there was to be climbed (but I was a lot younger and fitter then!).</p>
<p>I was thinking to start in Rome or maybe in Tuscany since my H will be in France before this trip and will be meeting him somewhere (or changing him for a handsome Italian…just kidding!) I would like to do the most possible in two weeks or less without getting too exhausted.
Reading about the walking and climbing, I should start to getting fit…</p>
<p>
I was just about to suggest this! Funny since it’s not a hugely popular tourist destination compared to most of Italy. Italy is a wonderful spot for a vacation; my family went when my sister and I were about 14 and 16 and had a great time. Cinque Terra is really nice; we loved it. Just so you know, the area is on a hill, so there are lots of stairs everywhere. If anyone in the family has knee problems or anything else that makes stairs difficult, you may want to skip it. It’s a fabulous vacation spot, though; you’ll have a great time.</p>
<p>My favorite place in Italy was Padua, because it was an ordinary working town that has the university where Galileo and Copernicus taught, so I could imagine myself walking down the same street and seeing the same river. It has a marketplace square where fruit and vegetables (and chickens and vinegar) have been sold for hundreds of years–and if you go back in the afternoon, it’s gone. </p>
<p>It was reasonably priced instead of a tourist trap (a four star hotel with a huge room was less than $150/night and many cheaper places were also available), and they have a gorgeous old Roman wall at the Scrovegni Chapel outside and the Giotto frescoes inside.</p>
<p>Personally I like the Amalfi Coast way better than the Cinque Terra. No climbing, very upscale. I’d start with 3 days in Rome. From Rome you train to Naples and take a Ferry to Sorrento. You can also go to the incredible island of Capri from Sorrento by Ferry. On the Amalfi Coast you can spend several days on the water in Positano, considered by many the most beautiful town in Italy. There’s a town called I believe Ravello up the hill from there with awesome panoramic views of the towns below and ocean and nice hotels.</p>
<p>I’d spend 2 days in Sorrento and then go to Capri. You will have a blast!</p>
<p>Bedhead, I totally agree with your list and am putting Yougaslavia on my list as it’s your only place I haven’t been Where should I go?</p>
<p>I like Tuscany…All the small towns are amazing. We loved San Gimignano and Asissi!!
And of course, Firenze…
Some friends invited us to Italy a few years ago, and we stayed in a tiny village, high above Florence, called Artimino. Part of the walled village has been converted into apartments for rent (two and three bedrooms with kitchen and living room…very affordable…but you will need a car!) One of the Medici estates is in Artimino and also some vineyards and a hotel with a pool…It was all magical! (I bet you could find it if you google it).
Also, many moons ago (after-college trip) I went to Porofino…charming coastal town.
And you can’t miss Rome!</p>
<p>I’d say all of Italy is amazing!</p>
<p>As it’s a graduation trip I’ll point out that Tuscany can be pretty boring for the young. There are a lot of pretty sunflowers but after that…I think we’d prefer to be in cities or in places with lots to do.</p>
<p>Are you going with teenagers? I’d recommend you rent an aprtment in Rome–within walking distance of the Spanish steps–a big hang out for students of all nationalities.</p>
<p>You can easliy be absorbed in a five or six day walkabout. It’s an amazing city.</p>
<p>Our family’s greatest vacation ever was Australia, but we’d already been to Italy. The train from Rome to Florence passes through lovely scenery. We stayed in pensiones. Learn some Italian phrases. Bring buckets of money…the dollar, she’s-a no good right now.</p>
<p>When my son was younger, we did the “big three”, as they called it then, Rome, Florence & Venice, with a side trip to Pisa. Our last trip a few years ago to Italy, which I think was the most fun trip ever, started in Rome, then train to Salerno, with a ferry ride to Positano. Several nights there relaxing, boating, swimming, etc., then ferry to Capri for 2 days (Blue Grotto, cool chairlift ride up to Mt. Solaro, hikes); then a few days in Sorrento with side trip to Pompeii; then train up to Venice for a few days (with day trip to Verona – nothing more interesting than a visit to Juliet’s house and the Arena di Verona); then night train to Paris for Bastille Day. Surprisingly relaxing for the amount of sights we packed into the trip.</p>
<p>Here’s a good forum for help:</p>
<p><a href=“http://slowtalk.com/eve/ubb.x[/url]”>http://slowtalk.com/eve/ubb.x</a></p>
<p>Thank you all. Any hotel in particular that you would recommend? The idea is Rome, Venice, Florence, Capri and if we can, Cinque Terre, and places in between.</p>
<p>I also recommend Venice, but for about 3-4 days max. But DO NOT stay in a hotel, especially in the tourist area. We’ve started getting an apartment when we stay there - same price as a hotel, and you feel more like a resident that way. It’s great. </p>
<p>We’ve been pleased with these:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cadellacorte.com/inveniceapartments/en/apartments_list.htm[/url]”>http://www.cadellacorte.com/inveniceapartments/en/apartments_list.htm</a></p>
<p>And if you still need to stay in a “hotel,” the Ca Della Corte is very quaint, close to the action, yet surprisingly secluded. It’s a 16th Century Venetian Palace with its own courtyard:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cadellacorte.com%5B/url%5D”>http://www.cadellacorte.com</a></p>
<p>Also stay away from restaurants in the tourist areas (along the Grand Canal, along the route from Rialto Bridge to Saint Mark’s Square, etc). Get recommendations for local places. MUCH better food and prices and friendliness.</p>
<p>I like Siena and its big zebra striped cathedral. And at least one of the hill towns - Assissi is nice and comes with Giotto frescos. Also some of the country villa’s have stunning gardens. You can see some here: <a href=“http://grandigiardini.it/2005/eng/main_eng.htm[/url]”>http://grandigiardini.it/2005/eng/main_eng.htm</a></p>
<p>Cressmom, For two weeks in Italy I would concentrate on two, maximum three locations. The distances aren’t great and the trains convenient, but still getting from place to place can really eat up your time and energy and wherever you start from you’ll find a lot to see and do in the surrounding area.</p>
<p>If you’re flying into Rome you can either go North and do Rome-Venice-Florence or South and do Rome-Napoli-Amalfi. Both are fascinating trips and my son as a teenager and college student loved just about every place we went.</p>
<p>I would definitely include Rome. My personal favorite would be Florence, but then I’m an arthound. Venice is wonderful just because there’s no place like it in the world, but in the summer it’s crowded and expensive. If you enjoy opera a side trip to Verona where they perform Verdi in a Roman collesium is magnificent. (And you can squeeze in Padua in the middle.)</p>
<p>You can fly out of Milan, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to stay there (unless you want to see the Last Supper).</p>
<p>The hotel I would recommend in Venice is the Flora and in Rome the Forum. The one we always stay at in Florence is ridiculously expensive so I’m not suggesting it (but it’s so wonderful. . .). And don’t even get me started on the food!</p>
<p>With young people, I would give less emphasis to Tuscany and the Amalfi coast, although Pompeii and Pestum are incredible experiences. Positano and Ravello are lovely but Capri wouldn’t be high on my list, but then, I’m more interested in art, culture, history than beach resort-life. </p>
<p>In my opinion, Rome, Venice and Florence would be more than enough with day trips to the surrounding areas.</p>
<p>I’m not an expert, having made only one nine-day trip to Italy, but we found that teenagers loved Pompeii (so did I), and my history-hound son and I both found the Roman Forum fascinating. (If you can latch onto a great tour guide at the Forum, it will be a big plus.) Capri really is fascinating, but maybe not for more than one day or two.</p>