Has anyone been to Italy? Where do you suggest going/staying, etc...

I have... Stayed in Rome 3 days and then rented a farmhouse on a vineyard in Tuscany about 10k from Florence. Spent time in Florence and the drove all over hell... what do you want to know?

where in florence did you stay (what was the name of the farmhouse)? tell me anything you want to tell me about italy. i am currently planning a trip and need suggestions to help me narrow it down.

the name of the town was Incisia or something like that... I'll have to go look it up. Rome was ok, I felt like we were being hustled everytime we turned around. The Vatican is amazing, and I was in awe of the Colloseum. Florence was astounding, go up every Duomo you can... Bottecelli's "Birth of Venus" is at the Ifizi (sp?) along with a half trillion other paitings. The statue of David is quite awe-inspiring

We also went to Cinca Terre which is on the Italian Riveria and went scuba diving... fantastic. We stopped in this little town called Luca which is a walled city. Quite fun. Arrezo, was good. I'll have to get the books out to jar my memory. I only have about 9000 pictures. You are welcome to browse thru them next time you are in Nashville.

I'll have to look up the name of the vineyard we stayed at. It was a 15th century farmhouse. The owners of the vineyard lived in a castle up the road. Rough life.

The Italians were great, very friendly and warm toeward us, except in Rome... but I got the idea that the Romans are the New Yorkers of Italy. Nobody likes but themselves. We didn't go any further south than Rome, BTW so I cannot comment on Pompei or Sicily or anything.

great info!!! thanks! by any chance did you stay at the Machiavelli??? We are looking to stay there, and it sounds just like what you described (not like there aren't a gazillion castles with farmhouses in Tuscany)

no this was a working vineyard outside of Incisia. Which was about a 15 minute train ride to DT Florence...

Oooooh. Italy is so beautiful. I'm very jealous. I spent a week in Italy in 1999. It was great. Unfortunately it was a tour with my college madrigal group, so I didn't do any of the planning or even write down the names of any of the hotels we stayed at.

Here are my recommendations: spend lots of time in Rome. We were there for 3 days and didn't even begin to see it all. Also, you should definitely visit Pompei. It's fascinating. I didn't think Naples was all that impressive, but, as PF said, Florence is absolutely gorgeous. Venice is a must-see if you're planning to go that far North. It's just as romantic as it is in every movie you've ever seen.

When are you planning on going?

October 13, so I don't have lots of time to plan! We are definitely going to Venice, Florence and Rome. Just looking for some little towns on the way and unique places to visit, eat, sleep, etc...thanks everyone for the help! It has been my dream all of my life to go to Italy, so I am sure I will be happy anywhere.

i disagree. venice was my least favorite spot in italy [besides pisa]. the water stinks, the gondola rides are cheesy and touristy, and the "four star" hotels are equivilant to a days inn.
florence is good.
my favorite place in italy was a place that we stayed on lake maggiore [an italian lake near milan]. i dont know the name of the town that we stayed in, but it was very close to isola bella [a castle on an island in the lake]. it was an absolutely beautiful small town with great locals and makes a very relaxing final destination after travelling through italy [you can fly out of the milan airport].
heres an article written by an american about lake maggiore:
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?sectio...59&archive=true

(Edited by stopforme at 4:57 pm on Aug. 28, 2004)

eh, people are nice in rome. it's obivously the city with the most tourists, and it's always really easy to spot the americans...it's sad, but you just look for people who are overweight and/or wearing jeans.

in rome, eat at tre scalini. and piazza navona is a fun little lively spot. lots of people and art on the streets and a bunch of places to eat. behind it, the corso rinascimento is a neat area with lots of shops. there's a swell little shop that sells all kinds of different things made by all of the monks in the region.

from rome to florence (are you going by the rail?) you can either go up the left and cut over at pisa, or go up the middle. i'd go left, as i loved pisa and there are alot of towns on the water. the middle is cool too though, my parents are in perugia (a few hours outside of rome) and it's gorgeous.

in florence, if you can stay at the savoy, it will become one your top ten lifelong memories. regardless, visit the piazza della republica and eat at gilli. say hi to the manager, and ask him to tell you about his hometown, lucca. you could spend a whole day at the uffizi...don't get the headsets though, or it will take up your whole trip. and i'll reserve my really rude comment here, but let's just say that you'll be swamped by particular people with cameras if you go on the weekend.

just my suggestions. have fun.

Forget listen to stories about Lucca... go!!! It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, and we originally just stopped for lunch on the way to the coast. Oh and if you have the cajones ( know it's spanish...) rent a car and drive on the autostrada. Holy shit. I still talk about that. Where else can you get passed by a Ferrari going 130 (mph not kph) and floor it try to catch him and watch it walk away from you. I looked down at the speedometer and we topped out at 160. And the best part? People get the hell outta your way when you come blazing up on them in the left lane. We neeed those types of interstates here.

If you are referring to Japanese tourists with the cameras, that's really funny. We would watch them with absolute amazement. It was like locusts descending on a field of crops. It was like watching the root of a stereotype being born. The guide would stop say something and 40 cameras would pop up take a picture and they'd shuffle on.

As for not being "american" I wore dress pants or khakis everywhere and Liz wore a dress. I guess the best compliment we got was everyone first spoke Italian to us.

(Edited by Peace Frog at 9:14 am on Aug. 30, 2004)

OH Thanks everyone!!! Really great suggestions!! You all have made me so excited about my trip! We are definitely going to Lucca, Pisa, Florence...I wish we had time to go to the Alps and Milan. The lakes sound so gorgeous there. Thanks again!!!!

i went to rome this summer. i stayed at the villa bassi, which was in trastevere. it was a nice place, kind of half way between a hostel and a real hotel. i wish i was going back... october 13 is my 21st birthday.