Where to Visit in Italy

blacksta

I am sure this has answered so many times but cant find anything using the search functionality.

I have never been to italy but would like to know where to start from.

What i like

1. The Mediterrian feel
2 lots of good resturants
3 beachs
4 monuments to visit
5 Not expensive
6 good transportation network
7 Holiday activities

what i hate

1 Anything that resembles central london or Paris

thanks

Bob_the_Saver

Italy flunks out on number 5 I'm afraid.

unsure

Italy is a great destination.

Not sure about the beaches I've never gone to Italy for that, the culture, art, history and Italian lifestyle is what appeals to us ( inc great food and decent wine!), but 1,2,4,5,7 could easily apply to Rome, Venice, Florence, Siena, Pisa, Verona, Bologna, Milan, Naples, Lucca and many more Italian destinations-- you may have to define your criteria a little more closely!

The Italian train network works well and is cheap by British standards. Obviously, if you are talking about integrated public transport, things are better in towns/cities...but that might tend to go against your list of hates!

In Florence most of the major sites are clustered around the very walkable city centre. We stayed outside and got trains in and took another train from Florence to Pisa. In Venice the waterbuses/vaporettos make a great travel experience...but the city will be hot, humid and crowded in summer, so when you are going is another significant determinant.

How much you pay for food etc depends where you go and whether you are prepared to head a bit off the tourist track. Italy is one of the few destinations where I've never had a bad meal. Food can be reasonably priced but it won't be in tourist traps...and the quality may suffer too!

We've always had a great time in Italy but it wouldn't be my first choice for either a cheap holiday or a beach holiday.

LisaW123

We visit Italy at least once, and often twice a year and have done so for many years. My favourite spots are Tuscany, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast (not including Amalfi itself). I can't think of anywhere that we have visited that meets your criteria. Italy is not a cheap holiday and some places, for example Portofino in Liguria, are eye wateringly expensive (do not consider Portofino unless you are arriving in your own yacht). This said, I think Italy has been overtaken by France as the most expensive destination in Europe. I haven't been to Italy's Adriatic coast, but I believe this does have more in the way of traditional beaches than areas on the med coast. Some of the Adriatic resorts (like Rimini), however, would not be to our taste. From what I can gather, they are very touristy. Coastal areas on the med side of the country, eg, Liguria towards the North (nearest city Genova) and the Neapolitan Riviera and Amalfi Coast to the South (nearest city Naples or Salerno) are very beautiful. While they do have beaches, there's not much in the way of sand; they are more pebbly.

While Sorrento (bay of Naples) wouldn't be my first choice destination as it's like a British colony, there is no denying the area's beauty. It is also a handy base for seeing Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples etc as it has a train station. (Trains in Italy are cheap and reliable). You can also get ferries to Capri, Ischia, Amalfi etc from Sorrento. It is probably a good choice for a first trip to Italy if you don't mind being surrounded by British people. Tour operators also offer package holidays to Sorrento. Personally, I would go further south, but this would make travelling to visit historic sites much more difficult as there is no train in areas like Positano, Amalfi, Minori etc and driving in Italy can be challenging.

Please don't take this the wrong way but I think it is worth mentioning considering a lot of us Brits are fond of the vino, public drunkeness is very much frowned upon in most of Italy. When in Italy, we would normally be in places where there are far more Italians on holiday than Brits. I can say hand on heart the only time I have seen an Italian drunk is last year at the Lanterna Festival in Pisa, when a couple of young lads (out of many thousands of Italians on the streets that night) were staggering about. They were getting very short shrift from their countrymen.

I hope this helps. Maybe you should try a post on Tripadvisor or Fodors. There are local experts on both and you will probably get more informed replies on a specialist travel site.

Nomad2075

I would definitely recommend Florence, definitely not like central London or Paris. Not much in terms of beach's, amazing culture and monuments / artworks to see. You can happily walk everywhere, might want to take a bus if you want to go further a field, but generally everything is within walking distance. There are also great restaurants. Great night life too. Florence def the place to go in Italy. Also not that expensive.

zagfles

I'd definitely recommend the Sorrento area. We found it reasonably cheap, loads to see and do, you'll struggle to find better historical monuments anywhere in the world which compare to Pompeii & Herculanium, excellent transport links, the Amalfi coast is stunning. Naples is worth a visit just for the archeological museum even if you don't like cities. And the hike up Vesuvious was interesting. Can do all that without hiring a car as the trains/buses are excellent and cheap.

Eating out is expensive if you go for the full antipasti/primi/secondi piatti full works, but unless you want to come home 3 stone heavier you won't do that every night! Most nights we just had a pasta dish, sometime pizza, around 6-8 EUR pp and easily filled us up. Even with drinks and ice creams on top we rarely paid more than 40-50EUR for 4 of us for a meal out.

I'd disagree about it being full of Brits - it was full of Americans when we were there!

s_b

you can do portofino but its best to get the boat from santa margherita its about €12 return
when in portofino get a pizza from the shop up the hill on the right and eat al fresco ,you cant get cheaper:D
im off to italy next week
love florence and lucca so going to both of them
cant stand beaches
trains are dirt cheap but remember to validate your ticket before getting on the train or get fined like i did
you can eat well and cheap in italy you just go up a back street and find a place for locals
i never act as a tourist when abroad i act like a local,much more fun and cheap

DUKE

Lake Garda's quite nice. Also Venice is a must, but expensive!

Mr_Wang

I have travelled all over Italy and my favourite place, without a shadow of a doubt and actually my favourite European City is Florence. Nothing comes remotely close.

Naples is garbage, Rome is great but tiring, Venice is over rated and Pisa is a dive.

But Florence, it represents everything amazing about a city, it is beautiful, I mean on a spectrum far greater than you can imagine. It is as mystical as it is romantic and it has an atmosphere about it that is simply memorizing.

A trip to Italy that doesn't include Florence (Firenze) is a trip wasted imo.

blacksta

s_b wrote: »

you can do portofino but its best to get the boat from santa margherita its about €12 return
when in portofino get a pizza from the shop up the hill on the right and eat al fresco ,you cant get cheaper:D
im off to italy next week
love florence and lucca so going to both of them
cant stand beaches
trains are dirt cheap but remember to validate your ticket before getting on the train or get fined like i did
you can eat well and cheap in italy you just go up a back street and find a place for locals
i never act as a tourist when abroad i act like a local,much more fun and cheap

how does one act as a local - without speaking the language

LisaW123

Mr_Wang wrote: »

I have travelled all over Italy and my favourite place, without a shadow of a doubt and actually my favourite European City is Florence. Nothing comes remotely close.

Naples is garbage, Rome is great but tiring, Venice is over rated and Pisa is a dive.

But Florence, it represents everything amazing about a city, it is beautiful, I mean on a spectrum far greater than you can imagine. It is as mystical as it is romantic and it has an atmosphere about it that is simply memorizing.

A trip to Italy that doesn't include Florence (Firenze) is a trip wasted imo.

I too, am fond of Florence, though prefer the peace and scenery of the Tuscan countryside. If you read the original post, however, one of the OP's criteria is beaches. Florence doesn't have any.

OP - Versilia (part of the Tuscan coast) is easily reached from Florence. I've only passed through and it didn't look at all attractive - Viareggio looks truly awful. The area has a major club scene, however, if nightlife is important to you. I wouldn't quite describe Pisa as a dive, though wouldn't choose it as a destination in itself. We've had a few one night stays there when we've flown in or out of Pisa. The area immediately around the leaning tower is tacky and is full of cheap and nasty tourist restaurants, but Pisa is a University town. If you ever find yourself there, avoid the tourists by heading for the University area. You can find some great food and a relaxed street vibe. Naples is not garbage but it does have a well known garbage collection problem. There are parts of Florence where there is a lot less traffic than in Rome but, like Rome, there are still tons of tourists. It is treasure trove if you are an art lover. Venice is beautiful but is spoiled by the number of tourists. It is literally swamped but how can you complain when you're a tourist yourself. The student area is a bit quieter and feels more authentic.

I, and others, could run through every Italian town we've ever visited here! We might love them, but others could well disagree. If you want a traditional kind of holiday, with scope for relaxation but the opportunity to see some of the surrounding areas and access to places of historical interest, a good starting point would probably be to look around the Sorrento area. Pompeii is awe inspiring in it's sheer scale and is alone well worth a trip to the area.