Where to go in Italy?

[Saxza]

People who have explored Italy before what cities do you prefer? I can't decide between Rome and Milan. A few friends and colleagues have visited Bologna and Tuscany.

We travelled round at Easter. Milan was okay, but apart from the couple of key attractions, and very high end shops, it could have been anywhere. We preferred Rome. However, overall, Florence and Verona were our favourite cities.

After reading about experiences in August I have decided to perhaps push Italy to later on and instead go somewhere else. Yes I am considering Vienna

Im going to Prague later this year and have been to Krakow twice in the past year and next year going to Bratislava and Vienna

Krakow is also stunning, not beautiful in the way we look at Vienna and Florence , but just an amazing city with so much history , there's a story on every corner

We were in Italy in October ( wedding so had no choice of dates ) and whilst we were there the drought broke, but the heat was still extremely oppressive . We do plan to go back but in an April or May. We like to sight see, not melt. Sight seeing means lots of walking, heat makes that hard. We always do our city breaks around Easter ( missing the holidays ) or late September - missing the holiday season and the worse of the sun

Hello, sorry to hijack thread, but I'm going to Sorrento in early October - any particular highlights I can't miss?

Given Italy will be too too hot in August. Can someone recommend any other cities and counties? Will Vienna be bareable?

Amalfi Coast Just beautiful

What is it you want to do? Do you still want a city break type holiday or are you open to other ideas now?

I've been to Salzburg in August and it was nice. If you're looking to escape the worst of the heat then I would either go somewhere in the Alps or Dolomites for high altitude, or go further north/east. I really want to go to Slovenia (but can't recommend it to you because I haven't been yet). Or if the budget allows you could look at Scandinavia.

There are some gorgeous places in the Netherlands too. We did a road trip last year and stayed in quiet places with lots of nature but could easily have combined it with trips to Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Delft for culture.

So many things to do. Avoid Naples though not worth the 90 minute train trip it’s busy and quite scary.
We visited Pompei, Amalfi coast road trip (amazing views) and Capri.
The town has a gorgeous square with lots of little alleys off it and some amazing shops and restaurants too many to name.
we found a fantastic Irish bar called Chaplins and there are some lovely rooftop/seaview bars.
Enjoy your trip it’s a fantastic place.

I'd prefer a city but I'd be open to other ideas.

Munich? Lots of museums and the ice cream is pretty good. The beer gardens will be perfect then.

@FrodoBiggins so the screaming sistine chapel woman had a legit condition?!

Visited the Sistine Chapel last Friday.
Forgot to scream. A missed opportunity.

Then go for Rome, but book all the main museums etc in advance. The Vatican museum, the colosseum, the pantheon, forum etc all have online booking these days. Milan is fine, but Rome is one of the great cities of the world.

Vienna and Budapest are connected by a 2 hour (?) train and both are fab in their own ways. So you could fly into one and out of the other. Vienna has lots and museums, you can swim in the river (there’s a ‘city beach’) … it’s really nice. We went with DS last summer and it was definitely summery but I don’t remember it being oppressively hot (or overcrowded) in either city and we walked a lot.

I haven’t had a problem with scammers in Rome. I wear a small cross body bag and try to be careful, and I’ve been left alone.

And will be bearable in August?

I don’t think anywhere in Europe is bearable unless it’s Northern Europe. Amsterdam would be good, there’s a camp site an hour away that’s lovely near a small town and the beach