Spain/Italy lesser known places to stay/visit

[Dolly80]

We're planning a 3/4 night break in mid September, without the children (which is a pretty exciting prospect) I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations of lesser known places to stay/visit? Ideally accessible by air/public transport and not so pricey it will break the bank (although we're willing to pay more if somewhere is completely amazing)

Cefalu in Sicily.

We did a road trip around Andalucia - malaga, Seville, Córdoba, Granada, Nerja and stopped off at anywhere that caught out fancy in between, including a little village where everyone stopped and turned around to stare at us (Eastenders style) because I don't think they were used to tourists!

Perugia and Orvieto in Umbria - excellent cheap wine, few tourists.

Bologna is amazing and while its not off the beaten track, in September it won't be busy. We were there in May and it didn't feel at all touristy. And the food is wonderful.

I saw a pp also mentioned Bergamo which is also beautiful, but maybe too small for 3/4 nights - but the lakes are accessible by train for a good day trip.

For Spain, we went to Malaga last spring and it was outstanding. Pedestrianised city centre, good food, cheap cava, a beach and beachfront walk, lots of culture. And usually cheap to get to as Malaga airport is so busy with people going down the coast.

I love all three places mentioned but Malaga edges it for me.

Palermo, Sicily. Loved it.

My hubby and I stayed in pesaro in Italy it was stunning. It's very close to Rimini and urbino
We got to visit Venice from there and see all the holiday homes along the coastline that were built by Mussolini, which was quite horrid but fascinating.

We also visited San Marino which is stunning and Gradara castle

If you're coming to Spain, (generally cheaper than Italy), you could fly to Madrid and take a train to Salamanca, which is beautiful and historic with the old university buildings, classic Plaza Mayor, Roman city walls, etc. Or if you hire a car you could drive directly (2 hours) or via places like Toledo or Segovia.

Otherwise Santiago de la Compostela, has beach and plenty of beautiful architecture and history. (I believe you can fly there directly from the U.K. or to one of the nearby airports like Vigo).

Or Córdoba and the beautiful Mezquita (among other things) - fly to Sevilla and take a short train ride, or drive.

Bolzano and Merano .

DP and I had a holiday a few years ago when we flew to Bari on Italian Adriatic coast, then made our way up to Ancona via the lovely Gargano peninsula, staying a couple of days here and there. Vieste was one of the nicest stops, before that we visited Matera, an ancient town of cave houses. Ascoli Piceno was beautiful. We dropped the car off in Ancona, took an overnight ferry across to Split in Croatia and stayed two nights on the island of Hvar before crossing back to Ancona to fly home. One of the best holidays of my life!

Arezzo and Montepciano.

Montepulciano

I am from Asturias, it's an absolutely stunning place but you will not have the guarantee of good weather. September can be mild and gorgeous though! You have sea, mountains, lakes, amazing fauna, flora and food and drink all in one. Oviedo is a stunning city to visit, Gijon is a fantastic sea-side town 30 min away, and there are so many small villages in the coast/mountains! Picos de Europa are the most stunning mountain chain, with walks and treks for all ages and levels of fitness (Teleferico de FuenteDe is a must to do with kids). I have just spent 2 months home and have heaps of photos, PM me for info/photos and will be very happy to help suggesting places/things to do depending on what you like :)

You have super cheap flights Stansted-Oviedo if I remember it right.

People have already said Seville but someone mentioned Huelva which is close to Seville
Huelva itself isn't very interesting but keep heading west towards Portugal and you reach Ayamonte which is lovely

I also came on to say Bergamo, and "hidden gem" is exactly right. Also the plane goes directly too there so you get more holiday time.

Fly to pescara from stansted. The Abruzzo region is stunning and great food too. I know the region around Atri/Silvi reasonably well - all stunning. Make sure you visit San Stefano and Castello Roccio

As a pp said, Cefalu in Sicily is lovely and easily combinable with Palermo for a city/beach trip. Beware the gelato and brioche sandwiches though, you'll come back a stone heavier!
If you fly into Naples, it's a ferry ride out to Ischia, which is much nicer (and cheaper!) than Capri IMHO. There are thermal springs on the island too, so lots of spa hotels, and lovely beaches. You can easily island hop over to Capri for the day, or into Sorrento and get the bus down to Positano and Amalfi.

Abruzzo and molise in Italy... Abruzzo is said to be the undiscovered Tuscany. It's got coast, mountains, national park some lovely rural areas.

Vasto is a nice beach town.

Live in Italy and all the Italian suggestions are very good. I would just say if you can come early Sept as things start to et a bit mixed weather wise after that. I love Lucca but it is not completely devoid of tourists because it is beautiful! If I were you I'd pick a rough place and then come on here again asking for agriturismo recommendations if you fancy somewhere in the mountains.

Can this be moved to Travel, maybe? There are so many fantastic suggestions it'd be a shame to leave it in Chat to go pfft after a couple of weeks (I'd love to investigate several of the places suggested in Spain as I've never travelled there beyond Barcelona and Madrid.)

Do I have to report a post to ask mumsnet to move it?

The island of Elba is lovely. To be fair the only coast in Italy I wasn't fond of was the Adriatic Coast because it was so touristy. Everywhere else has been stunning.

I think so Dolly - I've reported and said if you're happy could they move it so if you do the same hopefully they will. Great thread - and let us know where you decide to go. Hope you have a lovely relaxing time.

There's so many great ideas, we're spoilt for choice. Really reasonable flight costs to some of them too. I only wish we were going sooner!