Florence and where else would you go?

[BermudaTriangleAngle]

Italy has been a bit hit and miss for us. We didn’t like Venice, nor Lake Garda. However, we visited Rome this summer and loved it. Others have suggested that if we enjoyed Rome, we should visit Florence.

How long would we need in Florence? Is there anything else nearby to see?

Secondly, we would then like to stay somewhere by the sea, or an island. We can do an internal flight to this. We love great food, history, sightseeing, culture, a lovely hotel and fabulous local food. I’m thinking maybe an island, but open to suggestions.

Where would you stay in Italy after going to Florence with the above criteria?

Well, what did you enjoy so much about Rome? What made you dislike Venice and Lake Garda so much?

Venice - too many people around, really expensive, the drains stank
Lake Garda - not much to do really, the towns were a bit rubbish, food not great, accommodation was crap but came highly rated

Rome - open air museum, loved the Vatican and just walking into churches and seeing beautiful art and sculptures. We walked out to the neighbourhoods and ate local and the food was amazing.

How long have you got and is your budget healthy or trimmed back?

Some suggestions which I did over the past few years and loved them all.

Ravenna, Bologna, Padua, Venice. All by train and each spot was great even Venice!

Lake Orta, Turin, Bergamo, Como.

Florence, Lucca (divine), Siena, San Gimignano.

Ligurian coast, San Remo, Genoa, La Spezia and surrounds.

I agree about Rome, but we stayed on the coast in Ostia Lido and took the train in most days to the city with some seaside R+R in between! Venice was a tick box but it is so other worldly even if jammers with people like me ha ha. The view of the Grand Canal when you come out of the train station is something I will never forget.

I do all my trips on a mid budget, take the train everywhere (or bus if no train), and stay in mid priced hotels. Retired now, so I can do it at last.

Lucca - short journey on the train, and just a lovely, relaxing small city.
Maybe 4 nights in Florence, then 3 nights in Lucca for a bit of chill out time.

Also, note that Florence is quite pricey and very busy with tourists - you will need to book Uffizi and Accademia at least 4 weeks in advance (and you'll still ge in a queue to enter).
I prefer Venice tbh - yes, it's busy, but so beautiful and doesn't stink at all (been many times).

Sorrento and Pompeii

Cinque Terra, by the sea, you can travel there by train from Florence. Stay in any of the five towns and visit the others by a short (literally minutes) train journey.

From Lucca you could cycle to Pisa for the day

I didn’t like Rome but I loved Florence, Verona, Venice and Sienna. Have a lovely time!

In Pisa the Baptistry when they close the doors is something else.

Siena
Montalcino

If you specifically wanted to stay on an island, then Elba is off the Tuscan coast and is quite beautiful. Otherwise the Versilian riviera offers many seaside towns such as Marina di Pietrasanta or Fortei di Marmi. Lucca and the Cinque Terre are not far from these or from Florence. Both well worth a visit. I'd also recommend Pisa, especially the Baptistry. There are also numerous mountain towns in the region (such as Fosdinovo, Pontremoli and Fivizzano) all with the backdrop of the Apuan Alps. You could also check out the marble mines. It's a fabulous place but not enough time to see it all!

Lucca , Cinque Terre, Bologna or if you have a car San Giminiano, Volterra, Siena,
Elba. Sicily and Sardinia are both on my wish list

Ah yes indeed.

I find Italy hit and miss. Either touristy or grotty.

We did Cinque Terra from Florence on the train and loved it. I mean it is touristy but very pretty and loved how you could walk or boat between the towns (no roads)

I think even the holidays in Italy I haven’t enjoyed so much have been due to circumstances and I could visit the same places again and really enjoy them.

I have been considering revisiting Tuscany as it’s been such a long time since I was there. Had been thinking principally around Florence and Siena, Luca maybe or even up to Bologna, but I’m now loving the idea of visiting the Cinque Terre and maybe Elba too.

We are going to Sorrento next year.

We stayed in Florence for 5 days and enjoyed it, but then also did a few days driving between Tuscan towns which was brilliant - we enjoyed days in Pietrasanta, Lucca and San Miniato and finished up in Pisa for half a day and flew home from there. It was lovely to combine the city with its cultural riches (we even went to the opera while we were there) with the towns that felt like real neighbourhoods of locals and very few tourists, especially after the day trippers had left for the day.

I never found a bad place in Italy yet - though some places have become almost unbearably overrun. Cinque Terre is not what it was since the cruise liners started stopping at La Spezia - swear I have never seen so many people in a small space. If you like food and history - Sicily would be a top pick - Ortigia, Taormina, Noto, Ragusa etc. I also love Ischia (near Naples/Capri) which has an amazing castello, botanical gardens and lots of thermal springs. Lerici / Portovenere / Camogli are alternatives to Cinque Terre and a bit less busy. You can see the C5 villages by boat from there.