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I'm wondering if anyone can please offer suggestions for places to visit on a multi-generational vacation to Italy. We'll have about 12 nights or so from around October 11-23, and we're traveling from New York.
My wife and I (mid 30's) will be traveling with our 2 year old daughter and our mothers, who are both in their late 60's and are healthy but are not super active. They walk well but cannot be on their feet all day long, and probably wouldn't fare very well in the Amalfi coast with all of the vertical walking/stairs.
We're looking to balance seeing some of the highlights of Italy without repeating the exact same Venice/Florence/Rome trip that was our honeymoon. We don't want to move around too much because of the group we're traveling with, but we also don't want to just stay in one place.
Possible places we're considering are Rome, Siena/Tuscany, Sicily, and the northern lakes region. But I'm having an especially hard time figuring out what would be logistically easiest combined with seeing a few of the many highlights of the country. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks very much in advance.
It's hard not to avoid Rome-Florence-Venice when you're with someone on their first trip to Italy.
I think I'd consider visiting Rome and Venice with smaller cities in between like Ravenna (with its Byzantine architecture) and Padua along with Siena/San Gimignano/Lucca (just choose one).
I must say that Venice is so unlike anything else that it would be a shame not for someone to see it. October is probably a good quieter month to see the place.
My daughter is currently living in nearby Padua, and it is a lovely small city.
I will be returning there next month and will be flying in and out of Verona this time, rather than Venice.
We will be exploring Verona and Lake Garda, which we're really looking forward to, as well as returning to Padua.
Here's a shot as I was wandering around Padua last month to give you a feel of the place!
Thanks for the responses to both of you. We will fly into either Rome or Venice, as those appear to be the only cities with nonstop flights from NY in October other than Milan, which we're not interested in.
I agree it's hard to avoid the big 3 cities with someone on their first trip to Italy. My wife and I are happy to see one of those cities again, but we also want to make sure to see some new places. Any thoughts about Sicily?
One of my great memories is flying into Marco Polo airport (Venice) for the first time and seeing the city lying in the lagoon. It looked surreal.
We then grabbed a private taxi- water taxi- from the airport to our hotel which was on a canal just off the Grand Canal.
It may have been a bit pricey but there is nothing like it- it was absolutely breath taking.
The more I look into the lakes, the more I'm looking forward to going there. It would be an ideal place for older people to wander around, and of course they're criss-crossed by ferries.
I agree it's hard to avoid the big 3 cities with someone on their first trip to Italy. My wife and I are happy to see one of those cities again, but we also want to make sure to see some new places. Any thoughts about Sicily?
Never been to Sicily but planning to go there and Sardinia next year.
I absolutely love Venice and agree that it's a magical place. I just have reservations about how well we can navigate that city with a 2 year old and her stroller. I hear that Sardinia is amazing as well. We're not looking for time on the beach and October is late for that anyway, but in Sicily there seems to be a lot of cultural/historical attractions.
The smaller towns that I would recommend are Orvieto (absolutely amazing!), Bassano del Grappa, Asolo, and Marostica. Orvieto is about an hour's train ride from Rome, and the others are north of Venice in the Dolomites. I absolutely LOVED all of these towns.....and I adore Venice!
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