| Italy City Break Advice 12:59 - Jun 20 with 6773 views | johnswiltsqpr |
Hi all, ive been advised by Mrs Johnswilts that I'm taking her to Italy for her upcoming birthday. Fine by me as I've wanted to visit for some time. Here in lies the problem she wants to go to one of either Milan, Venice or Rome. None of which I'm keen on.
Anyhow if it has to be one of the 3 which is best? more Italian and less commercial? thanks.
John. |  | | |  |
| Italy City Break Advice on 17:13 - Jun 20 with 2215 views | MrSheen |
| Italy City Break Advice on 17:03 - Jun 20 by johnswiltsqpr |
I popped out for a couple of hours and thought I may have a couple of replies. Cheers all, sounds like Rome has the general nod over the other two.
It has to be one of the 3(dont ask) and we will be travelling for 3 nights for her 30th birthday. Would like to go away in the sun for a couple of weeks but can't get a baby sitter for our twins for two weeks, thats if we could bring ourselves to leave em....
So Rome. wheres good to stay centrally? any do's and don'ts appreciated.
Cheers. |
Unless the authorities have cleaned it up, don't accept a lift from a taxi tout in the airport. You'll be crammed in the boot of an estate car with a load of other travellers and be charged over the odds. Go to the official cab rank outside or take a train or bus into town. Amazing they are allowed to get away with it. Forget about the Cistine chapel unless there's a way of booking a slot in advance, you'll queue for hours then be herded in and out while being shouted at by attendants. Walking the streets in the centre of town is a much better idea than trogging up to the Vatican. |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 17:29 - Jun 20 with 2205 views | Konk |
| Italy City Break Advice on 17:03 - Jun 20 by johnswiltsqpr |
I popped out for a couple of hours and thought I may have a couple of replies. Cheers all, sounds like Rome has the general nod over the other two.
It has to be one of the 3(dont ask) and we will be travelling for 3 nights for her 30th birthday. Would like to go away in the sun for a couple of weeks but can't get a baby sitter for our twins for two weeks, thats if we could bring ourselves to leave em....
So Rome. wheres good to stay centrally? any do's and don'ts appreciated.
Cheers. |
We stayed in Trastevere, which is just across the river from most of the action, but a nice neighbourhood full of locals and some good bars and restaurants. You get a lot more for your money over that way as well. Agree about the taxis — thieving gits in two cabs we got in where I ended-up shouting at the fella to turn the meter on and then had a row at the end of the journey when they tried to bang on a few extra quid to account for the time they’d “forgotten” to turn the meter on. Getting in from the airport, we got the train into a more central station and then picked-up a cab from there, which worked out a lot cheaper from memory (can’t think why else we’d have done it that way).
Great, great city, but very crowded during peak season. We pre-booked slots for the Vatican, Colosseum etc and it did save a bit of time and hassle. Every newspaper website will have 2/3 day guides to Rome, guides to Rome restaurants/hotels on a budget etc, so worth doing a bit of research there, and then you have Tripadvisor as a starting point for finding restaurants and hotels, which I then usually cross-reference against other sites. Spotted by locals is also pretty handy: http://www.spottedbylocals.com/rome/. After spending a week in NYC as part of a big group and spending every evening in s hit restaurants and bars, I now research the ar se out of everywhere I visit — still have the option of doing it on the hoof — but nice to have spots sorted beforehand. |  |
| Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 17:52 - Jun 20 with 2193 views | wombat |
| Italy City Break Advice on 17:29 - Jun 20 by Konk |
We stayed in Trastevere, which is just across the river from most of the action, but a nice neighbourhood full of locals and some good bars and restaurants. You get a lot more for your money over that way as well. Agree about the taxis — thieving gits in two cabs we got in where I ended-up shouting at the fella to turn the meter on and then had a row at the end of the journey when they tried to bang on a few extra quid to account for the time they’d “forgotten” to turn the meter on. Getting in from the airport, we got the train into a more central station and then picked-up a cab from there, which worked out a lot cheaper from memory (can’t think why else we’d have done it that way).
Great, great city, but very crowded during peak season. We pre-booked slots for the Vatican, Colosseum etc and it did save a bit of time and hassle. Every newspaper website will have 2/3 day guides to Rome, guides to Rome restaurants/hotels on a budget etc, so worth doing a bit of research there, and then you have Tripadvisor as a starting point for finding restaurants and hotels, which I then usually cross-reference against other sites. Spotted by locals is also pretty handy: http://www.spottedbylocals.com/rome/. After spending a week in NYC as part of a big group and spending every evening in s hit restaurants and bars, I now research the ar se out of everywhere I visit — still have the option of doing it on the hoof — but nice to have spots sorted beforehand. |
If you do the Vatican etc grab a guide , first time iver ever used one but you'll find out so much more than going round on ur own , you also avoid the massive crowds outside and go in a side entrance , one tip when ur in the cistine chapel they don't like to let you take pictures of the ceiling , switch ur camera to silent and use from the waist pointing up whe. The security aren't watching nearly got caught twice but got some great pics inside
Stay close to the coliseum if you can everything is walkable from there , there's some great local used pizza places near the pantheon waiters don't speak a word of English but the foods great and they usually chuck a few drinks in at the end of the meal for free |  |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 17:57 - Jun 20 with 2185 views | rrrspricey |
Like I said in an earlier post, I stayed about 50 metres from the Trevi fountain and that was an easy walk to anywhere in max 30 mins. You'll find some real gems walking everywhere and see bits of Rome you'd miss in a taxi/underground. |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 19:11 - Jun 20 with 2174 views | cyprusmel |
Rome. |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 19:31 - Jun 20 with 2165 views | ted_hendrix |
| Italy City Break Advice on 13:46 - Jun 20 by bob566 |
can't advise on the other three but an hours drive north of rome is perugia. Stayed there and it was beautiful. |
I use Perugia airport when we stop near Assisi, we've only been to the same place 9 times!
I love the city of Assisi and the surrounding hills love everything about the place but then again I'm an ex hippy.
We flew home last Friday.
Gonna try Sicily in October for the first time.
Ciao. |  |
| My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 19:37 - Jun 20 with 2160 views | Fearless |
| Italy City Break Advice on 19:31 - Jun 20 by ted_hendrix |
I use Perugia airport when we stop near Assisi, we've only been to the same place 9 times!
I love the city of Assisi and the surrounding hills love everything about the place but then again I'm an ex hippy.
We flew home last Friday.
Gonna try Sicily in October for the first time.
Ciao. |
Hi Ted
Was in Sicily in March - let me know if you want my thoughts / comments |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 19:43 - Jun 20 with 2157 views | CroydonCaptJack |
| Italy City Break Advice on 17:13 - Jun 20 by MrSheen |
Unless the authorities have cleaned it up, don't accept a lift from a taxi tout in the airport. You'll be crammed in the boot of an estate car with a load of other travellers and be charged over the odds. Go to the official cab rank outside or take a train or bus into town. Amazing they are allowed to get away with it. Forget about the Cistine chapel unless there's a way of booking a slot in advance, you'll queue for hours then be herded in and out while being shouted at by attendants. Walking the streets in the centre of town is a much better idea than trogging up to the Vatican. |
I disagree about the chapel. We booked in advance for the Vatican and hardly queued at all as a result. You can book online. You do get herded along but someone told me about some free audio tours that you can download by a guy called Rick Steve. I copied the Vatican one onto my mp3 player then got a headphone splitter that enabled my wife and me to listen to a great description of the cistine chapel and how it was painted etc whilst in the chapel itself. He then describes how you can make your way to the far right hand end of the chapel and take a shortcut to St Peters. This was really useful as that is a long way back and round again. It is meant to be for guided tours only but we just bluffed our way through with our headphones on. |  | | |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 19:46 - Jun 20 with 2153 views | Toast_R |
Venice for me, an absolutely beautiful place and there really is nowhere else like it.
Went for 2 nights last September before starting a cruise around the Med. Also visited Naples, Rome and Florence on the trip but Venice was the stand out place to be with Florence a close second.
Get the water bus pass for as many days as you need it's a good deal. It runs 24 hours and takes you everywhere you need to go.
[Post edited 20 Jun 2014 19:57]
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| Italy City Break Advice on 20:36 - Jun 20 with 2133 views | Monahoop |
Rome is a great city with plenty to do and see as already mentioned by others. I'm not a great one for cities, but Rome was fine.
We stayed in a small hotel, the Hotel Select Garden which is on Via Vittorio Bachelet off the Via Vicenza, less than 5 minutes walk from Termini [ the main train station ]. The hotel was fine, a bit dark and old fashioned, but the staff were great, friendly and helpful and most spoke good English. I'd stay there again if going back. There are some decent restaurants around that part too and I'm a great fan of Italian cuisine.
Things to avoid. Just be aware of pick pockets. Rome is apparently second to Barcelona on the European pick pocket scale and it's even bad in the Vatican. Don't assume you'll be safe to cross roads at zebra crossings, you won't. Italian drivers especially scooter riders and taxis won't stop for you. Some of the local police are little Hitlers or Musssolinis, but that aside enjoy the place. |  |
| There aint half been some clever bastards. |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 21:17 - Jun 20 with 2114 views | SonofNorfolt |
5* Hotel Eden. If not just to stay at least go there for a drink and take in the view from the fifth floor bar. |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 22:33 - Jun 20 with 2098 views | MrSheen |
It's easy enough to get stressed out by the crowds, the cheats and the shabbiness of aspects of Rome but you just have to go with it. They just have too much to look after everything properly. But this means there's amazing things to see everywhere - if you like Baroque churches they have some fantastic place to see that wouldn't be in the cities top 50 attractions. The food is great, the small specialist clothes shops are great for browsing, and don't miss out on a formula 1 taxi ride. | | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 22:55 - Jun 20 with 2096 views | RfromItaly |
Hi John. I am biased because I live near Venice, so that city & my book about it are obviously what I'd recommend! But if you come for more than a few days, also consider the Veneto region - Padua, Vicenza, Verona. All much cheaper than Venice, which is London prices. There are many great Italian cities. I would do Rome, Florence, Naples, then the islands as different trips. Good luck! |  |
| Author of book about Venice, and football articles including personal QPR interviews with Bowles and Marsh. See website: www.dstandish.com |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 23:25 - Jun 20 with 2087 views | ted_hendrix |
| Italy City Break Advice on 19:37 - Jun 20 by Fearless |
Hi Ted
Was in Sicily in March - let me know if you want my thoughts / comments |
Hello Ian,
Will do mate, I'm told by the Italians I know that Sicily is superb about October time, cant make our minds up about a hotel (minimum 4 *) self catering or a villa, the villa's I've researched are bloody expensive though.
Mount Etna is a must while we're there, I note that they have 3 bloody airports! | |
| My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 08:35 - Jun 21 with 2015 views | Fearless |
| Italy City Break Advice on 23:25 - Jun 20 by ted_hendrix |
Hello Ian,
Will do mate, I'm told by the Italians I know that Sicily is superb about October time, cant make our minds up about a hotel (minimum 4 *) self catering or a villa, the villa's I've researched are bloody expensive though.
Mount Etna is a must while we're there, I note that they have 3 bloody airports! |
Hi Ted
I think your timings right - spring or autumn are best.
We flew into palermo airport and had ordered a taxi to get us to the city centre (€40) and stayed in the massimo plaza hotel - small but perfect location for exploring palermo.
2 days in the city is plenty to see all the architecture, churches, castles etc.
The problem then is the size of the island. We wanted to see:
Taormina (amphitheatre)
Segusta (temple)
Etna
And a couple of other notable sights.
Which are all hundreds of miles from palermo.
Anyway, our hotel sorted us a private tour guide and we had 2 days of tours for (£310)
Brilliant way to see the island and get to all the sights.
Anyway - was a brilliant place to visit, so am sure you'll enjoy yourselves
Hope that helps, Ian | | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 08:59 - Jun 21 with 2006 views | Hunterhoop |
Florence for me every day.
Rome is great but it is a) far more touristy and b) a less relaxed atmosphere.
I just love the ambiance of Florence. As someone who studied the Renaissance for a bit, Florence is just fantastic. And Sienna is a very pretty nearby town with a lovely town square (it's not a square but a semi circle). Definitely worth a visit. |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 10:51 - Jun 21 with 1984 views | onlyrinmoray |
Went to Lucca 40 mins on train from Pisa, beautiful place a walled town therefore little traffic just bikes and mopeds Music festival each summer in one of the squares Far better than Pisa or Florence where we went for the day too touristy and mobbed out
So its Lucca for me above Venice & Verona where I have been. Not been to Rome though. Im not really a city person though, except for Sydney, wonderful place but its not in Italy  |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 11:07 - Jun 21 with 1976 views | BlackCrowe |
| Italy City Break Advice on 19:31 - Jun 20 by ted_hendrix |
I use Perugia airport when we stop near Assisi, we've only been to the same place 9 times!
I love the city of Assisi and the surrounding hills love everything about the place but then again I'm an ex hippy.
We flew home last Friday.
Gonna try Sicily in October for the first time.
Ciao. |
Sicily is fantastic. Off the beaten track is Scopello - near Trapani - beautfiul village, aquamarine seas fantastic little trattorias. On the beaten track is Taormina which is v.touristy but actually not in bad way.
Spent three weeks travelling around the island 20 years ago, always wanted to go back.
And for the OP - Rome and Venice are both jaw dropping, but Rome edges just because the unbelievable history all around you wherever you go. |  |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 11:15 - Jun 21 with 1972 views | CheshireR |
Buy your tickets for the colluseum at the Palatine Hill entrance. The queue will be far far shorter and the ticket grants access to both sites. |  | | |
| Italy City Break Advice on 23:19 - Apr 27 with 1850 views | RfromItaly |
I'm an Rs ST holder & have lived in Italy for last 18 yrs, so have some experience. Rome best for history, Venice unique for history/culture & walking (I wrote a book about this!), Milan more fashion/ shopping but pricey, so depends what you like! All expensive. More Italian & less commercial, which you state, go to Bologna, Naples, or Florence (though fairly commercial). | |
| Author of book about Venice, and football articles including personal QPR interviews with Bowles and Marsh. See website: www.dstandish.com |
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| Italy City Break Advice on 00:03 - Apr 28 with 1808 views | CanadaRanger |
Bones blames the Romeulans...  |  | | |
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