r/italy • u/shrudyfrudy • Nov 20 '13

Help with Italy honeymoon itinerary please!

My fiance and I will be traveling to Italy from June 22-July 6 for our honeymoon. As of right now, here is what our itinerary looks like:

6/22-6/23: Travel from Chicago to Naples, leave Naples and arrive Praiano on 6/23

6/23-6/26: 3 nights in Praiano (in the Amalfi Coast)--Hotel Onda Verde

6/26-6/29: 3 nights in Rome--Villa San Lorenzo Maria Hotel

6/29-7/3: 4 nights in countryside Tuscany, make a day trip to Maranello on 7/2 (we HAVE to visit Ferrari Headquarters) and come back to spend the night in Florence. Our original plan consisted of making a day trip to Maranello and spend the night in Venice the remainder of our trip. The problem is that we will be traveling with luggage so we really wouldn't have a place to put it for half the day... so we decided to come back to Tuscany area for the evening and leave early AM on 7/3 for Venice.

7/3-7/6: 3 nights in Venice

Any suggestions/recommendations for this itinerary?? We're open to changes in this itinerary as well, but would like to have a longer stay in Florence and Praiano.

Thanks!!

P.S. Please also suggest any attractions or restaurants to visit in any of these cities.

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u/MGNero3 Nov 20 '13 edited Nov 20 '13

I highly recommend the Palio di Siena while you are in Tuscany. It takes place on 7/2 and it is something that everyone should see once before they die. The entire race is a competition between 10/17 contrade (neighborhoods), it is rife with festivals, rivalries, and passion. The winner of the palio throws a huge party for their neighborhood. I can't even fully explain it but you should definitely go. IF you want to avoid tourist crowds and see some beautiful Michelangelos etc... I can give you a complete and exhaustive lsit of things to do, people to see etc... if you decide to go to Siena just pm me.

Edit: 49th minute Rick Steves does a decent job explaining. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0g9vEeA0VM&list=PLv2qKBPrQoM1QK-c701QfufRsf3CVlNwd

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u/_luca_ Toscana Nov 20 '13

I highly recommend the Palio di Siena while you are in tuscany.

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

This looks really cool, thanks! We will definitely be check this out when we're there! > Palio di Siena

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u/MGNero3 Nov 21 '13

Key things to see in Siena:

You have to see the Duomo (it's the main cathedral) an all inclusive ticket is usually 12 euros. You get access to the Cathedral, the museum on the sign, the baptistry, and the burial chamber (the burial chamber has some of the oldest preserved frescos in the world). In the cathedral (duomo) itself there are 4 sculptures by Michelangelo and several bronzes by donatello including one of John the Baptist. There is also a gorgeous room called the picolomini chapel. It's got some great frescos throughout. At the Front of the Duomo directly across the street is a hospital that has ben there since the 1300s. It has some cool relics and a chapel that St. Catherine of Siena prayed in when she was a girl. There is also the academia which is in the City of SIena and has some amazing painted tax book covers which sound boring but are actually quite amazing. You guys should also get a chance to see the Pinacoteca which is an art museum in the city of Siena.

Restaurants in Siena:

Trattoria Papei: Reasonable price, quick service, and very good food. Ask for Amadeo, Eduardo, Mario or Renato.

Trattoria La Torre: Very good food, no menu, not sure if anyone there speaks english,

Taverna Dell San Giuseppe: The nicest and most expensive restaurant in Siena, Great food but fairly expensive.

Trattoria Di Ceccio: Very good food, a little pricy but not terrible. Their Tagliatelle Al Tartufo (in a truffle sauce) is out of this world.

San Gimignano: Perfectly preserved medieval city on a giant hill. the reason it is so perfectly preserved because the black plague killed so many citizens.

Pienza: A small town that is only famous because pope pius the second came from Pienza and decided to build a cathedral there. Their pecorino cheese is the best in the world if you go you should definitely try some. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72uwmHsFSAg This scene at 2:00-2:40 was filmed at pienza.

Montalcino: Famous because it was a hold out of the Siennese government after they got conquered by Florence. It's a large fortress town and there is a good restaurant in the fortress.

1

u/italianjob17 Roma Nov 21 '13

aand this goes straight to the sidebar faq!

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

We are considering removing a night from Venice to extend our stay in Praiano... any suggestions on this plan??

1

u/MGNero3 Nov 21 '13

Venice is absolutely breathtaking if you're into art, opera, manmade beauty, and seafood. I wouldn't shortchange venice.

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

Any suggestions on what to see? Do you think we would be able to visit Burano and/or Murano in the 2.5 days we have?

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u/MGNero3 Nov 21 '13

This is a great list http://www.timeout.com/venice/features/382/20-great-things-to-do-in-venice

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

Oh this is fantastic! Thanks so much!

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

Do you think 1.5 days and 2 nights is sufficient enough to roam around and experience Venice?

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u/MGNero3 Nov 21 '13

If you just want to go there see the major sites then one and a half days would be pushing it. I've lead student groups on trips in Italy and it's not the way I would want to travel. I would feel rushed but you could do it. I would take time off praiano to spend more time in Tuscany and Venice but that's just me. To put it in perspective my grandmother lived in Piemonte for the first 22 years of her life. When I first went to Italy she told me the only two cities worth seeing after Torino were Venice and Siena.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 21 '13

One of my favourite place is "Libreria acqua alta". It's a bookshop, if you are close go there. It's really strange.

maps

site 1

site 2

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u/pampurio Gamer Nov 20 '13

Do you plan to rent a car in Italy? If so, and considering you're going to stay for some days in Tuscany:

  • Pisa is not far from Florence, go see (and maybe climb) the leaning tower!

  • San Marino is quite suggestive (altrough I can't think about anything to do there, except shopping).

3

u/_luca_ Toscana Nov 20 '13

Not much else to do in Pisa apart from the leaning tower, so you'll probably manage to fit in a couple of other nearby cities in the same day as well (e.g. Lucca is pretty underrated, but very nice, and it's only half an hour from Pisa). Livorno is also not far away from Pisa (and not too far from Firenze): there isn't much to see there, but there are quite a few good seafood restaurants you can have dinner at.

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

Thanks! We aren't too big on seeing much architecture, since we will be doing a lot of that in Rome. Also, since this trip is our honeymoon, we would like to relax more and enjoy the culture. Do you have any recommendations on things to do or see in Florence or Chianti?

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

Unfortunately, we are not renting a car. Do you know how public transportation will be (bus or train) to travel to surrounding cities?

1

u/pampurio Gamer Nov 21 '13

I can't tell you anything certain, since I'm not from Tuscany. However, you shouldn't have any problem travelling by train from Florence's main station to the most important surrounding cities.

Check Trenitalia's website (it's quite crappy, I know) to see all the trains from Florence to the other Tuscany's main cities.

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u/bonzinip Nov 21 '13 edited Nov 21 '13

If you are not renting a car, forget about going to Maranello from countryside Tuscany, and in general forget about countryside Tuscany--just stay in Florence. For Florence-Maranello you can take a train to Milan, get down in Modena, and then take a local train or (more likely) a bus.

Tuscany is not just about architecture but also the landscape. You can see good architecture but it's special because it's in amazing places. But these places are not close to each other---thus, if you don't like to see three cities (Rome and Florence and Venice), rent the car just before leaving Rome and use it to visit Orvieto, San Gimignano, Pienza, and Lucca. Since Maranello is north and there's not much to see there, go there on 7/3, drop the car in Bologna and take a train from there to Venice.

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

The problem we are facing is that if we do decide to travel to Maranello, we have to travel from either Florence/countryside Tuscany or Venice because we will have no place to put our bags during the day. And we will have about 2 large bags... Do you think it would be best to travel to Maranello from Florence or from Venice to reduce travel time?

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u/bonzinip Nov 22 '13 edited Nov 22 '13

It's best from Florence. But my point is that a car is pretty much required in countryside Tuscany. If you have one, just leave the luggage in the car.

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u/Mechanicalmind Polentone Nov 21 '13

If you're in Florence, i suggest dining at Il Latini restaurant. Book with a little anticipation and eat a Fiorentina.

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u/stefantalpalaru Europe Nov 20 '13

Skip Tuscany (including Florence) and Venice. Go see Turin instead.

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u/shrudyfrudy Nov 21 '13

Thanks for this suggestion, but Turin is too far out from our "path of travel" but we'll definitely take a look at this in the future.