Italy trip -- need advice

[msollazzo]

I am planning a trip for 2 to Italy next year. Has anyone gone? Need advice on where to go. Narrowed it down to Venice, Florence, Rome, Capri areas. How about some bacstreet areas away from the crowds. Looking for quiet, romantic, and art/architecture. Thank you.

[MiniXP]

dont wear white sneakers or else you will look like a tourist. I was in Florence in November, it's nice, dont really have any thing to tell you about it though.

[Bowmeister]

Capri is the most perfect place in earth. There is a public beach there where you can swim in Mediterranean, be careful though, the beach is all rocks.

[schawks9900]

I'm in the kind of same situation. I'm planning on studying in Rome next fall and I'm looking for some back alley places that I can get used to for the few months I'm there. I don't really wanna do the tourist thing cause, well, its the tourist thing and I hate crowds of sweaty people in a huge line. Thanks for any advice.

[rsxruler]

im sure if you google "italy" or "rome" you'll find some interesting sites about italy and where to go

[lovesit]

Florence and Rome are not quiet - too many Vespas with too few exhaust controls. But of course, they have David and the Vatican.

Venice will be quiet away from St. Mark's (the center.) Milan is somewhat quiet, with a great church.

The entire country is a piece of art/architecture. You can't swing a stick without hitting a Michelangelo. Even the people are beautiful.

For romantic, you should head to the Tuscany region, specifically Siena. It's not really about art & arch, but it is possibly the most beautiful part of Italy, IMO.

Also, the Cinque Terre fits the bill for a romantic getaway/wonderful scenery.

Enjoy!

[Queso]

extremely old thread, but since somebody bumped it:

my favorite was venice with rome a close second. the only thing i hated is that there are posters everywhere covering up almost entire buildings which really takes away from the beauty of the cities and old architecture

[boo]

I just got back from Italy, florence was rad, rent a bike and ride around!

Venice sucked pretty severely, all super expensive and other than the fact that its in Italy it has little to nothing to do with italy, its probably the worlds largest oldest outdoor mall. One night there is plenty. The "vendors" selling knock off prada/gucci products right outside the prada and gucci stores was worth a laugh.

Rome was pretty nice, fast paced traffic, but not particularly aggressive. Italian women are hot.

[agc]

Not much to add here-I found Rome pretty crazy, but it does have the Vatican, Coliseum, etc. Stay away from Naples, pretty nasty port city, IMO.

I enjoyed Capri and Portofino, both nice seaside towns. A little touristy by the water, but enough nooks to enjoy.

At any rate, enjoy the trip.

[nathanc87]

Italy is awesome!!!

[oenghus69]

I prefered the South of Italy, people friendly and more accomodating, could also be because I went out of season.
Naples. - Pompeii
Sorrento.
Capri.
Sicily.


And then of course go Cinque Terre, Rome, Florence and the little towns of Siena and Verona.

[joerockhead]

I once visited the Italian Riviera, way back in 87.

It was very nice.

[pakpak]

quiet, romantic ?

try some places in the Toscana!
You won't find it in Venice and ROM - noway

architecture: definitly Venice and ROM (thats why there are so many people there) and Ravenna

[BradleyNIN]

Take plenty of time for Rome. I really didnt care much for florence and venice. But I did ride a ferry from Bari, Italy to Patras, Greece and I really enjoyed that.

[UFO Future Ship]

I once visited Pisa. Having read about the famous leaning tower, it was quite a thrill to actually see it, and then walk up to the top. The nearby cathedral is also very impressive.

[BradleyNIN]

I'm leaving for Rome on Monday. I'll let you know when I get back.

[choiboy00]

im goin to Italy too!
im goin to see the architectural stuff there..
but besides that .. anything else to do?

[BradleyNIN]

It was pretty nice. We stayed in Rome for quite awhile. If you are going to be in Rome for a bit then I would really reccomend taking a day trip to Tivoli and seeing Villa D'este. It was probably my favorite thing we saw. The buildings in Rome are nice, but the food and people suck.
We took another trip to the Island of Capri, that and Sorrento are worth a look see.