I am polishing up the final details of a 31 day trip to Italy that begins in less than two weeks! I ll be traveling with DH and two teenage sons, ages 14 and 16. This is my fifth trip to Italy, and DH and I have driven around Tuscany on our last trip, so we have a bit of experience. It s the first trip to Europe for our boys, and we want to make it a wonderful family experience.
I ve done a lot of research here and on other sites (notably Trip Advisor), italy rail travel fares and I m listing the restaurants and other specifics below to help others who might be looking for suggestions. One thing I did this trip for the first time was to research restaurants and ask the hotels to make the actual reservations. italy rail travel fares In the past I have done that myself italy rail travel fares by email; having the hotels do it is much easier!
After check-in at the Residenza Corte Grimani, if we have the energy we can take a ride on Vaporetto #1, enjoy a leisurely lunch somewhere, and hopefully pick up a few groceries for breakfast. We ll also pick up the Multi-Day vaporetto tickets, since I think my sons will truly enjoy riding around that way.
Day 3: Early tour of Basilica paris hotels bargain cheap promotional de San Marco (can I pre-book entry here?), then go to the top of the Campanile (being paris hotels bargain cheap promotional very careful NOT to be at the top on the hour, which can be deafening), italy rail travel fares and then we re free, so I m looking for suggestions here.
We ll take a gondola ride in the evening before dinner, which is not booked. Does anyone italy rail travel fares know of the best way to get a good deal on these rides? Also, what time would you recommend in order to get to dinner by 8:00?
Day 5: Train to Florence. I booked these tickets online back in April, and I think we got good fares at 44 Euro each. We arrive in Florence at 1:30, and after check-in at Hotel Hermitage, we can visit the church at Santa Croce and explore italy rail travel fares the area around the Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria.
Day 7: Private tour of Uffizi Gallery with Freya s Florence at 10:00 am. I have toured the Uffizi with a private tour, using the audio guides, and with Rick Steves paris hotels bargain cheap promotional in hand; it s always wonderful, but I thought the private tour would be best for the boys first trip. It s practically an art history course!
Then we ll have time for a quick panini lunch before we head over to the Accademia, where I have pre-booked entry at 2:00. I thought we d get the major art all in one day; we ll see how that works out, and I ll let you know.
Day 8: Monday, so I know that many museums will be closed. So this might be the day to visit the Medici Chapel. If it s open, we ll go to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. Otherwise, we re also interested in cooking classes, so if anyone can recommend a nice lunch time class, we d love to know about it.
Day 1- i agree about picking up the vaporetto passes. on your first day you might like to wander/get the boat over to the zattere, have a gelato or two in the sunshine, then walk back through dorsoduro to the accademia bridge [or even the rialto if you are feeling energetic].
Day 2 - after your tour of the doge's palace, why not get the boat out to the lido and go for a swim? i bet the boys will be ready for one by then. i have a feeling that you can rent cycles over there too which the boys, and you, may enjoy.
Day 3 - not sure why you are going back to the Basilica italy rail travel fares - much better IMHO to get an early start at the rialto market, where you and your boys can marvel at all the different fruit, veg, and especially fish. there are cafes where you can have breakfast too. from there, head to the Frari and the Scuola di san rocco to see some more works by Tinteretto - which will tie up with what you saw the day before. there is also a gondola maker in this area somewhere. i would try and fit the Accademia in here somewhere.
Day 4 - trip to the islands. OK go to Murano if you must, but definitely visit Burano [for the painted houses and lovely atmosphere] and Torcello [for the ancient basilica, the mosaics, and again, the atmosphere].
Regarding a gondola paris hotels bargain cheap promotional ride in Venice, I don't know that there is a way to "get a good deal"; you just have to negotiate italy rail travel fares with the gondolier. It may be a little more costly paris hotels bargain cheap promotional at dusk but worth it, in my opinion. My boyfriend and I did a gondola ride around 7pm in order to be back for our 8pm dinner reservation. I had already selected a gondola stand very near our restaurant, paris hotels bargain cheap promotional so you might want to look and see if there is one near the restaurant where you have reservations so you will know how long to allow for walking from the gondola station. A ride will last between 40-50 minutes usually, depending on what you negotiate.
On Day 3 in Venice I would consider visiting Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, which has beautiful art and notable tombs. paris hotels bargain cheap promotional In addition or instead you could take the vaporetto to San Giorgio Maggiore and go up the elevator to the top of its campanile. You will get a different view than you did in San Marco. It is also less crowded.
Sorry I can;t give specific comments. To me this is so much the antithesis of a vacation that I don;t know how to deal with this. We reserve hotels and car - plus anything that must be reserved paris hotels italy rail travel fares bargain cheap promotional in advance (Borghese etc) and then wing the rest - based on a list of what we want to see and open days.
With two teens I wold try to be more flexible - or break up into pairs to do what each person wants most. And at that age they're certainly capable italy rail travel fares of spending time by themselves italy rail travel fares if they're not interested in specific activities.
Annhig, I appreciate your suggestions about specific areas to spend some time. I ve never considered italy rail travel fares the Lido, but that might be just the thing after a long tour. The physical activity would probably be great for them.
We re going to the Basilica the next day to break things up, since it s not part of our tour. I planned it for early in the day to avoid crowds somewhat, but the market italy rail travel fares sounds like more fun! I will definitely look at your suggestions.
nytraveler, I admit to being a planner, italy rail travel fares but in the past we ve wasted too much time/energy while actually on the trip trying to decide what to do. This way, we don t have to think much, as it s all done in advance. The nice thing is that we don t have to do any of it if we don t feel like it, other than the private tours. The tours needed to be booked ahead, since this is such a busy time. I actually had trouble italy rail travel fares finding people with availability. paris hotels bargain cheap promotional Thanks for taking the time to write your suggestion about letting them go off on their own. That would be a nice way for my husband and me to have a little time alone (if I can handle not worrying about them in a strange country where they don t speak the language!)
You cannot ride a bike within paris hotels bargain cheap promotional italy rail travel fares Venice itself (banned) but everywhere else around italy rail travel fares the lagoon you can and you can take bikes on many of the bigger boats. Loads of rental about with bike paths and bike lanes.
depending on which island you are on at lunch time, on Torcello i can highly recommend the Trattoria paris hotels italy rail travel fares bargain cheap promotional Attila [it's along the path to the Basilica - you can't miss it]. we went in there on a foggy wet March lunchtime, and had a great meal in front of a roaring fire, which was very reasonable. [we were charged about 4 for a mixed salad for example, which the day before had cost us over twice that in a place that was by no means as good]. paris hotels bargain cheap promotional I think that theye have a garden too.
on Burano there is more choice - several restaurants italy rail travel fares along the main street paris hotels bargain cheap promotional where you can sit in the sun [we'd done that just two days before we were on Torcello] and for once we broke our rule not to respond to the invitations of restauranteurs to patronise paris hotels bargain cheap promotional their establishments. we had a lovely meal and the patron was very willing to provide hamburgers etc for our kids [which actually they didn't want, preferring the more expensive baked fish we were having italy rail travel fares - kids!] can't remember its name but it was in the middle of the main street facing south with tables outside - which may not help you in identifying it!
I second [third?] the suggestion of climbing the campanile on San Giorgio; you can have a fun time getting as many vaporetti as possible - san marco to santa maria della salute, [only open until 12 noon i think] italy rail travel fares paris hotels bargain cheap promotional Zattere italy rail travel fares to the Guidecca, Guidecca to San Giorgio - you get the idea.
There is a great "gourmet" food store and gelateria in Murano on the main street called Dai Freddi. It's very colorful, and you can't miss it. I had a gelato and bought some packaged items to take with me for later (I was leaving on a cruise later that day).
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