What are some of the less traveled places in Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa?
#1
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What are some of the less traveled places in Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa?
I have 9 days in Italy already spread between Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice and Pisa. I've planned most of the days with the popular touristy spots and would like advice on the less traveled but still must sees of Italy!
This is my first time and I'm afraid I may have missed something by solely researching the cities I will be in. An example of a suggestion would be Lake Como for Milan or Burano for Venice.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
This is my first time and I'm afraid I may have missed something by solely researching the cities I will be in. An example of a suggestion would be Lake Como for Milan or Burano for Venice.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
#2
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From Rome, you can take the train to Ostia Antica, the former harbor of Rome. It never seems to be crowded and it's a large archeological area. As far as I know, there are no guided tours...you just do it on your own. I believe you get a map when you buy your tickets.
It's just a 5 minute walk to the entrance from the train station.
http://www.ostia-antica.org/
Directions on the train to take are here:
http://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/ostia_antica.html
scroll down to the bottom
Also, note that your stop would be Ostia Antica, not Ostia, which is a town beyond Ostia Antica.
It's just a 5 minute walk to the entrance from the train station.
http://www.ostia-antica.org/
Directions on the train to take are here:
http://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/ostia_antica.html
scroll down to the bottom
Also, note that your stop would be Ostia Antica, not Ostia, which is a town beyond Ostia Antica.
#3
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Heraklion, Greece
Posts: 7,554
The OP has planned 9 days for 5 cities (including travel between them), of which 3 could certainly require the entire journey without even seeing all that "has to be" seen (obviously, I exclude Milan and Pisa which can certainly be visited in one day each). And you're suggesting Ostia antica, one of my favourite places for spending a whole morning (the afternoon being too hot) when in Rome or when I have a long layover at FCO. I'll be sarcastic! What the OP needs is actually a collection of pictures and that's enough. I nine days I'd "do" Rome plus either Venice or Florence, and that's it!
#4
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The OP has planned 9 days for 5 cities (including travel between them), of which 3 could certainly require the entire journey without even seeing all that "has to be" seen (obviously, I exclude Milan and Pisa which can certainly be visited in one day each). And you're suggesting Ostia antica, one of my favourite places for spending a whole morning (the afternoon being too hot) when in Rome or when I have a long layover at FCO. I'll be sarcastic! What the OP needs is actually a collection of pictures and that's enough. I nine days I'd "do" Rome plus either Venice or Florence, and that's it!
#5
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I have to echo the advice KLouis and Perche have offered. I've done two week-long trips to Italy and have found splitting my time between Rome and Florence on each trip hectic enough even though I've taken the high-speed train (roughly 90 minutes center city to center city each time). By your question, I can see that you want to get suggestions that take you beyond the normal tourist sites, but I suspect you'll be hard pressed to cover the cities you have listed in the time you've got.
You haven't told us when you're going, but if you intend to go during any time that is close to tourist season, keep in mind that many attractions can have long lines--the Colosseum in Rome or the Uffizi/Accademia in Florence come to mind. When I say long lines, I mean it is possible to spend several hours just waiting to get into these attractions if you simply walk up and purchase a ticket.
So, although this doesn't answer the question you've posed, since this is your first trip to Italy, I'd encourage you to tighten your focus if you can and learn what steps you can take to avoid the long lines at major attractions. Italy, like many other countries, is not obsessed with punctuality and speed (outside of trains and automobiles) as is often true here in the US. That can be a charm, but not so much if you've plotted out a timetable for a trip that may not mesh with that sensibility.
And, for one suggestion that does directly address your question, Siena is not far from Florence, and there are trips that can be arranged there using Florence as a base. Siena can be just as touristy as Florence, but since you didn't list it, I thought it was worth mentioning.
You haven't told us when you're going, but if you intend to go during any time that is close to tourist season, keep in mind that many attractions can have long lines--the Colosseum in Rome or the Uffizi/Accademia in Florence come to mind. When I say long lines, I mean it is possible to spend several hours just waiting to get into these attractions if you simply walk up and purchase a ticket.
So, although this doesn't answer the question you've posed, since this is your first trip to Italy, I'd encourage you to tighten your focus if you can and learn what steps you can take to avoid the long lines at major attractions. Italy, like many other countries, is not obsessed with punctuality and speed (outside of trains and automobiles) as is often true here in the US. That can be a charm, but not so much if you've plotted out a timetable for a trip that may not mesh with that sensibility.
And, for one suggestion that does directly address your question, Siena is not far from Florence, and there are trips that can be arranged there using Florence as a base. Siena can be just as touristy as Florence, but since you didn't list it, I thought it was worth mentioning.
#6
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Absolutely agree. If this is your first time in Italy, land in Venice, as it's a unique place, slow paced, not like starting in Rome. Then take the train to Florence. Then head to Rome. You don't have time to see anything else. Go to Venice, Florence, Rome, dividing them however you like, probably 2-3 in Venice or 2-3 in Florence, and 4-5 in Rome. Do it that way, and don't go running around trying to hit all the great places Italy has to offer. It's not possible. There are too many of them to see in 9 days. Just go to those three cities by train, and you will probably love it enough to come back enough times to see the secondary places.
In hindsight, two cities would have been better. Maybe a night in Siena, the drive through Tuscany was spectacular and would have been hard to miss.
With all there is in Italy, it is so hard to leave something out, but just plan another trip!
#7
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: YUL
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We did three cities in two weeks. We used Florence as a base for a week and saw Lucca, Pisa, Chianti, Siena from there.
In Florence we loved the Bardini Gardens for the views, the quiets and the gardens. They are on the Altrarno.
In Florence we loved the Bardini Gardens for the views, the quiets and the gardens. They are on the Altrarno.
#8
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Absolutely agree. If this is your first time in Italy, land in Venice, as it's a unique place, slow paced, not like starting in Rome. Then take the train to Florence. Then head to Rome. You don't have time to see anything else. Go to Venice, Florence, Rome, dividing them however you like, probably 2-3 in Venice or 2-3 in Florence, and 4-5 in Rome. Do it that way, and don't go running around trying to hit all the great places Italy has to offer. It's not possible. There are too many of them to see in 9 days. Just go to those three cities by train, and you will probably love it enough to come back enough times to see the secondary places.
For Florence, if you want to get a little off the beaten path (it's still well worn, just not at tourist ground zero), stay in Oltrarno - the area of the city south of the Arno river, and explore the area between the river and Porta Romana. Most of the primary sights that the fanny pack and camera around neck crowd will be doing start at Ponte Vecchio and proceed north to the Duomo and Accademia. You can stay south of that and enjoy some very good food, a few museums and gardens. That's all walkable from those primary sights, and you should walk up to see some of that, but you don't have to stay in the middle of it.
#9
Join Date: Jul 2003
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Hi. You might get more focused suggestions about sites to visit if you could post the name of your hotel and/or the area of the cities you will be staying in. In Rome, a very large place, the exact recommendations will vary depending on whether you are near the Via Veneto, or over by the Vatican, or near Piazza Navona and/or Campo de' Fiori, or up by the Termini station etc. For example, if you are in a hotel near the Termini, you also are very close to a church that Michelangelo designed that is built in part out of an ancient Roman ruin. You'd also be near a major museum if you like museums. You'd be a fairly easy downhill walk to the Coliseum (but a brisk uphill walk back).
One suggestion that may surprise you: on a short trip, skip the Sistine. The lines are long. The walk through the Vatican to get to it is hot, crowded, unpleasant and even scary--people stop in front of you to listen to a tour guide who is not supposed to stop but who does anyway, and then the ones behind you keep coming at your back. Eventually, they are going to have a soccer-stadium kind of catastrophe in that place. Then you get to the Sistine, and there are one thousand chattering people bumping against you. There are lots of other sites that are more pleasant to visit and easier to get into.
One suggestion that may surprise you: on a short trip, skip the Sistine. The lines are long. The walk through the Vatican to get to it is hot, crowded, unpleasant and even scary--people stop in front of you to listen to a tour guide who is not supposed to stop but who does anyway, and then the ones behind you keep coming at your back. Eventually, they are going to have a soccer-stadium kind of catastrophe in that place. Then you get to the Sistine, and there are one thousand chattering people bumping against you. There are lots of other sites that are more pleasant to visit and easier to get into.
#10
Join Date: Mar 2013
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One suggestion that may surprise you: on a short trip, skip the Sistine. The lines are long. The walk through the Vatican to get to it is hot, crowded, unpleasant and even scary--people stop in front of you to listen to a tour guide who is not supposed to stop but who does anyway, and then the ones behind you keep coming at your back. Eventually, they are going to have a soccer-stadium kind of catastrophe in that place. Then you get to the Sistine, and there are one thousand chattering people bumping against you. There are lots of other sites that are more pleasant to visit and easier to get into.
#11
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From Rome, you can take the train to Ostia Antica, the former harbor of Rome. It never seems to be crowded and it's a large archeological area. As far as I know, there are no guided tours...you just do it on your own. I believe you get a map when you buy your tickets.
It's just a 5 minute walk to the entrance from the train station.
http://www.ostia-antica.org/
Directions on the train to take are here:
http://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/ostia_antica.html
scroll down to the bottom
Also, note that your stop would be Ostia Antica, not Ostia, which is a town beyond Ostia Antica.
It's just a 5 minute walk to the entrance from the train station.
http://www.ostia-antica.org/
Directions on the train to take are here:
http://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/ostia_antica.html
scroll down to the bottom
Also, note that your stop would be Ostia Antica, not Ostia, which is a town beyond Ostia Antica.
#12
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Heraklion, Greece
Posts: 7,554
No. Last time I went I arrived at around 10 am, walked through a large part of the site at a leisurely pace and then left at around noon+ for a seafood lunch at Fiumicino (the town, obviously!). It was my fourth time, so perhaps if you are there for the first time, add another hour or so, maximum.
#13
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Fewer cities
I absolutely agree with what the others have said about slowing down the pace. I tried to do the equivalent of what you want to do (tried to do Venice, the Veneto/Vicenza area, Milan, the lakes, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Bassano del Grappa, Florence, Tuscan countryside including Siena, Lucca, and San Gimignano, and Motor Valley all in about 3.5 weeks) and other FTers (including Perche and PWMTrav who have also posted here urging you to slow down the pace) admonished me to cut some out and spend more time in each place seeing things. I am someone who sort of tries to do everything I can in a trip so while I realized that it would be a high-energy trip, I still was reticent to cut any out since I really wanted to see it all. I figured I could see everything in Venice in about a day and a half, Florence in 2-3 days, etc. After a lot of back and forth with the FTers and cutting things out little by little, we finally changed the trip to just do Venice and Vicenza (because I had a friend living in Vicenza) and Florence with the Tuscan countryside.
In the end, I was so thankful for my fellow FTers who really gave me some of the best trip advice to cut out quite a bit and spend more time in each place. We spent four days in Venice (and are glad we did not spend less here), an entire week in Florence (and needed every day there and could have spent more), a couple of days in the Tuscan countryside (including San Gimignano and Siena and wish we had spent more time in Tuscany), and the rest of the time in Vicenza (with day trips to Verona and Parma plus Modena). We did take the train up to Milan just for church one morning but didn't even attempt to sightsee and took the train directly down to Florence at that point. We were absolutely EXHAUSTED even after this trip and spent the last few days doing Vicenza because we knew it would be low-key since we needed to recover from the trip. And yet, we still felt like we could have cut out more and spent more time in each place, like skipping the day trips and spending more time in Tuscany. We never had time to see Lucca in Tuscany and wished that we had. We had planned to see it, but ended up cutting it out because we were so tired during that part of the trip and decided to sleep in one morning.
All of this to say: you are going to want to listen to what the others are recommending of cutting out parts of your trip. One thing that they kept telling me was that Italy cannot be rushed and I did not fully understand that until I got there and realized how stores may not open until later, and most places DO close for that afternoon riposo, and there is no set rule about what time they re-open. Some re-open by 2:30 and others may not re-open until 3:30 or 4! And if you are trying to see everything in a short period, you're going to find that you will have to cram a lot into before and after riposo, which doesn't leave a lot of time if you were planning on being in a city for just a few hours. You will wish you had spent more time in each place instead of hitting so many places for short visits.
My advice is to listen to the others and cut some of your plans out. I would cut out Pisa and Milan if I were you, and focus your time on Rome, Florence, and Venice. Have a terrific trip and good luck.
In the end, I was so thankful for my fellow FTers who really gave me some of the best trip advice to cut out quite a bit and spend more time in each place. We spent four days in Venice (and are glad we did not spend less here), an entire week in Florence (and needed every day there and could have spent more), a couple of days in the Tuscan countryside (including San Gimignano and Siena and wish we had spent more time in Tuscany), and the rest of the time in Vicenza (with day trips to Verona and Parma plus Modena). We did take the train up to Milan just for church one morning but didn't even attempt to sightsee and took the train directly down to Florence at that point. We were absolutely EXHAUSTED even after this trip and spent the last few days doing Vicenza because we knew it would be low-key since we needed to recover from the trip. And yet, we still felt like we could have cut out more and spent more time in each place, like skipping the day trips and spending more time in Tuscany. We never had time to see Lucca in Tuscany and wished that we had. We had planned to see it, but ended up cutting it out because we were so tired during that part of the trip and decided to sleep in one morning.
All of this to say: you are going to want to listen to what the others are recommending of cutting out parts of your trip. One thing that they kept telling me was that Italy cannot be rushed and I did not fully understand that until I got there and realized how stores may not open until later, and most places DO close for that afternoon riposo, and there is no set rule about what time they re-open. Some re-open by 2:30 and others may not re-open until 3:30 or 4! And if you are trying to see everything in a short period, you're going to find that you will have to cram a lot into before and after riposo, which doesn't leave a lot of time if you were planning on being in a city for just a few hours. You will wish you had spent more time in each place instead of hitting so many places for short visits.
My advice is to listen to the others and cut some of your plans out. I would cut out Pisa and Milan if I were you, and focus your time on Rome, Florence, and Venice. Have a terrific trip and good luck.