rdurlabhji

Edit: this thread is now for September 2021.

Hey FT friends and Happy New Years.

I am planning a trip to Italy in September. I've been to Italy before and have seen the major sights already - Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice - and don't really care to repeat them. The trip will start in Praiano for a wedding and end in Barcelona as that's where I found the cheapest return flight (posted in the good flight deals thread). The dates in between are wide open, and that's where I am asking for assistance. My personal interests are related to food, wine, and pretty sights if that helps with recommendations; I know Italy has all of those in abundance. Not into hiking more than a day trip (no overnighting in the wilderness for me). One additional consideration would be spending weekend nights somewhere with good nightlife. Would like to stay at least some of the time on Marriott points but this is not a dealbreaker, I am also open to AirBnb and local hotels. Lastly, I plan on traveling by train. Here are what the dates look like:

9/3 Depart ORD
9/4 Arrive FCO; FCO-Naples-Praiano
9/5 Praiano
9/6 Praiano
9/7
9/8
9/9
9/10
9/11
9/12
9/13
9/14
9/15
9/16
9/17 Barcelona
9/18 Barcelona
9/19 Barcelona
9/20 BCN-ORD

Some initial thoughts would be to do Naples/Vesuvio, Cinque Terre, and Nice (with a day trip to Monaco) along the way to Barcelona but I am not committed to anything at this point - hence the ask for places I may not know about at this point!

sydunipete

Puglia is a beautiful part of Italy with good food and wine and a little less crazy than other parts. A week between Bari and Brindisi would be good.

For a different take on the Amalfi Coast head into the hills above the coast. There is a great half day walk from Bomerano to Nocelle (obviously not good with luggage). It's called the way of the Gods and it has some of the best views I've seen in Italy and far from the crows of Positano etc. Nocelle is a pretty little village with a few places to stay and a couple of nice restaurants. Then a local bus will take you down the hill to Positano.

If you haven't visited Sicily, the history there is well worth a week.

I loved the food and wine of Friuli, East of Udine. A car would be a bonus (except when tasting wine). Lush green country bordering Slovenia, not to hard to reach from Venezia.

bebegirl

I am also planning a trip to Italy and there are some cities that are on my itinerary: Rome, Tivoli, Vieste, Alberobello, Matera, Paestum, Salerno, Ravello, Amalfi, hike the path of the gods, Positano, Sorrento, Capri and Ischi. Pompei, Vesuvius Herculaneum, Naples

13901

If you're only thinking of using the trains and you want something off the beaten path I'd chalk off Tuscany or Le Langhe. I adore both regions, but they need to be driven/cycled through.

Puglia is a good choice: fairly close to Napoli/Praiano and with some marvellous cities with decent rail connection. Lecce, Bari and Brindisi are all worth a visit.

Another suggestion I'd make that isn't on the usual 'trail' is Perugia (though I'm genuinely at a loss on whether they finally got a Frecciarossa service or not) Matera is too an interesting place without much tourism (yet).

Two final suggestions that I'm making with absolute and complete disregard for geography: Trento and Trieste. They are as far from the stereotype of Italy as it gets and both worth checking out. I'd include Bolzano/Bozen too but it's really a shame not to be going there for a hike.

KLouis

There is one (one, as in 1!!!) per day, leaving at 5:30 and arriving at Milano Rogoredo at 8:50. If one wants to get to the main station, add another 20 minutes plus a local train (price not included). Alternatively, you can change onto the next available Freccia at Firenze directly to Milano Centrale, but the price is much higher. I have linked here to an article at Perugia Today (in Italian, sorry!) describing the situation. As a further alternative, one can obviously take a bus or a "normal" train to Firenze at any time and then, again, change on the Freccia (the way people used to, and still do it): Yes, half of the trip is in an old train, but who wants to take a train at 5:30 am?

rdurlabhji

Thanks for all the information. I am not averse or unable to renting a car for a portion of the trip, I just wasn't originally planning to. But if there is more to see, then I am willing.

I.CRIS

As you have 9 free days, I would suggest you to explore a maximum of 2 portions of the country.
You have received some good advices and, as a general suggestion, a car would be advisable in every region, while you move from one region to another one by train of plane.

Puglia is a fantastic place to even spend the whole period, travelling north to south from Gargano (province of Foggia) to Salento (extreme south of Puglia): Bari, Brindisi, the baroque city of Lecce, the seaside, vineyards, a daytrip to Matera: everything is feasable in 9 days.
The same applies to Sicily, you can take the night ferry from Napoli to Palermo, visit the region (or part of, it's up to you) and fly to BCN from PMO or CTA.

If you wish to split in two portions, I'd recommend Umbria and Liguria (flying GOA/PSA-BCN at the end) or the northeast (Friuli and Trentino/Sudtirol), flying to BCN from VCE/TSF/BLQ. Langhe is very nice as well, expecially in September, with Torino deserving a 2-3days visit.

sydunipete

Agreed. Matera is very interesting. Rather overpriced, but quite unique and accessible by train if you don't have a car. The Salento area has some fantastic food - anything "cucina povera" will be simple yet full of flavour. Trattoria La Brasciola in Brindisi, with handwritten menus is a delight.

KLouis

I once stayed in Brindisi for 4 days, many, many years ago, due to a big engine problem with my car (coming by ferry from Patras). The only interesting thing you could do in town back then was watching the fishing boats coming back into the harbour in the afternoon and, in the morning, watching the smugglers' boats being readied to go out for their cigarette runs. What was worse than that was, even more years back (70s), coming to Brindisi one day early (mea culpa) to take the ferry to Greece and spending 36 hours there on a rainy December day...

rdurlabhji

My trip was postponed due to Covid but it is back on this September. I really like the idea of Umbria and Liguria especially for the wide variety of food and the amazing scenery in the Alps. I think I'd be missing truffle season though.

Lots of great recommendations in this entire thread. It looks like a car will most likely be off the table, because of the shortage leading to insane prices.

JMN57

The season for white truffles (tartufo bianco) starts in early September. And tartufo scorzone (summer truffles) are available. So you're not entirely out of luck.

We're back to our house all September and most of October - we left January 2020 so it will be good to get back. Hopefully we won't have a rainy September.

Enjoy your trip!!

13901

Neither Umbria nor Liguria are in the Alps though. But both are lovely and September is a great time to be travelling in Italy as everyone is back at school/office/factory.

annaschummi

Ligurian over here
No Alps, but we've got Val Trebbia, which is somewhat called Ligurian Switzerland. Nice road to drive to Brugnato lake (where Genova city sources drinking water). Torriglia with its canestrelletto, even though thr best ones are in Da Carlo bakery in Montebruno. Do not miss dairy factory Caseificio Val d'Aveto, marevollous products.Hiking around Lago delle Lame is great too. Be aware that probably nobody would speak English over here, you'll be lucky if normal Italian is spoken in that places.
Another places "off beaten path" would be Varese Ligure and Santo Stefano d'Aveto in Liguria del Levante.
If you go towards France, the nice little places are Dolceacqua, Pigna, Seborga (they declare themselves a local monarchy, have they king and coins), Triora, Toirano with their Caves, Borgio Verezzi (little paradise).
I am excluding all sea locations as they are rather famous and a lot of information about them available.

Car is a must if you want to see any of these places. Otherwise move with a train but remain on the coast only, so no mountains and pretty much places for tourists.

JMN57

I will chime in that if you are going to go from Umbria to Liguria, Lunigiana qualifies as a "off-the-beaten track." The area is the most northern part of Tuscany abutting Liguria and Emilia-Romagna so it fuses the food and cultures of all three regions.

This link has some good information - https://www.italymagazine.com/featur...nys-hidden-gem

There are 5000 year old Stele Statues @ the Museum in Pontremoli and nearby Straits of Giaredo (if you stop by Pontremoli, PM me in advance and I'll buy you a drink as we'll be there all September).
Leaving for Liguria, you'll come upon La Spezia and then Cinqueterre (September sees the crowds less intense).

rdurlabhji

I'm getting the transition in mountain ranges mixed up .

I've got a couple working ideas that I'm trying to decide between, that I'll post about later once the ideas are more fleshed out. I also have an idea to hop over to Lyon on the way to Barcelona and check out the food there. All good options.

Unfortunately, all the rental car rates I've seen have been absurd. I'll post for further advice when I have a little time to process my options.