Italian Honeymoon
 

So...I'm getting married next year and we are thinking of going to Italy...anyone with any experiences and recommendations on where to go, stay, see etc..??

please some specifications/wish-lists.

Italy is, I admit, smaller than the US - but looking at historical or 'just' wonderful places to go, it is as rich as the biggest states in the world.

I have traveled extensively in Italy, and have stayed at a number of wonderful hotels there. I would be happy to share my (many) thoughts with you. Please e-mail me, and I'll forward them to you privately.

I bought a wonderful guide to the villas in Italy. I'll try to get the title tonight. Ifound it very useful in surveying the wide range of choices.

BSL

Since Italy has heavy tourism, where you go may depend on when you go to avoid the crowds.

But it is a pretty big country to cover. You could spend years just hitting the highlights.

Lake Como area!

We are interested in Florence, Venice, Rome, Lake Como...

Thanks for the responses in advance

Those 4 places are easy driving distance from each other. Italy has beautiful countryside and I would definitely recommend driving. The only difficult part is parking in the city, but if you stay in a nice hotel with parking you'll be OK.

You might think about flying into Milan. From the airport there, it's a short drive to Lake Como which is a good place to get over your jet lag. From Como, you can drive to Venice. From there go to Florence. Rome is about 2 hours south of Rome.

Then you can fly out of Rome, or drive back up to Milan. If you drive back up, you can take the eastern hill route and stop by Assisi.

I might recommend visiting either Capri or Ponza depending on the time of year. Or take your car on ferry to Sicily and visit Corleone.

I have an excellent road map of Italy if you need help, or I'm sure you can buy one at a bookstore.

The Amalfi coast is fabulous, Positrano Amalfi, just beautiful.

If you visit the Amalfi Coast, a wonderful book is "Escape to the Amalfi Coast" by Robert IC Fisher.

In Florence, the restaurant Aqua al Due, Via Dell Aqua 2, is very good. Lots of innovative pastas/sauces and they offer a pasta sampler so you can try numerous types. Reservations are necessary, often days in advance.

Adman: If you don't mind, please post your recommendations. I, and I'm sure others, would benefit from your experiences too.

If you speak a little Italian (or can pick up a little bit by the time you go), you *must* go to Sicily. Especially the western tip and the southeast! It's an amazing place -- nice people, cheap food/hotels, out of touch with the more modern world. Take the train all around the island, go to the smaller islands -- all without the maddening crowds of the north (anything north of Naples). After Sicily, the Amalfi coast is expensive and less impressive.

(of course, if you haven't seen the cities of the north yet, stop by those too sometime)

Thanks to everyone for all of the replies...many good suggestions as I thought they would be....

When I return I will let everyone know how it was....if you still care....

Thanks again,
JBird

Get the Gault-Millau Restaurant Guide to Italy. It is wonderful and very accurate. Gives detailed descriptions of places all over Italy. You will see others clutching their books. Do not get any hotel that is far from public transportation like the Hilton in Rome. Cabs are astronomical, cars a nightmare, and the Hilton was a really difficult place to access, despite the view..
We rented a car but just to do the small towns and to go from city to city. A rarely visited little jewel is Ravenna on the Adriatic. The city of mosaics, lovely piazza.

Only two choices really: Venice - the Cipriani is the hotel to go for, or the Amalfi coast - La Sirenuse at Positano is probably the best hotel. That coastline is convenient for Naples/ Vesuvius, Capri/Ischia and Pompeii/Herculanaeum (BTW Herculanaeum is staggeringly more impresssive than Pompeii)