Barcelona/Italy

[shakalaka]

Alright, so I've booked a two week trip at the end of April and beginning of May for Europe.

We fly into Barcelona for 3 days, then fly to Rome for 4. After that I was planning on renting a car and taking the long route along the coast (based on the map) and eventually make my way into Florence via Pisa (and whatever else that may be worth stopping for along the way). We only stay in Florence for 2 days and eventually planing on taking a train into Venice for the final leg of the journey. Then we fly back to Edmonton from Venice.

I've already booked accommodations for Rome and Venice and don't want to change that. Obviously, I will be doing all the main touristy things in all of the historic cities as it is out first time, but is there anything special to look out for and a 'must do', or anything? I can only spare 2 weeks and I wanted to do 1 week in Italy and 1 week in Greece but after talking to many people we would miss out on a lot of Italy so we decided to mostly do Italy and threw in Spain as I will be meeting an old best friend from law school there. Greece will have to wait yet again even though it's been on my list for quite some time.

Anyway, welcome the suggestions and recommendations for anything and everything like restaurants etc. For the drive along the coast, without stopping it's a 5 1/2 hour drive to Florence from Rome, based on what the map shows. If I take the direct driving route then it's only 3 hours but I would like to cover as much as we can by car in that day while we make our way into Florence in the evening, having checked out Pisa (leaning tower). Is driving okay there?

Thanks for the suggestions, thoughts, and comments etc.

[max_boost]

Barcelona

Sagrada Familia. That's it that's all.

[cycosis]

In Rome, eat in the Trastevere area, just on the other side of the river. Out of the tourist trap restaurants. Best food ive ever eaten.

[msommers]

I love Barcelona but it's ripe with pick-pocketers. The police are pretty active and it still happens. I was at this subway station when the doors from the arriving train opened and this lady bolted out. All the sudden these 2 German Shepherds were chasing her, each one fitted with a metal muzzle cage. She surrendered and the cops arrested her, some Spanish guy beside me said it's pretty common to go after the pick-pocketers.

Heard Pisa is disappointing at best, and a complete waste of time at worst.

[MPowered]

Def skip Pisa, complete waste of time. Sagrada Familia is a must, Las Ramblas, lots of cool bars restaurants, Hemingway's bar off Ramblas. Capri in Italy is worth the trip, views and Limoncello.

[max_boost]

Might as well see Pisa for the photo op since you are there but I don't disagree, it was quite basic.

- - - Updated - - -

I didn't have any problems in Barca but when I travel I look like a broke ass so maybe that helps lol

[civic_stylez]

La Boqueria market on La Rambla is awesome. Bring your appetite! Just be aware on La Rambla, it is one of the most pick pocketed places in Europe so just keep everything close/tucked. Still my favorite place to go!

[Xtrema]

2 days in Florence would basically touch and go for tourisy spots.

Follow local crowd and not tourists. Tourists spots have awful food and service.

I once follow a bunch of Italian kids behind Vatican, end up in a very good fast food pizza joint.

[sexualbanana]

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La Boqueria market on La Rambla is awesome. Bring your appetite! Just be aware on La Rambla, it is one of the most pick pocketed places in Europe so just keep everything close/tucked. Still my favorite place to go!

My cousin got pickpocketed in La Rambla. It didn't happen to me, but I went during slow season, and I think the gypsies go elsewhere during that time.

Bunker del Carmel is amazing at sunset. It's like a big hangout there too, so the atmosphere is great.

[hurrdurr]

I wouldn't spend more than 2 nights in Venice. Such a touristy place, very crowded

[dirtsniffer]

Ferrari, Lambo and Pagani are all around Modena. I didn't go while I was in Verona / Florence but I regret it lol. Both those cities were nice. One night in Venice is probably enough

[shakalaka]

Thank you for the all the suggestions so far. I will carefully be reviewing them one by one and modify/amend my trip as they pique my interest.

I've already booked the accommodation for 3 nights in Venice and we fly back from there so I can't quite change that anymore. I suppose I could cancel one night's stay potentially but might prove to be a lot of hassle. I would like to include the Ferrari and Lambo museum if I can fit it in and the only time I can think of is a day trip when we are supposed to be heading to Venice from Florence. So perhaps a train to Modena for a few hours first and then eventually into Venice. I will do some Googling to see how I can try to make Modena work. So basically the 30th April and 1st May we are in Florence and suppose to be heading to Venice on the 2nd. Staying in Venice from the 2nd to 5th. So that gives us the 2nd during to day to take a train through Modena (spend a few hours to check out these museums) and then train into Venice later on in the day on the 2nd. That way we get into Venice and essentially sleep and have 3rd and 4th - two full days in Venice before heading back on the 5th.

Thanks for all the other restaurant and be careful about dodgy area suggestions. Will certainly keep it all in mind.

Also, didn't hear any comments on driving there? Is it civil and doable without many issues? Now that I am thinking of including Modena (which I understand has the Ferrari museum) and Bologna (Lamborghini museum), I am thinking of keeping the car for an extra day and returning it in Bologna instead of Florence as planned initially. That way after spending the time in Florence, we can just drive to both Bologna and Modena on the 2nd and return the car before getting on a train that will take us to Venice. Presumably, I will be able to return the car right at the train station.

[lasimmon]

I wouldn't presume that. Also Bologna is a dump.

[shakalaka]

Alright, did some more research last night and here's what I've come up with. If we keep the rental for an extra day, we can leave Florence early'ish around 8 or so and do the 2 hour drive into Maranello (research suggests there are 2 Ferrari museums and one in Maranello is more about the cars and Modena one more about the life of Enzo Ferrari himself - I am more interested in the former). Spend an hour or so at the Maranello Ferrari museum and then drive to Sant'Agata Bolognese where the Lamborghini museum is as it is about a 40 minute drive from the Ferrari one. Say even if we get to the Lamborghini museum at 1 and spend an hour or so there and leave around 2-2:30 and drive to the Bologna Central Train Station, which is also about 30-40 minutes from there. I ended up booking a train out of Bologna to Venice last night that leaves at 5PM. I checked and I can return the car by the Bologna train station as well. Trains are non-refundable so we'd have to make it there by 5 for sure but I think even with spending an hour or so at each museum (not interested in actual tours), we should be able to make it in time for that.

Speaking of rental cars, I booked one of those last night as well and damn there's a big difference if you want automatic transmission vs manual. The auto's are anywhere from $100+ more expensive and more than that, they can only be returned to the Bologna Airport (and not the train station where I'd like to return), unless I spend $200+ on one for the same amount of time. I ended up just booking a manual transmission vehicle. Don't think the wife would be interested in driving anyway. So that's May 2nd that's planned then. Haven't talked to the wife about any of this yet and I already know she's not gonna care much for these museums but I feel like I have to go there if I am that close to them and considering how I feel about cars, I am sure she'll understand.

Still waiting on comments from experienced people on how driving is out there? And some posts online seem to suggest that I need an International Driving Permit? When I was booking the rental nothing like that was mentioned so will appreciate comments from people who've done it.

[hurrdurr]

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Thank you for the all the suggestions so far. I will carefully be reviewing them one by one and modify/amend my trip as they pique my interest.

I've already booked the accommodation for 3 nights in Venice and we fly back from there so I can't quite change that anymore. I suppose I could cancel one night's stay potentially but might prove to be a lot of hassle. I would like to include the Ferrari and Lambo museum if I can fit it in and the only time I can think of is a day trip when we are supposed to be heading to Venice from Florence. So perhaps a train to Modena for a few hours first and then eventually into Venice. I will do some Googling to see how I can try to make Modena work. So basically the 30th April and 1st May we are in Florence and suppose to be heading to Venice on the 2nd. Staying in Venice from the 2nd to 5th. So that gives us the 2nd during to day to take a train through Modena (spend a few hours to check out these museums) and then train into Venice later on in the day on the 2nd. That way we get into Venice and essentially sleep and have 3rd and 4th - two full days in Venice before heading back on the 5th.

Thanks for all the other restaurant and be careful about dodgy area suggestions. Will certainly keep it all in mind.

Also, didn't hear any comments on driving there? Is it civil and doable without many issues? Now that I am thinking of including Modena (which I understand has the Ferrari museum) and Bologna (Lamborghini museum), I am thinking of keeping the car for an extra day and returning it in Bologna instead of Florence as planned initially. That way after spending the time in Florence, we can just drive to both Bologna and Modena on the 2nd and return the car before getting on a train that will take us to Venice. Presumably, I will be able to return the car right at the train station.

Maybe you'll like Venice - I have had a lot of people tell me they loved it there but for me it was just really crowded and way too touristy - I'm glad I went, but I'll never go back. We changed our train to depart several hours earlier to get some extra time elsewhere.

I am not sure what you're looking for out of Bologna, I spent about 6 hours there because we were bored in Venice. Had some Bolognese, had some Mortadella, walked around, did a little shopping - nice quiet place, felt less of a tourist trap but we felt the day trip was sufficient, again travel is so personal it really depends on what interests you specifically.

I rented a car from Naples and drove to Positano and back - I had no issues, it was the best drive of my life - I just wished it wasn't in a fucking Opel. They'll try to ding you for any thing that they can so make sure you do a thorough walk around and note everything possible on the vehicle report. I took photos of the vehicle before and a video walk around so when they started talking about specific things on the vehicle I was able to show proof that it was already there. Also be careful with filling up with gas as the attendant tried to bend me over and tell me it was 40EUR more than it was lol. I don't know if it was because I was in Naples and the people there were quite scummy or what but it almost turned into a brawl

[MPowered]

I did not rent a car in Italy but did in Spain a few years ago. I did get my International Drivers license, although I'm not sure you actually need it. I rented a large 8 passenger van to haul all 6 of us and our luggage from Madrid to San Sebastian and back to Barcelona. Roads were great and I bagged the van pretty good . Lots of toll booths with various rates for highway use. Only bad thing is I got a photo radar ticket for about $200. The rental company didn't know about it and they mailed back here about 6 months later. Never paid the ticket and never heard again. Hope fully my pic isn't pasted on Interpol somewhere in Europe!

I agree with the other comment on protecting yourself with rental and taking pics. They will try to scam you.

[lilmira]

Venice has its charm but it's usually overshadowed by the amount of tourists. Last time I went, it was a nightmare during the day. It was fantastic to walk around the next morning before the next wave of tourists arrived. That was the only time that I was able to take pictures at most landmarks without hordes of people in the background.

[shakalaka]

Thanks for the tips on rental cars. Will definitely take pictures and videos under those circumstances.

The only reason I am going to Bologna is to catch the train to Venice from there and because the Lamborghini museum is right beside it from what I understand. So drive to Maranello from Florence and visit the Ferrari museum. Then drive close to Bologna for the Lamborghini museum. Then finally drive into Bologna to drop off the rental and get on the train to Venice.

I am not sure if there was a train station where the Lamborghini museum is but could very well have been and could have just dropped the rental there and caught the train to Venice from there. But since I already booked the train from Bologna to Venice, I guess it's too late to do that and I will have to drive into Bologna after the Lambo museum to drop the car off and catch our train.

[shakalaka]

Went to AMA and purchased my International Drivers Permit today. Apparently rental companies don't ask for them but if you get pulled over, lots of times the local police expects you to have them. So I figured might as well.

[msommers]

Thanks for mentioning this, I completely forgot about getting mine!