Italy in April

[BavarianBeast]

Hello beyond,

I have a trip planned to Italy in April and was looking for suggestions on what to do and what to see? Our only destination currently is Bologna (how do you pronounce that in Italian anyway ). Working on building the itinerary now and would love to see the Dolomites but I know it will be in between snow and spring season. Would love to hear some suggestions or experience on anything!

[flipstah]

Rome is always fun for the sightseeing and old shit: Trevi Fountain, for example.

Venice is just a canal so imagine a storm drain with expensive restaurants around it. Close enough.

[cycosis]

We visited Bologna. Beautiful little city. We wish we had more time to visit Verona. We drove from Bologna all the way down to the Amalfi Coast, stopping Rome, Pompei/St Agata, and then back through Verona. Pompei was sweet from a historical standpoint. St Agata was our laid back days, where we chilled at our Air Bnb and did a day trip to Capri. Rome was beautiful but very busy. Honestly, I wouldnt have skipped any of it.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Bow-Loan-Yuh

[2Legit2Quit]

I've been to Florence/Firenze a couple of times for work, it's just south of Bologna a bit, tons and tons of history, museums, restaurants, in the Tuscan region if you want to do any wine tours, etc.

The Uffizi gallery there is unreal, never ending mind blowing art, sculptures, architecture. The statue of David is in the Accademia gallery which is in Florence as well, worth seeing in person.

Pisa is west of Florence, if you want to see the leaning tower in person, it's a quaint little town but not much to do there other than the tower and eat.

Ponte vecchio is cool to walk over/through, shops and street vendors.

Eat lots of amazing pasta, gelato and pastries on your trip. Amazing wine everywhere.

I did as much as I could outside of work while I was there, didn't get to explore any of the other major cities so can't attest for any further recommendations.

Watch out for scammers and pick pockets, always research best spots to exchange currency if need be so you don't get ripped off.

[nismodrifter]

We went before we had our kid. Visited Rome. Sorrento over a 1 week period I think.
Rome. Busy. Lots of walking around. Did a night walking tour, that was fun. We had a great guide, and we stopped for a bite to eat along the way. Food was great. After a few days though I was ready to leave. I am not a fan of busy cities.
Took a train to Naples, and then private car to Sorrento.
Sorrento was the laid back portion of our trip. I loved every moment of it.
We enjoyed walking around the town, nice and quiet, check out small shops. I spent 1 entire day in the pool just overlooking the ocean. We took a day trip to Positano via Ferry. Had lunch at Poseidon Hotel with a view that I will never forget.
Look forward to going back sometime. I will head straight back to Sorrento.

Pic from lunch in Positano

» Click image for larger version

[JPB]

Weather will be nice but not beach nice just yet. If you rent a car, Modena and Sant' Agata Bolognese are within reach for the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums. Florence lives up to the hype and an easy train from Bologna. Up into the Dolomites you could route Lago di Garda - Bolzano - Merano and then the valley above Merano is really scenic. You can rent a bike and take the train to the top of the valley and then ride back down through the orchards etc. Siena is more laid back than Florence but still lots to see. Lucca and Pisa near the coast are worth a stop. Ravenna on the other side has some amazing mosaics. Milan has more of a big city feel, not as touristy. Roma can be a bit sketchy with pickpockets etc but I've never had a problem.

Perugia, Assisi and Gubbio are mid-sized and have some interesting things to see.

If you decide to rent a car, you can see a lot more of small towns etc. Especially in Tuscany & Umbria. Autostratas are easy to get around on and the tolls aren't terrible. Otherwise there are lots of fast trains between major cities.

I used to work in Milan and my folks lived on the Adriatic coast for years. If you have any specific questions, I might have some ideas. Disclaimer is I've never been south of Rome, which I admit is a bit weird. But northern Italians all think the south is full of criminals and I picked up their biases.

[Xtrema]

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/article...t-cinque-terre

Still the best part of Italy to lay low and relax IMHO. Heard it got way too popular the last few years before COVID, so it may be good time to drop by now.

Firenze is my 2nd favorite due to history and art.

Rome/Venice is something to see if you have not been but both are tourist traps and not something I rushed to go back.

Don't bother with Milan, it's shit hole.

[littledan]

If i was heading to Italy I would go to Florence, specifically to hit up the Prada space outlet. It's so good. Then I would drive down to Amalfi coast and just hang out there for the rest of the time. No Pisa, no rome, and especially no Napoli.

[dirtsniffer]

quick train rides to florence, verona, venice. Haven't been to bologna personally, but knowing what's around I am sure it is beautiful as well. Modena is right there.

Venice is one of a kind. While I was there it was a bit overwhelming, but I'd say check it out. Looking back at photos it is an incredible place.

[Cagare]

My family is from just east of Salerno. Of course the Amalfi coast is beautiful and there are a number of small towns along the way that are worth staying in. The more you move inland from there the less english will be spoken. Just be mindful there are more con artists in southern Italy than in the north, especially if you don't speak the language.

[Xamim]

I found the bigger cities to be pretty dirty, I really enjoyed the smaller towns/villages. We did Venice, Florence and Naples as our base cities and day trips from there. If you go to Florence, take the train and check out Cinque Terre. There's a train that runs between the towns, but I think you can also hike between them. Pisa and Luca are also on the way. Went to San Gimignano for a day, that was cool. Did a wine tasting there as well as an olive oil tasting at a local farm. It was really cool to learn a bit about the history of the region and olive oil production.

If you go south, you gotta check out the Amalfi Coast. We took a train from Naples to Sorrento and then took one of those hop on hop off busses. It stopped at all the little towns along the way so you can get out and explore. If I was to go back to Italy again, I'd do a trip just for the costal towns/villages and skip all the big cities.

[90_Shelby]

Check out Portofino, and stay at Hotel Splendido.

While we were in the area we saw the 67.2m superyacht "Vertigo" in the harbor. You could book that for a quick sail around the Mediterranean as well.

Rent something cool and drive the Stelvio Pass.

[lilmira]

I did a cycling tour in the dolomites few years ago. We did most of the famous mountain pass, Stelvio, Giau, Sella Ronda, Gavia.... That area is gorgeous. We stayed in Corvara first and moved to Bormio. Both towns appear to be popular for domestic tourists, skiiing, mountain biking.... I wouldn't hesitate going back again in the future.
Getting there on your own may be a bit tricky without driving yourself.

Venice can be nice and unique only when it's not crowded with tourists. Milan and Rome got their famous things to check out but they are what they are.

[BavarianBeast]

Incredible responses, thank you beyond! Lots to look through and digest, the information is much appreciated.

[taemo]

for how long are you looking to stay in Italy and what type of vacation are you looking to do?
you comfortable on train hopping around Italy?

Bologna is upper central Italy, lots of nice town around it. Rimini, Ravenna, San Marino, Modena, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre.
April is shoulder season so the Dololimites might not be worth checking, most stores might also be closed before summer season starts.

I love Milan, the Duomo specifically, Venice too will never get tired of both cities but next time we go in Italy we are planning on hitting Puglia and the Amalfi coast

[BavarianBeast]

We are thinking 2-3 weeks. The only thing we have planned is going to Lamborghini for an unveiling of my car and going from there. I was hoping I would be able to drive my car there but it looks like that option is only available to EU residents now. In terms of type of vacation, I guess we are just looking to explore a bit of the culture and see some of the worthwhile spots while we are down there. Definitely open to renting a car, train or whatever we need to do to get to the best spots.

[lilmira]

Driving a sports car on those mountain pass will be awesome, as long as the road is not busy. We saw a bunch of porsches on Giau, they were having fun. The day we were on Stelvio it was busy as shit, the traffic was crawling up the hill and a few heavy bikes tipped over at hairpins because they were going so slow. April is probably too soon anyways, some passes may not be passable.

[JRSC00LUDE]

I'm just here to say that is deadly. And in May 2023 I have to go to Italy for a wedding. So I guess I'll get there at that point, but there will be no Lambo delivery. Way to go man, that's AWESOME.

[davidI]

I'm also going to Bologna in April - hoping they open the Imola F1 to spectators.

Florence is the obvious nearby place along with all of the other places that people have already mentioned.

It won't be beach weather in Rimini but I was there one April and liked it since there were zero tourists and accommodation was cheap as. San Marino isn't too far from Rimini either which is kind of a fun 'micro-country' that you can see in a day.