Hi. I’m planning a solo 2-week trip and deciding between Italy and France. I don’t know much about Italy so sharing your thoughts with me is much appreciated!

I’m hoping to go in June (if I can figure out logistics) or possibly September. I would like to spend a week in a small town and a week in a big city, experiencing as much as possible, life as a temporary local from visiting the local market to “discovering” places that most tourists miss when part of a tour group as well as mixing in some of the tourist attractions.

I’ve heard great things about Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Amalfi, and the well-known cities, Venice, Florence, and Rome. Any suggestions on which places would be better to choose as home bases for each of the weeks? Are these cities pretty walkable or covered by public transportation (as I am not planning to rent a car)?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

If you want to have both places close together, I will suggest Venice and Sacile Sacile is a beautiful town ~18000 population with excellent restaurants and some art galleries, but very few tourists. It is near the Aviano Air Base so there is a lot of English spoken. It's about an hour train ride NNE from Venice near Pordenone.

If you want to go to Florence, Greve is a small town south of there that you might consider.

Bill

Rome and one of the towns near there, Frascati, Albano, Castel Gandolfo and others that are accessible by train are worth considering.

Bill

I would suggest you give yourself more time to research and wait until September. June is also a very busy month for families.

What about Rome for the city part and either, Civita Castellana or around there? Or, Florence and Lucca?

You may want to first consider what your main interests are to determine which city to start with, then there are a zillion lovely small towns around any of the cities....

Or stay in Orvieto for a week, take day trips by train (1-2 hours each way) to Florence AND Rome. Also, Chiusi, Arezzo and so many other great places........Narrow your focus a little, then do some research on our forum archives. You will get most of the info you need to make good choices for yourself.

Have a great time, wherever you end up.
ciao
Cheryl

hello debbie,
take a look at the village of castellina in chianti for your week in tuscany. it is a lovely small village centrally located for day trips to florence, siena, san gimignano, etc.
living here will give you a great opportunity to "follow" the locals to their favorite eateries and shops. you can visit with them to find out the locations of those "special" places most tourists miss.

a lovely place to stay in town is the hotel squarcialupi: www.palazzosquarcialupi.com

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions on a good home base. I will look into the places you suggested further. Thanks, again!

I recommend the Val d'Orcia area of Tuscany. Towns like Pienza, Montalcino or Montepulciano are terrific. I truly think this area is the most beautiful of all the areas of Tuscany.

Sharon J