Hello, i am planning my july honeymoon and i have some questions about southern emilia/northern tuscany.
i am planning to stay away, for the most part, from cities, with the exception of a 2 day stay in bologne. my to-be wife hasn't been to florence but i think july is just not the time to be hustling around a big tourist city. so it may wait til a trip during a quieter time of year.
we are starting out from milan to piedmonte for nearly a week near barolo, then down to cinque terre for maybe 2 days, then to the nearby mountains for maybe 4 or 5 days. has anyone been to this mountain area just in from the ligurian coast? i am thinking particularly of 2 inns: villa mimosa, in bagogne, and giandriale. the latter is a little cheaper. any opinions on these inns and areas?
there seems to be more on this website about southern tuscany and i am a little wary of the crowds. but if people say it's much better than i will go south before going back north to bologne.
Well, if you're trying to avoid crowds, maybe you ought to skip the Cinque Terre. All I hear about there are the crowds.
Don't know much about your planned destinations, but I'm sure you will enjoy that part of Italy. Why don't you report back after your trip and enlighten us?
Posts: 132 | Location: Seattle, WA USA | Registered: 11 March 2004
Your ideas sound great--Piemonte and eastern Liguria will be wonderful in July. (And don't think in any way you need to go to the more "popular" areas on a first trip--I didn't get to Rome till my fourth) You should read Karin's Trip Report--Eight Days in Eastern Liguria and Piemonte; and also Wino's Three Weeks in Piemonte.. Search the Trip Reports and also the Message Board for lots more information on the areas.
BTW, posting links to the websites of the places you're considering staying may get feedback from people familiar with the areas, if not the actual hotels.
CT will be crowded I agree.northern Tuscany includes Pisa and Lucca.Both places are mentioned here often.When people discuss rural vacations in Italy southern Tuscany usually comes up. Rr
2 places I know - in the countryside- but in the Marche (at least there won't be any crowds and the food and wine is good - not to mention the nature ) are Monte Deserto Agriturismo - located near Jesi or Il Miroccolo - located near Sassoferrato.
Posts: 275 | Location: Italy | Registered: 16 April 2003
The area that you are talking about staying in is very interesting. It is still somewhat unexplored. There are places to eat for little money.
Aulla is one of my favorite and Sarzana where they have some of the better art shows of the artists who were involved with Puccini. The castel in Sarzana was a Medici residence.
The area is called the Vally of the Magra or the Val di Magra
here is a good website that will give you very good indications of where to go. This will open you up to the castels page.
The area is called the Vally of the Magra or the Val di Magra
We have a spent a fair amount of time in the hills above Lerici and La Spezia...most of it actually in Tuscany--the area is called the Lunigiana. It is definitely not heavily touristed and it is definitely beautiful and interesting to visit.
Sarzana is a deceptively sophisticated town...one of those Italian towns that looks grimy and rundown as drive past on the main road, but if you park and walk into the centro, you will be amazed. Great farinata also....
The English travel writer, Eric Newby, bought a house near Fosdinovo and wrote a wonderful book about his experiences--A Small Place in Italy. There is wonderful hiking (and driving) in the mountains that divide Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, an interesting museum of prehistoric finds in Pontremoli' and a low key Roman archeological site at Luni, with a decent museum.
Easy side trips can be made to Carrara, Parma and Genova.....
Thank you so much for your responses... i am extremely grateful; it will take me some time to process this information and might come back with more questions. i promise to 'give something back' by posting my travel notes later.
then maybe we'll do cinque terre-- i was there almost 10 years ago when i imagine it was considerably less crowded. maybe i'll take your advice and skip it-- then in the Lunigiana area (thanks for the name, jim) here are the options: http://www.giandriale.it/ more rustic, 60 e a night
Jim, In Florence tourists are excected and lots of them.Its a little different with a small coastal town.I think the charm was when it was a small undiscovered town,hardly the case now. RR
We will have to agree to disagree on this one......
If you hang out in Corniglia, for example, and hike the higher trails above the regular paths--or hike from Levanto to Monterosso--you can avoid most of the crowds.
And if you carefully pick when you visit, the CT towns can be a great destination.
I am with Jim on this one. Le Cinque Terre is a a perfect day trip from Lunigiana (the week days are less crowded than weekends, but its nonetheless beautiful!) as is Portovenere and Lerici.
Sarzana is one of my favorite places and worth at least an afternoon passagiata (and then dinner at one of its many good restaurants). The castel of Fosdinovo is interesting and dramatically positioned overlooking the Magra Valley and Mediterranean (you can eve see Portovenere from there!)...
Villa Mimosa is a simple but sweet B&B. Bagnone itself is lovely, but quiet (which I think is what you are looking for!). The area is still fairly "undersdeveloped" tourist wise.
While you are staying in beautiful Piemonte, make sure that you take some time to tour the gorgeous area between the Langhe and the Monferrato: Dogliani, Mondovi, Roccaverano (in the mountains, it is where much of the fabulous DOP RObiola chees comes from), Bubbio, Monastero Bormida, Sasello.
Also, on the other side of Alba, you might want to do a day trip to Cherasco and Saluzzo -- well worth the effort. Saluzzo is a hillside medievel village which, on a clear day, is completely surrounded by the Alps. Bra is also worth a stop, it is the home of the Slow Food Movement.
CimioneWe stayed here for several days it was very nice and very reasonable.Nearby hiking,they have horses etc. It is in the Appines not far from Bologna RR
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