Our plan right now is that we will have a month long rental in Venice . For the last week of the month, we will be joined by my sister and BIL. Great fun!
The question-- We have 4 more nights before flying home from MXP on June 26.
I was thinking 2 nights in Bologna and 2 in the town of Como, so we'd be near enough to the airport but still pretty and relaxing.
The latest feedback I'v gotten from them and my husband is they would all like to go where there is cool weather. Bologna=not. Como=probably not, too.
Any ideas? We will have a car for those last 4 days and have to end up at MXP. So we could do 3 nights for the cool weather and stay near the airport the last one.
Thanks, jan
** title edited at jgk's request **
This message has been edited. Last edited by: teaberry,
Hi Jan - You left out some important info - what month? Even so, a couple of thoughts: when it's hot, it's hot. Pretty hard to escape it anywhere, but north and in the mountains is usually somewhat better. Rural locations will usually be more pleasant in the heat than urban. As to location, I have never considered Bologna as convenient for departing MXP. Como is a better alternative on all counts IMO, but there are plenty of other options too - Bergamo, Orta S. Giulio, L. Maggiore - all close to MXP.
Whenever we can get close to Lake Como, we choose to stay somewhere on the shores of the lake. Last time there we enjoyed staying at the Hotel Lenno in the small town of Lenno (www.albergolenno.com). Lenno is a very small town with minimal sightseeing, but it does have two nice trattorie and the ferry dock is right at the door of the Hotel Lenno. The people at the hotel are very nice and very helpful.
The convenience of the ferry makes it easy to get around the lake. So visiting Como, Bellagio etc. is easy.
A place to have wonderful food with awesome views is Al Veluu which is located high above the town of Tremezzo (www.alveluu.com). The hotel drove us there in their van and picked us up for the return. No doubt a taxi can be arranged too.
Can't wait to return to Lenno!
Then again, I might choose to stay at the Hotel Villa Aminta in Stresa again if the dollar weren't so weak.
Peter
Posts: 1632 | Location: Essex Fells, NJ and Longboat Key, Florida | Registered: 21 July 2002
Hi Jan---My first visit to ST in a long time and I see your post!
I think Bergamo is a good option, and Stresa (although Kenny may have nixed that already). Or maybe someplace on Lake Garda, or Verona. Might be in the 80's in June---is that too hot? I was in Verona in June. I don't remember being hot and it was cool in the evening. And you can attend an opera in the gorgeous amphitheater!
Our favorite village on Lake Como is Varenna, staying at the lovely little Albergo Milano right on the lake front. We feel the prices are very reasonable, even for the lake view. Several great restaurants there, including the hotel itself. The owner is a chef. Also, don't miss this little place, http://www.ilcavatappiwine-food.it/ristorante.htm. Even if you don't stay in Varenna, it's not to be missed. Only about ten tables, so make sure you make reservations in advance.
the 4 extra days are at the end of June, Matt. What do you suggest to the North? Riva del Garda? would it be too "resorty" Trento?
jan
Jan - I like Riva very much. I've spent a lot of time there, but Riva is definitely not convenient to MXP. All the lakes have a somewhat "resorty" vibe because they are vacation destinations, but I do not find most lake towns objectionable. Orta, Maggiore and Como are definitely more convenient for departure from MXP. Orta is the smallest and least popular - Maggiore around Stresa probably the most touristy, but if you head north towards Switzerland, Cannobio is charming and not terribly touristy. If it were me I would probably opt for Orta and do a day trip over the mountains to Maggiore. Orta S. Giulio is only about 45 minutes by car from MXP.
When arriving at MXP we routinely spend a couple of days on Maggiore at Hotel Rigoli, in Baveno, just down the road from Stresa. It's right on the water, has a nice dining room and the town is smaller than Stresa and less crowded. You can easily do day trips over to Orta and Switzerland from there too. Lovely and relaxing, but the prices have gone up over the years. Any smaller town might be a nice change from Venice.
Posts: 289 | Location: Cool, CA | Registered: 17 February 2003
"Chi vuol stare come all'inferno vada a Trento d'estate ed a Feltre d'inverno"
(He who likes living like hell should go to Trento in summer and to Feltre in winter)
Trento is a low and sunny valley, very good for growing apples and wineyards; but in summer it can get quite hot (good for apples and wine). Bolzano is very much the same. If you need cool air in the Alps, you need some higher village.
I went to Trento in May, just for an afternoon/evening, and thought it was a beautiful little town! We had a great spritz on the piazza and then a tasty (and enormous!) dinner. The town has a lot of painted buildings that are just beautiful. I would love to return for a longer stay.
Having stayed in Trento on several occasions, including late June, please allow me to comment!
It's a lovely city and has plenty of interesting things to do and see. For culture buffs, the cathedral is a must, not least because it was the scene of one of the most important conferences in the later Renaissance (the Council of Trent met to plot and plan against the Protestant Reformation). It also has a fantastic castle, Castile di Buonconsiglio, within easy walking of the city centre.
Trento is located on the River Adige, on which there are walk and cycle paths. Other gentle recreation can be taken on the cable car that ascends to Sardegna, on the lower slopes of Monte Bondone, from where marked trails are available.
This August we took the Trento-Male train (terminus is very close to the FS station in the city centre) and enjoyed a spectacular and inexpensive journey to Male.
As other posters have said, Trento is a great base for this lovely region - we also visited Bolzano from where there is a cable car to Oberbozen, and from there a charming tramway runs along the ridge.
Yes, do go to Trento. My wife is from there, so I go every year. While you're up there, also try to visit the other interesting little historical towns: Bolzano, Rovereto, Merano and Bressanone. For pure relax, go to Riva del Garda or Malcesine for an "al fresco" dinner along the northernmost reaches of Lake Garda. You don't need that much time: you can see the most important sites within Trento in a day, entirely on foot within a radius of less than one kilometer.
We enjoyed exploring the Dolomites and the German-speaking areas to the north but really were happy to return to Italian speaking Trento every evening.
Riva del Garda is also very attractive but likely to be pretty crowded during the summer...but it will be cooler.
I LOVE Trento. I've been there three times in the last five years, and we're going again next year -- twice. (At the end of June!)
It has great restaurants, is a quaint, medium-sized city, and it has fantastic access to many, many place -- high in the mountains (Bondone, of course, Asiago, in fact every which way) and along the river courses (day-trips: Bolzano, ROvereto, even Bassano del Grappa is an easy train, as is Verona, but why go so far).
If you go, consider the Hotel America, odd as the name is. It's inexpensive, conveniently located, and the service is truly great.
If you pick Trento, let me know. I can tell you a cuple of restaurant ideas that are out of the way but out of this world.
Oh, and I will be there in late June then again in July. Let me know. Ciao
Posts: 627 | Location: Logan, Utah, USA | Registered: 02 June 2006
I recommend Hotel America too. It has such a warm, welcoming atmosphere, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Although its not small it has all the good qualities of a family hotel, and I think it actually has been in the same family for many years. Trento is a very pretty and pleasant little town. The frescoed buidings in the main piazza are lovely. I'd happily go back there on another trip.
A quick vote for the Hotel Accademia in Trento....about a five minute walk from the Piazza Duomo. Well managed and extremely comfortable, there is pretty courtyard where meals are served in good weather.
Trento is a beautiful town and we visit every year.....we've stayed at the Hotel Accademia for the past 8 years but this time we switched to the Hotel America www.hotelamerica.it and we are now BIG fans. At 108.00 euros a night including breakfast it is a DEAL. I'll post a hotel review later but I think if you choose to visit Trento you will not be disappointed!
This past trip (we were there October 1 - 4) we were fortunate to see the amazing "Egito Mai Visto" exhibit at the Castello del Buonconsiglio...the collection of artifacts from Egyptian tombs...attend an incredible open market and brought home dried tomatoes, cheeses, olive oil....ate at a wonderful restaurant, "Osteria il Cappello" a couple of times and drank cocktails at one of the bars in the main square until well after dark.
We love it in Trento!
Posts: 749 | Location: Berkeley, CA USA | Registered: 07 August 2003
It's funny how things change over time. Trento never had a university until the early 1970s, then it started out with the Sociology Department, and it became a "hotbed" of radical and left-wing thinking. The staid residents of the city did not take kindly to this radical development, and for a good many years, the University had a bad reputation.
Now, the University has grown significantly, and has just about every "faculty" (area of study) which is usually found in a large city. It has expanded out of the city center and now has modern buildings on the outskirts of town, on the hills to the east. Where once only the sons (and very few daughters) of the aristocratic class would attend university, today anyone can go who has the desire to study. It attracts not only students from all over Italy, but also from abroad. On one national survey, it ranked no. 1 in Italy!!!
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