To enter Venice, youll need to buy a ticket, which gives you also access to the taxi boats. To get here, you will park in town and it is a 0.8 km (0.5 mile) downhill walk to the church (or you can take a bus). Days 1-2: Lake Maggiore Piedmont Located at the foot of the Swiss Alps, there are 5 major lakes in Northern Italy: Maggiore, Orta, Como, Iseo and Garda. Our first recommendation is that you start in Milan. They arent as cheap as buses, but theyre less expensive than renting a car. Honestly, we think five days is too short to explore the best parts of Northern Italy. Day 4-6 Emilia Romagna. Your last stop on this itinerary is tapping into a bit of central Italy territory, but it is a must stop for foodies. 10 Day Northern Italy Itinerary - Italy Forum - Tripadvisor However, you will have more travel time tomorrow to get to the airport. Verona is worldwide known as the city of love. I recommend for anyone visiting the Italian Alps either rent a car or plan to book a tour that handles transportation throughout the days activities. There are two ways to visit Lake Como today. For drinks and dining, we recommend you to go to theTrastevereneighborhood. Alternative: skip Veneto and head to Liguria to enjoy the glamorous Portofino. Its also a little easier to get from Verona to Milan by train. On the second day you drive to Lake Como, but thats only around 2 hours drive. Bus travel is also an option, but comes with its own challenges: one, understanding regional bus routes in a short period of time, and two, using coach buses means youll get dropped off in one spot and you dont have much freedom to travel around. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Gems of Northern Italy | Smithsonian Journeys Italy Itinerary: Where to Go in Italy by Rick Steves Youll see the greatest highlights and have enough time for sightseeing, hiking and learn about the Italian culture. At the Grand Canal, there are many taxi boats where you can hop on and off with your ticket. There is still plenty to do here that involves little to no hiking. In between these two cities, it's easy to access the gems of Northern Italy: Lake Como, Verona, Lake Garda and the Dolomites. An Epic Northern Italy Itinerary (10 Days) - Every Steph During this road trip, we planned a half-day in Cinque Terre, but if you want to spend more time along these coastal towns, you can skip Genoa or Parma in this itinerary. Youll probably stop a few times just to enjoy the views. It is fantastic to spend a half-day or full-day in this area. But the advantage is that you can stay overnight in Florence, and the next day has all day to exploring another historic city.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'madefortravellers_com-leader-1','ezslot_13',146,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-madefortravellers_com-leader-1-0'); It is a bit difficult to drive into the city center of Florence. Waking up early in Venice and arriving in the historical center before 10 a.m. is recommended. However, coach bus companies like Flixbus operate throughout the country and Europe, so you could travel between regions using their service. If you like hiking, hike the Puez-Odle Altopiano. 8 Discover Emilia Romagna - 10 days. The roads are good condition, and the views are just stunning. Hotel Danieli is a luxurious 5-star hotel located on Riva degli Schiavoni. Northern Italy is a diverse landscape: mountains, sea, lakes, floating cities, metropolitan centers, food-rich countrysides. From Selva di Val Gardena, it is a 200 km, two-and-a-half-hour drive to Verona. Then head over to the Dolomites: the most unique of mountains with jagged grey peaks surrounded by the absolutely stunning valleys and green hills of Trentino Alto-Adige. The Best Northern Italy Travel Itinerary (7 days) - The Mindful Mermaid Ideally, plan to arrive in Venice early in the morning, or even the night before, to make the most of this day. The other dish I ordered at every restaurant in Liguria: Trofie al Pesto. As a resident of northern Italy, I can share with certainty that the best time to visit is either June or September. If you will be arriving Venice very early in the day (for example, you are already in Europe and wont be dealing with jet lag), or the night before, you can follow our 2 Day Venice Itinerary. The best time to visit is in the fall, also when the White Truffle Festival takes place in Alba. Youll be able to use your time in the most efficint way. The road trip to Rome will take up a half-day. The city of Verona is a maximum one hour drive from Lake Garda. Public transport in Florence is perfect, so the next day you dont have any problems reaching the city center. You can either wander the canals on your own or take a walking tour. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Northern Italy Itinerary, 7 Days From The Alps To Milan But if the price is better in Rome, you could always take a train to a major northern Italian city or find a cheap flight with RyanAir, for example. For more details about this day, refer to day 1 of our 2 Day Venice Itinerary. Two nights in the Dolomites. You can do this itinerary all year, but during the months of November, April, and even May, you will be very limited in what you can do in the Dolomites, as this area transitions between a hiking and skiing destination. Both these cities will be your home base on this kind of itinerary. If you dont want to spend four days in the Dolomites, you can take out a day and add it to Venice or spend a day at Lake Garda. Millions of tourists travel every year to this renowned place. Not everything has to be perfectly planned out with a route for each day and reservations at a specific restaurant. Get updated hours before you go and you can learn more about how to visit this basilica in our Things to Do in Venice article. For the remainder of the day, we have a few more options of great things to do in this area of Venice. With this guide, you will discover the perfect Northern Italy itinerary including fashionable Milan, colorful fishing villages, breath-taking Alpine vistas, gorgeous lakes, wine-clad slopes, and Venice's palazzos. The Best of Northern Italy: 10-Day Itinerary - Petite Suitcase Head west to Turin, a financial and cultural hub like Milan, stylized by Baroque-style architecture and the famed Mole Antonelliana. We dont want to bring too many things, because simply you dont need that much while traveling.Over the years we tested a lot of stuff, check out our full list of recommendations for packing gear and camera stuff on the recommendations pageHere are some things we recommend you to use during your Italian road trip: Lon Kopijn works and lives as a Digital Nomad. Its worth a visit! Travel insurance is essential for your belongings and healthcare while traveling. It's the world's largest gothic cathedral and is absolutely stunning! For this Itinerary we recommend you to start in Milan. However, if you like the idea of visiting Lake Garda, here is a sample itinerary, if you have 12 days in Italy. Sign me up for the newsletter & access to resources from The Travel Library! 10 Days In Italy: An Unforgettable Northern Italy Itinerary Your email address will not be published. For a splurge, we recommend the Granbaita Dolomites, a luxury hotel with a wellness center. The city itself is not that big. Northern Italy itinerary: what to see and how to see it The big question when planning a trip is always: how long you should spend in northern Italy? I highly recommend booking a tour with a local guide for the unique experience of hunting for truffles and do a Barolo wine tasting. Verona itinerary 1 day Suggested Verona one day trip & how to spend Italy All Italy Hotels The 922-passenger ship is the first of six planned eco-conscious vessels that will sail six- to 35-night immersive itineraries, first in Northern Europe and then in South America, and feature nine inclusive dining experiences, four pools (one with a tractable roof), and 10 bars and lounges (several featuring hand-crafted Steinway pianos . You can also choose to do this road trip in the other way around. DOLOMITES: For links to all of our articles about the Dolomites, take a look at our Dolomites Travel Guide. Ill be recommending the stops on the itineraries in a certain order, but not necessarily saying you should be spending one day here and two days there. DAY 5: Beautiful city of Verona DAY 6: Majestic Lake Garda DAY 7: Emilia Romagna, foodie's paradise DAY 8: Parma, gastronomy day DAY 9: Maranello (Ferrari and fun cooking) DAY 10: Gastronomic capital Bologna DAY 11: Ravenna and its UNESCO world heritage sites Volterrais another small village on top of a hill. Id also like to see Lake Como, Lake Guardia, Dolomites and Piedmont but know we cant fit it all in and Im ok with making another trip some day. Your email address will not be published. If skies are clear, consider riding the cable car from Cortina dAmpezzo to Cima Tofana for one of the best views of the Dolomites. This has the advantage of not packing and unpacking again, and if you have a flight home from Milan tomorrow, you will already be in town. You'll visit two of Italy's best culinary regions, Emilia-Romagna and Piemonte; you'll marvel at Italy's most picturesque mountains in Trentino and Alto Adige; and you'll visit four lakes: Garda, Como, Orta, and Maggiore. At the end of the day, we recommend to leave Venice, hop in your car and drive to Florence, which is still a 3-hour drive. Made For Travellers also participates in affiliate programs with Booking.com, Clickbank, WorldNomads, Rentalcars.com, TUI UK, Adsense, and other sites. 6 Northern Italy Road Trip itinerary: Nature edition (6-14 days) 6.1 The Dolomites - 6 days. Answer 11 of 12: I'm planning a 10-day trip and would like an opinion on the following itinerary: Day 1 Arrive in Milan AM, Rent Car Drive to Lake Como - 1 Hour Lake Como Day 2 Lake Como. Read my guides to Italy in Summer, Italy in Fall, and Italy in Winter to dive deeper into which season may be a better fit for you. Also, the countryside is renowned for its vineyards, so it is excellent to go for a local winetasting. Things To Do In Milan. Many people think this village was the scene for the movietwilight. We were pleasantly surprised during our visit to Parma, and recommend anyone to stay here and explore this lovely city. When you have more time for a road trip, we recommend using it. DAY 1: Venice. This is the road youll need to take the next day.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'madefortravellers_com-box-4','ezslot_6',136,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-madefortravellers_com-box-4-0'); The next day you follow road SS36, 38, 39, 42 and 239 to the national park Adamello Brenta. And you dont need your rental car while staying in Milan. In the Dolomites, it is free to go hiking, but there can be parking fees and fees to ride the cable cars. Curious about more spots to hit? Bologna 2 Nights. In this guide, learn how to plan a trip around the world. In the Dolomites, the first snow begins to fall sometime in October and continues through May, so during this time, the hiking trails will be covered with snow. WorldNomadsinsurance is what we feel is the most comprehensive and reliable travel insurance you can buy. Renting a car in advance can save you a lot of money. If you have longer, great! 10-Day Northern Italy Itinerary: 2 Great Routes Without further ago, the two routes below outline different directions you could take in Northern Italy. For the best experience, book your ticket online. Both options can be done with public transportation and by car. It saves you a day in rental- and parking costs. Northern Italy Itineraries for a Weekend, Week and Month in Northern Italy In Pisa, youll stay overnight. Its a big day hike but it is our favorite in the Dolomites. You can read all the details about Genoa in this. It will take around 2 hours to reach the lake. Select your preferences and let us take care of the rest. Northern Italy Itinerary: Veneto, Emilia Romagna & San Marino With the Northern Italy Highlights - 10 days itinerary you'll cross the most important highlights, cities and landmarks in the northern part of Italy. This Italy itinerary is a great starting point for designing your own custom itinerary. Northern Italy Train Itinerary: 14 Days By Rail All of Italys regions offer something unique and in this guide, the spotlight is on the north. The Ultimate Northern Italy Itinerary | Mr Hudson Tonight, stay in Cortina dAmpezzo. However, the Dolomites can be cold year-round, especially when you go high into the mountains. A Northern Italy itinerary From the canals of Venice to the mighty Dolomites and the stunning Italian Riviera, there's so much to see and experience in this part of the country, so not everything is included in this list. Mosaics on St. Marks Basilica | Northern Italy Itinerary, On the terrace of St. Marks Basilica | Northern Italy Itinerary. Four nights in Milan with a day trip to the Lakes OR two nights in Milan and two nights at Lake Como. Hit the 5 major areas on everyones northern Italy bucket list. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. They made these islands in the beautiful botanical gardens which they are now. Northern Italy itinerary: lakes, mountains and medieval villages Day 1 in Milan - hit the highlights. Click on the banner to get more information on the website of World Nomads. Rome is a special city to visit. ): Piedmont: at least 2 nights (Piedmont is a large region, so depending on how much you want to see, you could easily extend this a couple of nights) Lake Como: at least 1 night Bologna: at least 1 night Florence: at least 2 nights Verona: at least 1 night Lake Garda: at least 1 night (or even a day trip from Verona & you stay in Verona 2 nights) Dolomites: at least 2-3 nights. Northern Italy Road Trip: Stop 1 - Milan Milan, in Italy's Lombardy region, is a unique blend of historical architecture, contemporary skyscrapers and well-known as a fashionista's Italian city of choice. We tried to be as thorough as possible and make different routes for different interests. 7 Days of Northern Italy Itinerary: Northern Italy Itinerary Day 1-2: Bologna. Milan has many accommodations where you can stay. This epic northern Italy itinerary begins in Valle DAosta, the smallest and most underrated of the regions. PRO TRAVEL TIP: You will use the ferry to get between Bellagio, Varenna, and Menaggio, so you arent missing out on anything by not cruising from Como to Bellagio. Part of the eastern Alps in northern Italy and marking the border between Italy and Austria, these natural beauties are another UNESCO heritage site. Use this link or the banner below to get a quote. On our first trip to the Dolomites, we had three days and once there, we wished we had a lot more time. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The bus from or to the airport can take up to 1 hour though. You wont reach the Tuscany region. Tuscany region is great to spend more time. Our website uses cookies. Shakespeares love story Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona. Lago di Braies | Northern Italy Itinerary. Ponte dellAccademia view | Northern Italy Itinerary. The other option is staying inPeschiera del Garda, a vibrant town next to the lake, also perfect for a romantic stay, but less expensive. Last stop for lovers: Venice! Dynamic pricing from $3,575. On the second day, we recommend you to travel to Lake Como, somewhere after lunch. The terrace is free to visit and you have a great view overlooking the Grand Canal. Afterwards, explore the town of Cortina dAmpezzo, check into your hotel, and then have dinner. And Hotel Torcolo Residenze del Cuore is a centrally located budget hotel that gets very good reviews.