Umbria and adriatic

Hi all,
Considering a week trip via flight to Rome. I’ve been to Orvieto and points north prior, since I don’t have a lot of time, I was considering picking up a car and having a more direct trip to the east and spending a couple of nights at two towns in Umbria en route to a couple of nights on the Adriatic. Initial thought was maybe a night or two in Spoleto, then two or three in Perugia or Assisi, then on the coast. I was looking for something more like a medieval town on the coast, not a beach resort, the best I could come up with were Sirolo or Grottammare. Any advice appreciated!

Hi David
An alternative for you, potentially avoiding need of a car entirely, or at least delaying the need for one.

Trenitalia appear to be introducing fast ‘freccia’ routes direct from Rome FCO airport.

This thread starts off by mentioning Napoli, but it’s the one mentioned later that I’m thinking of - Ferrara

and here’s the trenitalia page, with the train leaving the airport at 1:53pm
https://www.trenitalia.com/it/le_frecce/frecciarossa-per-fiumicino-aeroporto.html

If you want medieval, I think Ferrara might appeal, with a fancy moated castle (replete with huge fish), virtually complete city walls / fortifications (IIRC Napoleonic era), plus plenty of smaller historic cobbled streets / buildings including Al Brindisi, which was Copernicus’s drinking hole… and yet isn’t the tourist trap you might think with such history. Indeed the city flies somewhat under the radar, with the tourist hordes more focused on Venezia and Verona. The city has an excellent evening passeggiata along the opposing pedestrianised streets that meet in the centre, plus a good weekly market in the centre of the city. The food is v good. In terms of activities, I’d definitely recommend the gentle cycle ride around the city walls, along mostly tree-lined cycle path. A car is a liability here, where foot and bicycle reign supreme, but as it’s so flat, cycling is super-easy. If you need a car, hire one on departure.

You’d also be in good striking distance of the coast, making any transfer there an easy one (by car or train). One easy option near the coast is Ravenna, with it’s famous mosaics. Again, this didn’t feel overly touristy as a city. Also worth a look is Comacchio, with its extensive network of canals (again that tourists haven’t discovered). Plenty of beach resorts around this area judging by the many ‘Lido …’ locations on the map. Of course Venezia itself is in easy range if that appeals. Conversely if you prefer nature, the Parco Regionale Veneto del Delta del Po looks like it has good hiking across a wetland nature reserve.

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We tried to do a similar trip in 2018, but I gave up searching for something on the coast that wasn’t a packed beach resort. Instead we stayed in Assisi for part of the trip at Nun Relais and then headed to Abruzzo. Had an amazing meal on one of the trabocchi (not to be missed) and then headed for the mountains instead at Casadonna Reale in Castro del Sangro and did wineries and mountain lakes. If you find something on the coast, please let us all know!

My daughter and her husband will soon be headed to Ostuni in Apulia from Rome and Naples. They are staying in an Airbnb in the city and will venture out from there. They are returning via the airport in Brindisi. Maybe avoid the summer. Temperatures are very high in a large part of Europe now and that seems to be a recurring situation.

Maybe slight thread drift, but reading Ian’s excellent post on Ferrara, I was wondering about other cities in northeast Italy as well. If I wanted to visit some combination of Ferrara, Parma, Bologna, Ravenna, Padua and Verona, would a car be a liability in some/all of those like was mentioned for Ferrara? Is it better to take a series of short train rides? Would you omit any of those in particular?

I’ve only been to Verona which I loved, but have always wanted to see Bologna, and Ravenna sounds cool (as does Ferrara).

If you want to stay on the towns, a car is a liability.

Train from Milan to Ferrara was easy even having to transfer.

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Hi Bruce
All on very good frequent train routes, so car not required. It then comes down to what you plan to do and where you like to stay.

On one trip we did Reggio nell’Emilia, Ferrara and Rastignano (south of) Bologna, all without a car, though that last one had us catching the bus (45mins) into the centre to visit Bologna. On another we had a car for Verona (we were staying at Massimago, Mezzane di sotto), but no car in Bologna as we were in the centre. One small note though… do expect a brisk walk from train station to centre e.g. Bologna’s is maybe 25-30 min walk, whilst Reggio nell’Emilia’s more like 5-10 mins, whilst Ferrara’s is more like 50 mins. There are buses / taxis available.

So if you want to be mostly in the cities themselves, don’t hire a car. However if you want to stay outside in an agriturismo, visit some wineries / balsamic vinegar producer etc. go for scenic drives and discover rural restaurants, then a car makes that much easier (though FWIW we’ve visited wineries on foot, e.g. Drei Dona in Predappio, Roccolo Grassi and a couple of others in Mezzane di Sotto itself). Driving speeds in Emilia-Romagna are fast by Italian standards [wow.gif] . Blame the strong motorsport traditions / industries here, on 2 and 4 wheels. If driving into a city centre a) familiarise yourself with the ZTL and avoid it to avoid hefty fines b) we like to pre-plan our route to the car parking (with 1-2 nearby alternatives just in case). This helps destress what can be a stressful experience.

Ferrara is special because so much was shut off to cars, long before ZTLs sprung up in other historic centres. In addition, the bicycle is very much king here, with more of an expectation for drivers to give way to them. That said, there are some cracking day trips possible by car, though FWIW also some good cycle trips (e.g. we cycled along Ciclabile FE20, which was a road that ran alongside the river po, but is now a cycle path). Going to Ferrara with a car would be rather missing the point of a city that has committed itself to cycling as a major travel option.

Bologna is an interesting city, but one we didn’t take to immediately. I think that was because we day-tripped from Ferrara, and after a missed train, plus that trek into the centre, energy levels were down before we’d even ‘arrived’. Staying in Rastignano and getting the bus in changed that, as the bus drops you in the centre. We later stayed in two different apartments in the city itself and perhaps this is the ideal if you like grazing the wonderful food shops. Plenty of culture/history, but it’s a real city, where tourists are merely a bit part in the city itself. It’s a great city for changeable weather, as the porticoed streets give good shelter.

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Thank you all! If we do go to the Marche coast, Sirolo looks like the best choice so far in the geography near us.

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Hi Ian,
Sorry about the delayed thanks, but so very much appreciated! I see there is a more recent thread on this subject which I will follow, and I apologize for hijacking this one, especially since my hypothetical trip wouldn’t be until next year. Your evocative descriptions inspired me to start thinking about it though!

Meanwhile, we are headed to France for three weeks on September 5th and are excited to finally return after 3 years of Covid cancellations!

Cheers :wine_glass:

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