Ian/Dave- thanks very much for the feedback and you’ve confirmed what I’ve been concerned about. I don’t think I can change the back half of the trip when we meet up with our friends but I can change the front half. As much as I want to go to Piedmont I think I will have to save for another time and spend more time in Florence then up the coast to meet our friends. I’m thinking of spending the weekend in Florence. We will have jet lag but it will give us 2 full days. We would then head up the coast to spend Mon-Wed afternoon. Any thoughts on location to stay ? Portofino vs Santa Margherita ?
Hi Fred
I’ve not been to either, but know Camogli is also appreciated by many, so that’s another consideration. Logistically nothing between the three, so I’d be now looking at what accomodation jumps out as exciting & if so, that will make the difference.
Regards
Ian
I’ve always stayed in SML and only gone to Portofino for the day/lunch on the ferry. I’ve stayed at a few places in SML, but this one is nicely located and the rooms (while small) are nicely equipped and (for the area) reasonably priced:
That said, I haven’t found a “great and reasonable value” hotel there yet. I may well try a different place next time.
Oh…its gotta be said, the most egregious pick-pocket experience I had was at the train station in SML. It happens pretty much everywhere in Italy, but my most memorable “catching the hand literally in my pocket” moment was on that train platform. Mother and cute daughter routine. Ugh. Love Italy!
oh, gotta also add, from SML the day trip ferry ride to Cinqua Terra is unforgettable. The itinerary allows for a long enough stop for a nice lunch in one of the towns (with some damn fine whites with your fresh seafood). A ferry ride to lunch and a walk to the castle/gardens in Portofino is a darn fine way to spend a day also.
Wrt Florence, I’d recommend figuring out what you want to see in advance and getting tickets where possible. Like the Borghese in Rome, the Uffizi and David are too crowded. Santa Croce is a must to see the famous graves. Medici palaces and the gardens (forgetting their name) are amazing. The absurd crush of tourists aside, Florence is simply unbelievable. And, as I did here, its easy to create a list of important sites and not even mention the Duomo.
Camogli is lovely but small. We’ve stayed at the Excelsior Palace between Rapallo and Santa Margherita. An easy walk to either town. A municipal bus line runs between Rapallo and Portofino and is often easier than parking. And an hour by train or car to Cincque Terre.
Florence was once our favorite and most visited city in Italy, but we likely won’t return. Its infrastructure and size are too small and old to handle the hordes of visitors. On our last trip, we left early. When we return to the area, we’ll likely stay in Greve or Panzano. 45 minutes by bus or car to Florence (park at the train station) and an hour to Siena. I actually prefer to stay in Siena than Florence; Siena at night is a vastly superior experience. YMMV.
Mark- any restaurants that stood out between Rapallo, SML and Camogli ? I’ve read about Sa, Da Paolo and La Rotunda in Camolgi and little local spot Da Mario in Rapallo. We’ll be doing 2 dinners and a few lunches during our stay.
Thanks Mark. This looks like a cool spot. So many options to choose from. Definitely looking forward to exploring the different cuisine styles that we’ll experience.
My wife and I went to Italy in March of 2017, and dis the typical major route - Rome, Florence, and Venice. We loved it so much, we decided to book another trip to Italy next March; however, this time we are flying in/out of Milan.
We only have 7 nights, so we are trying to figure out how to best spend our time. The one thing that is a must for us is Lake Como, other than that, how would you choose to spend your time?
Is Barolo/Barbaresco area worth a visit?
Portofino/Cirque Terra?
We LOVED Florence and Tuscany - worth a quick return to the area or should we stay in the northern region?
How much time would you recommend in Milan?
Also, would appreciate recommendations for hotels and restaurants in the various towns/areas. Would love to hear some thoughts as to people who have seen more of Italy. Thanks!
Best food in the neighborhood is the focaccia in Camogli. We spent the first nights of our honeymoon and the Doge’s Palace there and used Camogli as a jumping off spot for touring Laguria. Very happy with our decision
Thank you David ! We are staying in SML on the 2nd leg of our trip. We will definitely have Focaccia in Camolgi as well as this little pasta shop we have read about. Posting all notes and thoughts on a new thread.
7 nights restricts you more than those glossy brochures would make out. For me that length of time = 2 bases max. Any more and your memories of the holiday will be packing / unpacking, checking in/out and a lot of transfers with luggage.
So it’s Lake Como + ?
The Langhe region with Barolo / Barbaresco and their satellite villages is definitely worthy of consideration if you are a wine enthusiast. Public transport options are poor, but 2 hour drive from Malpensa makes this a very manageable transfer, even on a short holiday
Cinque Terre/Portofino would be a good counterpoint to Lake Como giving you two different views of water, but that’s 4 hours minimum travelling, either train via Genova, or driving (but a car is useless in Cinque Terre). I would say that is too far a transfer
Similarly Tuscany is too far to be practical (aka If you want to get to Tuscany, I wouldn’t start at Lake Como)
Milan? Personally I didn’t take to it, but it’s certainly an option for either that 2nd base, or if you HAVE to have a 3rd location, then use it as a 1st night or last night depending on when your plane lands / takes off
Others to consider. Plenty of love for the northern piemonte wine here, also with nebbiolo at the fore e.g. Gattinara/Boca/Lessona etc. Logistically it’s shorter transfer time (Gattinara is 45 mins drive from Malpensa, 90 mins from Como) and the driving likely to be easier as well. Boca even closer. What’s more these regions see much less tourism, so you’ll get a much greater insight into Italian/Piemontese culture. We’ve stayed in Ghemme a couple of times at a brilliant agriturismo and though I really like Ghemme, it’s as far from a tourist attraction as I could think of. It’s a humdrum small town / large village, with a criss-cross of streets (and virtually no traffic). Greenery around, but little in the town. We love it, but I’m not sure I should expect people to love such humdrum as much as we do. Gattinara definitely a more obvious destination, but even then not over-touristed at all.
Make it a lakes driving trip, taking in Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta (with a night in Gattinara to indulge the wine interest). That gives you lots of things to see, with the convenience of the car allowing you to change base more frequently (e.g. 1-2 night stops). If I had to highlight one to really give serious consideration to, it would be this idea of a lakes explorer trip.
Head up to the mountains, with apparently some exceptionally scenic roads. I have no experience there, so you’ll have to dig on your own to find out more (unless anyone else here can help)
I agree on two bases, but Florence is super easy by train from Milan (under two hours). And not that hard from the lakes (Varenna, a smaller town on Lake Como is very accessible by train, under 4 hours to Florence). If you are talking touring the countryside, that’s a bit more. Do you want countryside (and driving) or town (and no driving).
You are going in March? And Lake Como is a must? I love lake como, but I’d expect the weather to be chilly then, 40’s to low 50’s. On rainy days, you may not even see the Lake. Cinque Terre is likely a somewhat warmer,
I don’t have experience in Piemonte in March, but I’d guess it’s a great time for winery visits, but not outdoor activities. In general would be considering a more city trip rather than being out of the elements. I love Milan, but most find it a lesser destination. However, the Last Supper alone makes it a worthwhile stop. Florence is worth a repeat visit ( many in fact), you could do Bologna and Florence, or Bologna and Ferrara (with a night in Milan as needed for catching the plane). Depending on when you get in, you could just head out straight from Malpensa and get a connecting train to Bologna and Milano Centrale train station (and avoid an overnight in Milan). Train travel in Italy is very nice on the Frecciarossa trains that connect the big cities.
Or you could go east from Milan and do Verona, and Venice.
But if you are keen on driving into the lakes and wine country, then that does make it easier to avoid time in Milan. For an early morning flight out of MXP, I drove from Bellagio the night before).
If you had a do-over, I’d say go into Milan and out of another city to save doubling back at the end.
Alan,
I didn’t spend the time reading everyone’s comments, but we spent some time this summer in Italy. I will say that I really liked Livorno on the coast. We feel like a 2-3 day trip does it justice. Saying that, we spent a week in Rome doing the major tourist things and just feel like we need to go back for another week during a music or art festival. There was an beer festival happening on the river that was crazy. If you are traveling without kids, it would be so much fun.
This is very much the thinking behind slow travel, something which I believe in, even if I ‘lean towards’ it, rather than being an ardent disciple.
Exploring locally really does reward and I would always take an extra day doing this, over shifting that day to packing the cases, checking out, travelling the the next place, checking in, unpacking and that initial feeling of being disorientated, plus then a handful of hours of what I’d consider ‘enjoyable holiday’. Transfer (and arrival/departure) days for us are always the least enjoyable part of the holiday.
Clearly there is a balance to be struck and that balance will vary between us all. However there is truth in the motto ‘less is more’. Where transfers are long, I’d lean towards a simple ‘1 week in each location’, but where transfers are short (say 1-2 hours) I’m happy to condense that to 4-5 days for each location.