Italy recommendations

[bearman🐻]

Italy is pretty much my second home. Definitely don't skip Rome. To outsiders, Rome might seem dirty and congested, but it's over 2,000 years old. It's a magical place and this time of year it won't be too overcrowded. Most tourists make the mistake of going in summer when it's just insane.
 
 Florence is pretty wonderful too, but people forget the natural beauty of Italy. Don't try to do everything at once in one trip. There is just too much to see. 3 places for 10 days is great. You can go to Pompeii in a day from Rome, and that is well worth seeing. Hell, you can even do a tour group which is what I did last year, and it was fantastic.
 
 If you are able, take a couple of days to see the Amalfi Coast. This time of year is gorgeous. Ravello, Positano, Maiori, Minori, etc. are gorgeous. Take a day trip over to Capri or Ischia by boat, or a drive over to Paestum (gorgeous Greek ruins from a colony that was there about 300 B.C. I think). Venice is nice too, but again, allow yourself a chance to get away from the really touristy places. Outside of Venice you can do a day trip into places like Balsano da Grappa in the Veneto region and see the Palladian villas. I did that this year and it was just awesome.
 
 Another great day trip is Tivoli, outside of Rome. Check out Villa D'Este for sure, beautiful gardens.
 
 Here are some recommendations for Rome:
 
 Ice cream -- San Crispino (right by the Trevi Fountain) is the best, hands down. Be sure to try the honey combined with any of the sorbets. Everything they make is what is in season, Giolitti is also very good.
 
 Restaurants (you can Google all of these to get locations)
 
 La Matricianella -- my favorite place, you can't go wrong there. Wonderful pasta, and the green peppercorn steak is unreal.
 
 Perilli -- In the Testaccio neighborhood. Great traditional Roman cuisine.
 
 Taverna dei Mercanti -- in the Trastevere neighborhood. Wonderful rustic place (I believe it's 16th Century) that has fantastic steaks and pizza. Also try the polenta w/sausage.
 
 Lots of very, very good restaurants in Trastevere and Testaccio. Also be sure to stop by Cafe Greco for coffee, which is near the Spanish Steps.
 
 If you want a great location to stay in Rome that is inexpensive and quiet, check this place out:  http://www.hotelsuisserome.com/

[angelml]

wow...i'll have to print this thread out for when i finally get back to italy...great suggestions and tips!

[Chip Chanko]

Seth should just rent a villa for a forum meetup.

[bearman🐻]

I'll be the translator...I'm in  

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I concur. Milan sucks.
 
 I took the train all the way to Pisa and back, and while in Pisa, couldn't find the leaning tower. Maybe it was being bandaged and you couldn't see it? I don't know.
 
 

Originally posted by nkotb:
  Italian Dolomite is my favorite wop-splotation movie.
 
 Ditto on every other suggestion given.  The only place I went that I'd skip was Milan.  Friends wanted to check it out, and it's absolutely no different than any other city in the states.  Also, if you can fit it in, see Pisa...it takes literally 30 minutes.  Just jump off one train, take some pics, and split.
 
   

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  Italian Dolomites are incredible, we nearly died there on out honeymoon.

[/b]

[thirsty moore]

I was in Rome for work last year.  I stayed in northern Rome at the sports complex, Acqua Ce Tosa.  At night Tranny Hookers would hang out in the parking lot.  I thought they were chicks but then when I walked by one at night the tranny said in a deep voice, "Ciao Ragazzi."
 
 Not bella.

[Frank Gallagher]

May I put in a shout-out of Ancona? I loved that town.
 
 Naples is a shit hole, you may as well visit Arlington VA.
 
 Genoa was interesting, Palermo nice but Ancona was my favorite.
 
 We also honeymooned on Sardinia which is beautiful but that's pushing it for a 10 day stay.

[ggw]

Some friends of mine who go to Europe regularly went to Cinque Terra last year on their honeymoon and had a less than great time.  Their take was that it's beautiful but that the locals are split between those who are sick of tourists tramping through their towns (and vocal about it) and those that are very eager to rip you off.  Otherwise, they went to Rome, Herculaneum (sp?), Florence, and Siena and had a splendid time.
 
 

Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
  Yeah, my neighbor was telling me something about La Cinque Terra that she's see in pictures...
 
  http://www.evergreen.loyola.edu/~slenzo/cinque_terra1.htm
 
   

Originally posted by bizou311®:
  I just got back from Italy a few days ago.  Rome is a must, but I've heard amazing things about La Cinque Terra, so I would look into that.

[/b]

[vansmack]

I would recommend you hook up with as many chicks as you can.

[mattedling]

I have to put in another great recommendation for the the Amalfi coast.  A couple years ago I spent two months on an archaeological excavation in Pompeii.  It's true that Herculaneum is better preserved than Pompeii.  While Pompeii was buried under small gravelly rocks known as lapilli, Herculaneum was entombed by an avalanche of volcanic mud which left the city in better condition, but also made excavation much more difficult.  Thus less of Herculaneum has been excavated.  So while Herculaneum is better preserved, there's more to see at Pompeii, the baths, the stadium, the theaters, the villa of mysteries, etc.  So it's kind of a toss-up  Pompeii gives a better feeling for what a roman city was like, but Herculaneum has better preserved houses and provides a richer image of how people lived.  
 
 From Sorrento to Capri the entire region is amazingly beautiful.  All the cities are just a short train ride away from each other and are all extremely accessible. But if you're going to Capri I'd recommend going to Ischia. A smaller less touristy island.  
 
 I also have to give recommend Paestum and it's three amazing Greek temples.  If you've ever seen the movie Clash of the Titans, you've seen these temples.  It is a little out of the way, and difficult to get to, but well worth the effort.

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  I would recommend you hook up with as many chicks as you can.

...and their mothers who chaparone them!
 
 Italian men will be too busy admiring themselves through the reflection in the window and checking out the other men to make sure they're the most beautiful one in the room to worry about you hitting on the Italian women.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I didn't even know Joe Marshmallow was into chicks.

[Vas Deferens]

Was it Bull930?
 
 

Originally posted by econo:
  I was in Rome for work last year.  I stayed in northern Rome at the sports complex, Acqua Ce Tosa.  At night Tranny Hookers would hang out in the parking lot.  I thought they were chicks but then when I walked by one at night the tranny said in a deep voice, "Ciao Ragazzi."
 
 Not bella.

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by Chip Chanko:
 Montalcino and Montepulciano are other good Tuscany destinations (small towns on hills...you could get tired of these after a while but the wine and food is always good).
 
 You need at least 4 or 5 days in and around Rome in my opinion.

montepulciano = seconded.  best food and wine in italy, hands down.  i dream of the little villa i rented outside of montepulciano... a small slice of heaven.  rome and the vatican can easily take up 4 or 5 days.  i spent 5 days last time i was there, by the end i only say half of what i wanted to see - but was "rome'ed out", needed to get outta there.  only so many ruins and 16th century masterpieces one can take in a week.
 
   

Originally posted by vansmack:
  I would recommend you hook up with as many chicks as you can.

i would recommend that too, and i'll also wish you a ton of luck.  i saw so many beautiful women in italy, and none of them would give me the time of day.  they're hot and they know it, thus they have to throw up a huge wall between themselves and anything male (otherwise they'd never make it across the street).  not that i have the highest success rate when it comes to picking up random women, but my score fell to zero in italy      maybe i needed to be more of a macho a$$-hole.

[HoyaSaxa03]

naples and milan suck ... verona is a cool little town, and pompeii and venice are must-sees ... spend as much time in rome as possible, you can do florence in a couple of (jam-packed) days