Northwest Italy Destination?
 

We're going to be driving across N. Italy en route to Lyon (France), and I
have a day of slack to stop somewhere. Does anyone know of a town that
would be good to stop in? Milan just seems like another big city, and I
haven't heard much about Torino.

Thanks,
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

Como is nice.

Ron

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

BB wrote in message news:...
    > We're going to be driving across N. Italy en route to Lyon (France), and I
    > have a day of slack to stop somewhere. Does anyone know of a town that
    > would be good to stop in? Milan just seems like another big city, and I
    > haven't heard much about Torino.

Verona has a lot of charm. Just about everything but on a very small
intimate scale. Roman amplitheater, renaissance castles, elaborate
medieval plazas, walking street for elegant shopping, wonderful
restaurants, a beautiful and gracious city that seems off the heavy
tourist horizon.

Or take the turnoff to Lake Garda and visit Sirmione for its fairy
tale draw bridge castle, gorgeous garden hotel and walks along the
lake. Or drive up to Gardone Riviera on the south-eastern end of Lake
Garda. Not as elegant as the other Italian lakes but still wonderfully
charming and unique. Other find the more austere Lake Orta, further
inland to be a good destination too. A short drive off the autostrada.

Bergamo - the upper town is another charmer.

All of these are off the autostrada going from Venice to Milan, about
half way or so.

I lived in Desenzano on the SE end of Lake Garda and loved it. Very
small town but the beauty is the lake and if it is summer, the lagoon
there is wonderful for sitting have having a coupe of icecream and
walking around the old town sn by the lake. Tuesday morning is their
"market day" which they have been holding since the 1600's and fun to
see.

This area is heavily touristed by the summer lake crowds however in
July and August. Far better off-season. May is glorious.


    >
    > Thanks,
    > -BB-
    > To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

Depends on whether it would be too far south of your "north west" route, but forget about cities and visit the Cinque Terra towns.

Base yourself in Levanto for the night and explore the 5 villages making up the Cinque Terra (which means just that...5 villages). They are as Italian as you get, huddled on a cliff side, in an area designated as World Heritage Listed and only accesible by train that runs from Levanto through the five towns (all of which can easily be explored in a day). The villages are quaint, hstoric and almost lost in a time warp.Be sure to get the train time table though.

Have fun.

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

In news:[email protected], acca
wrote:

    > BB wrote in message
    > news:...

    >> We're going to be driving across N. Italy en route to Lyon
(France),
    >> and I have a day of slack to stop somewhere. Does anyone know
of a
    >> town that would be good to stop in? Milan just seems like
another
    >> big city, and I haven't heard much about Torino.
    > Verona has a lot of charm.


Perhaps, but it's hardly in northwest Italy.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

In article ,
[email protected] (BB) wrote:

    > We're going to be driving across N. Italy en route to Lyon (France),
    > and I
    > have a day of slack to stop somewhere. Does anyone know of a town that
    > would be good to stop in? Milan just seems like another big city, and I
    > haven't heard much about Torino.

There's lots to see in both Milano and Torino, but as you observe they are
both big cities, with traffic issues. If you've just a day, I wouldn't
bother -- the hassle would outweigh the benefit. The advice to go for
somewhere smaller is good.

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

BB wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > We're going to be driving across N. Italy en route to Lyon (France),
    > and I have a day of slack to stop somewhere. Does anyone know of a
    > town that would be good to stop in? Milan just seems like another big
    > city, and I haven't heard much about Torino.
    >
    > Thanks,
    > -BB-
    > To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

Are you going through Provence or the Alps? If the latter then the val
d'Aosta is perhaps what you are looking for.

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

Goose wrote:
    >
    > Depends on whether it would be too far south of your "north west" route,
    > but forget about cities and visit the Cinque Terra towns.
    >
    > Base yourself in Levanto for the night and explore the 5 villages making
    > up the Cinque Terra (which means just that...5 villages). They are as
    > Italian as you get, huddled on a cliff side, in an area designated as
    > World Heritage Listed and only accesible by train that runs from Levanto
    > through the five towns (all of which can easily be explored in a day).
    > The villages are quaint, hstoric and almost lost in a time warp.Be sure
    > to get the train time table though.

You can also reach all the Cinque Terre villages by boat from La Spezia,
and you get a very nice view of the coastline that way. You can get off
at one of the villages and hop back on another boat of the same line
later.

The villages are quaint and historic, but no more so than thousands of
other Italian villages. The nicest thing about them is the coastal
scenery. I wouldn't say they're lost in a time warp, given the many
tourists that I met there on a rainy day in October. I was trying to
imagine what it would be like in the summer and decided I didn't want to
find out.

Barbara

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

Agree, this is a great idea. Levanto is a perfect base. I would start
with the southern end of the Cinque Terre and work your way up north.

Sorry, I can't remember the names but the first between 1 and 2 is the
easiest and can be done in an hour or so. The second two (2-3)
villages were blocked off saying the path was not secure, but some
fellows climbed over the barrier and did it anyway and said it was
fine so you may want to think about this if the sign and barricade is
still up. I took the train between 2 and 3 myself.

The hike between villages 3 and 4 was long, but just spectacular and
that ended it for me when I looked and saw what looked like far more
barren exposed terrain between 4 and 5. I then took the train to
village 5 instead and just walked around the town and then back to
Levanto.

Another really spectacular Ligurian coast hike is from CaMogli to
Portofino going down into Santa Frutuoso which still has no cars. I
thought it was even better than the Cinque Terre. CaMogli is south of
Genoa. And yet another Ligurian sleeper are the coast before you turn
into Carrara - again, the names escape me but they are well known.

What does this poster mean by "northwest" Italy? Where will he/she be
traveling from?

Goose wrote in message news:...
    > Depends on whether it would be too far south of your "north west" route,
    > but forget about cities and visit the Cinque Terra towns.
    >
    > Base yourself in Levanto for the night and explore the 5 villages making
    > up the Cinque Terra (which means just that...5 villages). They are as
    > Italian as you get, huddled on a cliff side, in an area designated as
    > World Heritage Listed and only accesible by train that runs from Levanto
    > through the five towns (all of which can easily be explored in a day).
    > The villages are quaint, hstoric and almost lost in a time warp.Be sure
    > to get the train time table though.
    >
    > Have fun.

What I meant about the villages being lost in a time warp is the fact that they are accessible only by train. The fact that the villages are unreachable by car or coach limits the number of tourists. The Cinque Terra villages have fought against making the villages more accessible and won. That is why there are no large hotels in the villages and accommodation is generally in character B&B. By the way, we visited in July and whilst it was hot it was not unbearable.

Barbara, I think you may have missed the point about the Cinque Terra villages. The reason that they are so immensely different from "hundreds of other Italian villages" is because of their precarious location on cliffsides that have been astonishingly cultivated for decades to yield thousands of stone terraces of grape vines. This superhuman accomplishment is one of the reasons that the Cinque Terra has World Heritage status.

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

In article ,
Goose wrote:

    > What I meant about the villages being lost in a time warp is the fact
    > that they are accessible only by train. The fact that the villages are
    > unreachable by car or coach limits the number of tourists. The Cinque
    > Terra villages have fought against making the villages more accessible
    > and won. That is why there are no large hotels in the villages and
    > accommodation is generally in character B&B. By the way, we visited in
    > July and whilst it was hot it was not unbearable.
    >
    > Barbara, I think you may have missed the point about the Cinque Terra
    > villages. The reason that they are so immensely different from "hundreds
    > of other Italian villages" is because of their precarious location on
    > cliffsides that have been astonishingly cultivated for decades to yield
    > thousands of stone terraces of grape vines. This superhuman
    > accomplishment is one of the reasons that the Cinque Terra has World
    > Heritage status.
    >
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com



the days when the Cinque Terre was not about being a tourist trap are
long gone

it is lovely -- but the primary economy these days is tourism and if you
go there in spring summer or fall, it is not that different from being
in the center of Florence, in terms of the tourist crush

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

I believe today there now is car access to the Cinque Terre villages,
but no car traffic exists inside any of them. It is my understanding
that there still is no car access to Santa Frutuoso on the hiking
trail between CaMogli and Portofino. Access there is still limited to
the sea only.

All worthy spots to visit, no matter.


Goose wrote in message news:...
    > What I meant about the villages being lost in a time warp is the fact
    > that they are accessible only by train. The fact that the villages are
    > unreachable by car or coach limits the number of tourists. The Cinque
    > Terra villages have fought against making the villages more accessible
    > and won. That is why there are no large hotels in the villages and
    > accommodation is generally in character B&B. By the way, we visited in
    > July and whilst it was hot it was not unbearable.
    >
    > Barbara, I think you may have missed the point about the Cinque Terra
    > villages. The reason that they are so immensely different from "hundreds
    > of other Italian villages" is because of their precarious location on
    > cliffsides that have been astonishingly cultivated for decades to yield
    > thousands of stone terraces of grape vines. This superhuman
    > accomplishment is one of the reasons that the Cinque Terra has World
    > Heritage status.

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

Goose wrote:
    >
    > What I meant about the villages being lost in a time warp is the fact
    > that they are accessible only by train. The fact that the villages are
    > unreachable by car or coach limits the number of tourists.

If the number of tourists is limited, it the most crowded limited I have
ever seen. The tourists outnumber the residents by about 500 to 1. When
a village has 20 restaurants and one grocery store, you get the general
idea.

    > Barbara, I think you may have missed the point about the Cinque Terra
    > villages. The reason that they are so immensely different from "hundreds
    > of other Italian villages" is because of their precarious location on
    > cliffsides that have been astonishingly cultivated for decades to yield
    > thousands of stone terraces of grape vines. This superhuman
    > accomplishment is one of the reasons that the Cinque Terra has World
    > Heritage status.

I was impressed by the vineyards and the little cable cars they use to
carry their tools up and their harvest down. However, I wouldn't really
recommend someone making a long trip to see the Cinque Terre, especially
on a short trip. The crush of other tourists detracts greatly from the
charm, at least for me. Let me state again that I was there on a rainy
day in October, and I'm sure the crowds are much worse in the summer.

Barbara


Barbara

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

acca wrote:
    >
    > I believe today there now is car access to the Cinque Terre villages,
    > but no car traffic exists inside any of them. It is my understanding
    > that there still is no car access to Santa Frutuoso on the hiking
    > trail between CaMogli and Portofino. Access there is still limited to
    > the sea only.

If I remember correctly, three of the villages have direct car access,
and the other two have parking areas above the towns.

Barbara

Re: Northwest Italy Destination?
 

In article ,
Barbara Vaughan wrote:

    > Goose wrote:
    > >
    > > What I meant about the villages being lost in a time warp is the fact
    > > that they are accessible only by train. The fact that the villages are
    > > unreachable by car or coach limits the number of tourists.
    >
    > If the number of tourists is limited, it the most crowded limited I have
    > ever seen. The tourists outnumber the residents by about 500 to 1. When
    > a village has 20 restaurants and one grocery store, you get the general
    > idea.
    >
    > > Barbara, I think you may have missed the point about the Cinque Terra
    > > villages. The reason that they are so immensely different from "hundreds
    > > of other Italian villages" is because of their precarious location on
    > > cliffsides that have been astonishingly cultivated for decades to yield
    > > thousands of stone terraces of grape vines. This superhuman
    > > accomplishment is one of the reasons that the Cinque Terra has World
    > > Heritage status.
    >
    > I was impressed by the vineyards and the little cable cars they use to
    > carry their tools up and their harvest down. However, I wouldn't really
    > recommend someone making a long trip to see the Cinque Terre, especially
    > on a short trip. The crush of other tourists detracts greatly from the
    > charm, at least for me. Let me state again that I was there on a rainy
    > day in October, and I'm sure the crowds are much worse in the summer.
    >
    > Barbara
    >
    >
    > Barbara



I agree -- we luckily strolled the path about 15 years ago in May with
literally only one other couple the whole way [and of course also the
obligatory field trip of 14 year olds from an Italian school] -- the
last time we stopped by, it was awash in tourists who seemed a bit
clueless about why they were there.

but then I felt the same way about San Gimignano which during the day
time looks like a tacky Disney 'attraction' -- but improves a lot once
the buses leave the sales booths of junk are folded up for the night.