Planning a Trip to Italy

Rome rocks! You definitely have to go and see the Vatican, Colluseum, Forum, Pantheon and the Spanish Steps as well as that big fountain. Get to the Vatican early on one day as it will take you most of the day to go through St Peters and the Vatican galleries. Ladies, ensure you wear a long skirt/sarong or trousers as you won't be allowed in if you are wearing shorts or a mini skirt. It is massive. Often there are people (English speaking students) who are willing to give you a guided tour with explanations through St Peters for free! The statues as well as the architechure of St Peters will blow your mind while you will crack up at the strategically placed fig leaves on the statues of the males throughout the Vatican gallery corridors. When you have finished exploring St Peters Square head down to the Pantheon. I got the best cheeseburger I had in Italy at the McDonalds opposite the Pantheon. The next day get to the Colluseum early to get in line. Later in the day the lines are very long! The Colluseum is awesome and again you may be able to get a guide here, for free! Then you can go onto the Forum across the road. It has been quarried away over the hundreds of years since it lost favour as being the seat of Roman govt, but it is still impressive as your guide will tell you. Romans are crazy drivers, so watch out. Keep a sharp eye out for pickpockets and be very careful with cameras, money, passports, etc as well as your bag. Try not to be anywhere by yourself late at night or early in the morning as that is the best time for thieves to target you and more than one tourist has had a fatal swim in the Tigeres as a result. Public transport is a bit hit and miss (like the rest of the drivers), but the underground train system is good. Tourist buses are not allowed to enter the centre of Rome, so if you go on Bus About or Contiki etc it is likely you will be staying on the edge of Rome. Otherwise you will be paying extra taxi fares to get to your inner city hotel and back again to catch the bus.

You either love or hate Naples, but if you hate it then once you get to spend time here, you learn to love it like I do. The city is a tourist gem. The locals sum it up exactly " an open-air museum" With every turn, there seems to be something on the street that belongs in a museum. And the actual archaeology museum is one of the best I have been to. Some of the best gigantic sculptures are here in addition to the finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum. What is even better is that the place is all yours since the tourist traffic is vey low. The bay, the old town, the Phegrean fields and the nearby amalfi coast makes it so ideal to spend a summer here.

Go to Punta Scutari - it is the best lookout in the region, and you can see miles of beautiful mediterranean. Can be a bit of a walk, so make sure you are fit before going to Meta! If you aren't, don't worry; you will be by the time you leave, even if you only spend one day there! Beaches are better than in Sorrento, Piano di Sorrento etc, but you don't really need to pay, because the 'public beaches', which are right next to the private ones, are every bit as good, unless you are looking for first-class treatment; this being the case Meta is probably not the place for you, as is more of a fishing village. This would have to be one of my favourite villages in Italia, as it has a more 'untouched' feel than Sorrento.

Much has been said about the beauty of Florence. I'll add nothing to that because it just IS really beautiful. Try not to go in the summer though. Tuscan summers are very hot, and walking around in a city in the blistering heat is not your ideal vacation. Springtime is the best time to go.

best time to visit is feb-march.Plenty to see so be prepared to do some walking. one of the few places in italy worth seeing and easy to get around in this city.3 days is enough to see this city and well worth while.

Go there to say you have been there, but a day is way more than enough. Venice is totally over rated. If you want to go down the canals, use the ferry, the gondolas, like everything else are way too over priced. Food is not priced so that they can charge the tourists more. St Marks Square is good, but five minutes and you've been there done that and is way too crowded. Don't bother with a map. Most of the lanes are unsignposted and you'll get lost with or without a map. Shopping expensive, so keep it to the window variety. If you go with Bus About or Contiki, the accommodation is crap and way out of Venice. You have to take a bus or ferry to get to Venice itself. Stock up on toilet paper and food before you get to the accommodation because they charge like a wounded bull for it and the ablutions are poor. Security is crap, so keep all you valuable and passports with you at all times - although, I think they like to take your passport as security for any damage you may cause at the camp while you are there, which I thought was really dodgy. Apart from Nice, this was the worst place we stayed at.

Walking along the sea is amazing. In town there is also a nice chocolate store, called Gay-Odin, where you can find anything made of chocolate. A very fancy ice cream bar, of which a have forgotten the name, is also there, and they sell fabulous ice cream made from seasonal fruits. Their toilets are wired, though. When you are in napoli, you can access to the Pompeji Ruins, which is compulsory. Bring water, it can be hot, and dont think you can make it to see all the ruins. However, it is fun to see if you have the slightest interest in ancient history

when looking for a clean, FREE bathroom, look out for signs marked W.C. this literally translates to water closet, but the toilets are very clean and you do not have to pay a gratuity.

Fiesole has some nice Roman sites that you can walk around and visit. There is a Roman amphitheater, Roman bathhouses, Roman toilets, Roman pools, remnants of the Etruscan walls, and a Museum with other Roman and Etruscan artifacts. Also, an amazing view overlooking Florence.

If you're backpacking around Northern Italy and want to stay in Verona, in my opinion, the best place to stay is the amazing Camping Castel San Pietro. It's located on a hillside very near to the city centre, and is surrounded by old city walls. There's a big terrace with a great panorama of the whole city. The places to raise the tent are situated on smaller tarraces full of trees and other plants (actually, you feel like in the middle of a forest :) ) The toilets and showers are ok. And - the prices are really low (compared to, for example, campings around Venice). I payed 19,5 Euro for 2 people with a tent :) Here's the link: http://www.campingcastelsanpietro.com/

La Residenza del Proconsolo Booking online allowed me to avail of a discount of nearly 75% on the standard room rate, for an amazing room, on the front of this 15th Century house. My window looked out on Il Duomo!

Yes, it can be noisy, as in any city centre, but once you keep the windows closed, and your air conditioning on for the hotter days, the sounds of the city should not distrub you.

Roberto and his staff were charming, friendly, informative and genuinely interested in ensuring their guests had a fabulous trip to Florence. In particular, his recommendation of places to eat were superb - and very reasonably priced in comparison to tourist eateries.

The house is located a few minutes walk from the Santa Maria Novelli train station, and all the major attractions seemed to be just around the corner!

One of the bonuses of the room, was a wonderful jacuzzi bath, to ease away the aches and pains of a day spent walking around the sights and sounds of Florence.

Breakfast is served in your room - a novel touch for anybody who is more used to staying in larger hotels. However, I found this to be a wonderful personal touch. And the coffee was divine!

All rooms are en-suite and most are non-smoking. My room not only had a jacuzzi bath, but a four poster bed, mini-bar, air-con, tv, telephone and a fireplace you could nearly stand into!

If you like your accommodation glitzy and new, and bright, this is not the place for you. However, if you want to experience a little bit of history and culture, and meet some wonderful people, then you couldn't choose a better spot.

Would not be suitable for wheelchair access.

Go to Web Wine to use the internet, drink espresso, eat food, or get amazing hot chocolate! Walk around as much as possible- there are lots of neat shops, excellent gelaterias, Roman, Etruscan, and Medieval ruins, and a bus stop where you can catch a bus to other great Italian destinations!

You can't just rock up to the leaning tower, get in line, and climb to the top. You have to book a time slot when you get there, so if you arrive in the afternoon you may not get up there until 8pm. It is worth looking up on the internet, as I am not sure if you can book in advance via telephone or email, we did it when we got there.

Archo Rossi (Red Arch) is a decent hostel in Florence, not far from the train station. Staff friendliness is generally okay, though varies, and there's no A/C. But free breakfast and free Internet so overall it was decent. I was very happy with the experience, but my biggest source of joy was that I was going by hop-on-hop-off bus (Busabout) and their accomodation at Florence is a horrendously far campsite that required a fifteen minute hike just to get to the bus stop!

Sorrento features one of the Best schools for foreigners to learn Italian. Sorrento Lingue can be found on the Internet. Native teachers are good quality, the programme is a real language learning programme and not just a kind of cheap look-alike. The good thing is that there are not too many foreign tourists and that it is possible to practise what you learned with the local population...

One of the most beautiful places i went to, and i want to go back there. The shopping is fantastic as is the lovely architecture. You can get your caricature drawn by one of the many artists along the street, take photos of 'David', and also walk the infamous bridge laden with shops of gold - once the shops of butchers meat!! There are many designer stores and many crepe stands, but don't forget to leave without picking up a real piece of genuine leather garment from florence! Don't miss also the 'Space Discoteca' night club!! Don't worry if you hurt yourself in Florence, hospital help is great in florence (if you can speak italian- although all doctors speak english)

I accidentally got caught up in the horse shinannigans...great photo opportunities and the biggest parking ticket every received while travelling. If you're familiar with painting, the colour Burnt Sienna gets it's name from the colour of the surrounding countryside in Summer...

Verona is absolutely charming and romantic... I especially loved its architecture and the Roman arena... Juliet's house is also nice... taking a photo on her balcony is obligatory! :-)

Visit the Piaza outside the Arena of Verona for photographs with/within some of the scenography of earlier opera performances given in the Arena.

Visit the Piaza outside the Arena of Verona for some pictures with/within scenography from older opera performances.

I wouldn't advise this little village. It's really hard to go there by public transport and also very boring. The only good things they offer are the beach and the italian food..

the place to be...if you wanna be entertained is OOOOtranto in the south of Italy... Club Med!

DO NOT LOCK YOUR LUGGAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They 're gonna rob you anyhow and that's a fact.- If it's unlocked they won't tear the zipper :D Why searching for a new one and risk your flight? Of course you don't leave in your hotel room cash, credit cards or cameras.. Take 200 euros and thank the god of VISA :P

P.S. Despite all, if they did rob you, do not spend time at Polizia..

---Justees---   the better place where you can express yourself ...  bring your idea with you and let them print it for you... Stefano and Simone are waiting for you... lots of  t-shirts are ready to be customized by you!!! I loved this shop!

Florence Italy, famous for it's leather and for their cathedrals. Here you will find the traditional squares or Piazzas with lots of stalls selling souvenirs and couture shopping mixed. Beware the stall vendors- they like to sell imitation name-brands which happens to be VERY illegal in Italy. Never EVER buy imitation Italian brands because it is punishable by law in Italy and you could potentially be found out when passing through Customs at the airport! If a police officer catches you buying a fake- you could be fined thousands of dollars! For a pair of faux Gucci glasses!! So stick with the real stores and try not to be sucked into buying from street vendors.
While in Florence, try to stop by the store Mizzuri. Here they have lots of unique leather items- purses, gloves, coin wallet- as well as other beautiful things such as umbrellas. I bought my most unique and beautiful souvenir from here. You will find nice things to bring home for your friends and family as well as to keep for yourself. They also engrave for free! If you purchase a leather item, they will brand your initals into the leather free of charge.
And of course, do not forget to see the cathedrals- especially Il Duomo. Absolutley beautiful. And make sure you stop by to see the Ponte Vecchio which means "Old Bridge", as it happens to be THE oldest bridge of it's kind in Europe!

An extraordinary country! Good to visit, always!

Dont travel with a group in venice!!! - after you diembarked from your opereta boat, go alone and dont stick with the group. the group tours show san marco and realto- and stick 3 hours to unesseary explanations. venice is small and easy to get around- go always by foot and alone- so you will reach all the shops. by the way- there is a small market on the beach right after san marco

Be sure to stop by Cinque Terre on the way to Pisa because you can just fly by and not notice these really cool little towns on the way. Great beaches and really picturesque places to walk/ take pictures or whatever.

The art and culture of millenarian times in one place

firenze is superb! You really have to visit it once in your life. All the art and the little streets, just marvellous!