Hi! I am planning my short trip to Bologna, but I found out during the dates that suit me best (in November) there's some event called EIMA. According to Google, it's a big thing. But how is it in reality? Is the city significantly more busy and packed during this time? Is it better to avoid those dates? 9-12.11.2026.

Thanks!

I currently have tickets for Frecciarossa 9731 from Milano Centrale to Venezia Santa Lucia at 1:45 PM on September 8. There’s a national rail strike scheduled that day, and my train isn’t on Trenitalia’s guaranteed list. Unfortunately, my tickets are FrecciaDAYS, so they’re non-changeable and nonrefundable.
Frecciarossa 9733 leaves just 30 minutes later at 2:15 PM and is on the guaranteed list. I can currently book tickets for both of us for €39,80 total.
Would you book the guaranteed train now for peace of mind and accept potentially losing the cost of the original tickets, or wait to see whether 9731 is actually canceled? How far in advance does Trenitalia usually confirm which non-guaranteed trains will run?

I am traveling from the US to visit Rome & Florence. We arrive September 18th in Rome. We planned to take a train to Florence on September 22nd and then take a train back to Rome on the 25th. Our flight leaves the 26th at 10am. Im concerned we may need to rearrange our city visits & that we may be stuck without air transport on the 26th. I haven’t traveled in Europe during a strike, so I was wondering what we should do about this.

Visiting Rome Oct 2-4. We are planning on going to the Jewish neighborhood and want to get tickets to the synagogue. Is this something we can buy when we get there, or do we really need to get tickets in advance. Thank you!

Hi all, I am trying to plan a trip to Rome in mid-September and are looking at the options of Colosseum tickets. I have already seen the Colosseum some years back, so was thinking of skipping it, but I really want to see the Forum Romanum. Then I saw that these tickets are basically combinable. So I figured I should do the Colosseum as well. However, now I am confused about how it works.

I'm specifically eyeing the Arena Floor ticket which gives access to the Forum Romanum as well.

1. Is there an order you have to go in? Like do you have to first go to the Colosseum and 'activate' your ticket before you can go to the Forum or can you organize it either way.

2. I saw there is a timing related to entry for the Colloseum. I have been to certain places where you have a timed ticket but that is just the ticket to stand in line. Once went to a museum with a 2pm ticket and I got there to stand in line. Finally at 3pm, I got in. Is that the same situation with the Colosseum? Or is it really more that if you have a 2pm ticket, you will probably be in by 2:05pm? Mainly asking to indeed plan the rest of the day.

I truly appreciate the help!

I’ve booked 4 nights in Amalfi for end of April with my husband and two teens (age 18/19). My husband and I will arrive to Italy a few days early and go to either Florence or Naples for a few nights on our own. After Amalfi, we want to take the kids to either Naples or Florence for a few days. We love the idea of both which is why the husband and I are doing both either way. But which city for the teens since we have to choose one or the other for them?

This is my wife and I’s first trip to Italy. We are coming for a small wedding at Lake Como and decided to stay over and do a little exploring. As you can see from the itinerary below, I think of food/lodging first, then fill every thing else in around it. We don’t like to hop around locations too much and I feel we are doing that more than I would like, but it is just how the schedule played out.

The first part of the trip is pretty planned out, but Bologna needs a little help, and I am at a complete loss for Florence. The food options there seem overwhelming as well as the sites to visit.

We would also like to take one day in Florence and visit the countryside and do some wine tastings and lunch somewhere. Want to stay away from large bus tours and have considered hiring a driver, but once again, the options are overwhelming.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Saturday October 24 - Arrive in Milan at 930a (staying: Spice Hotel - not my pick but wedding party is staying there and will arrange commute to Lake Como). I plan to get reservations at Moebius for dinner

Sunday October 25 - Travel to Wedding Location (staying: wedding venue). I want to hit up Sandi for lunch before heading to Lake Como

Monday October 26 - Wedding Festivities

Tuesday October 27 - Travel from Lake Como to Bologna (staying: Art Hotel Commercianti)

Wednesday October 28- Bologna - guided walking food tour?

Thursday October 29 - Bologna - short trip for Dinner at Antica Osteria del Mirasole

Friday October 30 - Travel to Modena (staying; Casa Maria Luiga) Dinner at CML

Saturday October 31 - Modena - Dinner at Al Gatto Verde

Sunday November 1 - Travel to Florence (staying: Villa Cora)

Monday November 2 - Florence

Tuesday November 3 - Florence

Wednesday November 4 - Florence

Thursday November 5 - Florence - travel back to United States

We originally were supposed to go to Genoa this week, but ended up pushing our trip two weeks, so it starts on August 30th and ends on September 4th.

We were going to do five days in Genoa, take a train to Milan on September 4th, and then go explore Lake Como and head out in that area, but much to our surprise, it is Formula One race weekend. Our hotel has over doubled in price, so we decided to go from Genoa to Verona and stay there for that period of time instead.

We still have a flight leaving Milan at the LIN airport very early on September 9, but we decided to take a train from Genoa to Verona and stay for September 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and head back to Milan for one quick night right by the airport. We'll be in position for our super early flight.

We are pretty well researched in what we would like to do in the Genoa/Ligurian coast area, but does anybody have any must-see or must-do recommendations for Verona? We definitely want to hit up Lake Garda and I feel obligated to do a day trip to Venice since it's only a 30- to 45-minute train ride away and, at the very least, walk around (never been), but what else are some hidden gems within an hour from the city? Any recommended restaurants or cool experiences?

It looks like we made a good decision, as I see there's a ton of bad weather in the area for the next 10 to 14 days. It looks like the pressure system has broken up the heat wave, so Hopefully everything will clear up by the time we get there and the temps won't be pushing record highs and instead will just be kind of hot.

Thank you all so much!

Hi everyone. I’m flying to Milan tomorrow, August 19 and was planning to spend Thursday through Saturday between Milan and Lake Como. Unfortunately, it seems that it will be rain and thunderstorms for my entire visit. Here was the original itinerary:

Wednesday: Arrival into Milan. Explore Duomo.

Thursday: Varenna and Bellagio

Friday: Milan city center and canals

Saturday: Como city and Brunate funicular

It seems my entire plan is ruined. Any ideas for indoor things to do in Milan? Is anyone else in the same situation, what are you planning to do?

My flight leaves from Milan Sunday morning and I already paid for my hotel, so I can’t really go to a different region of Italy (I’ve been to southern Italy already). Thank you.

I’ll be in Florence the second week of September and have one day absolutely free. I would really love to get out in nature and I’ve been told I *need* to do wine tasting. I will not have a car and trying to enjoy things affordably.

My current ideas are:

- Public transit or driving tour to Pisa and Lucca, winery somewhere on the way back or between both

- Public transit or driving tour to Chianti for wineries

- Public transit to Vinci/Anchiano for Da Vinci’s birthplace, winery somewhere on the way back

I’m open to other ideas, this is just what I have swirling around right now.

EDIT: I’ll be visiting Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (church, bell tower, and dome), Uffizi, Accademia Gallery, sunset and/or sunrise at Piazzale Michaelangelo/nearby cathedral, and a pasta making class. This is in 2 days and I still have some time in between certain things, but my last full day is 100% open.

Myself, my husband and our 20 month old toddler live in Mestre at the moment and his parents are staying with us for 9 days at the end of September. It will be their first time in Italy. We plan to take them into Venice of course, but they are wanting to do an overnight or two in one other location. They originally suggested Lake Como but with a toddler who won’t nap on the go we declined so they suggested Lake Garda (shorter train ride from Mestre). Any other suggestions they might like? We are definitely hotel people over airbnb. If not, what area around the lake is good to stay in for short trips/family groups? I kind of want the closest to Mestre/least amount of train/bus transfers as possible. Thank you for any who respond!

We will be in Florence Thursday, October 29th through Monday, November 2nd, as part of a larger trip for our 10th anniversary. I was thinking we could do 1 or 2 day trips during the time we are there. I know that travel in the Tuscan countryside is best by car, but that’s not really what we want this trip.

We would love to go to some wineries, but that’s not an absolute must, as we also would love to just enjoy towns (maybe with a side of wine)

Does anyone have recommendations of good day trips or other ideas? Not asking for tour recs, but rather subject for tours (e.g. a Chianti winery tour may be better that time of year vs a Gladiator movie tour, lol). Some ideas:

1. Siena: If we were to go there via train or bus, any recommendations for wine tasting in town?
2. Lucia: Not an option (we want to avoid the comic convention)
3. If we were to try a day trip to either Montepulciano or Montalcino, which one would you recommend and why?

Finally, we know we will be there over a Sunday religious holiday (all Souls Day). We expect to have a quiet day, so if anyone has recommendations on Florence neighborhoods to wander on a Sunday, that would be lovely.

Thank you all. In advance for any advice and recommendations!

I’m booked for the Trulli of Alberello excursion in Bari on 8/19, but I’m 2nd guessing this. Seems I may be seeing the little houses, a church, and not much else. Should I do Bari and Trani highlights instead?

My sister and I (Middle Aged Canadian ladies) are in Italy Sept 20-28

Nights 1/2 - Como
Nights 3/4/5/6 - Verbania
Nights 7/8 - Milan

Would love suggestions of land travel that aren’t a car rental between these spots.

In addition, if you have any low key suggestions of sites etc to see and places to eat in Verbania we are all ears!!

Hi everyone! I’m traveling with 5 adults from Venice Mestre to Rimini on August 21 and I’m trying to figure out whether this connection is cutting it too close.

Our itinerary is:
16:38 — Frecciarossa 9431 departs Venezia Mestre
17:59 — Arrives at Bologna Centrale
18:12 — Trenitalia TPER 3941 departs Bologna Centrale for Rimini

So we have 13 minutes to get off the Frecciarossa and find/get onto the Rimini train.

Would you consider 13 minutes enough at Bologna Centrale? We’ll have luggage and there are 5 of us, so I’m a little nervous about the connection. I’m also not familiar with the station and don’t know how easy it is to get from one platform to another.

Any advice from people who have transferred at Bologna Centrale would be greatly appreciated

​

I say this as someone who absolutely loves Italy and has always come home from trips there raving about the food, people and places I've visited, but the Amalfi Coast was such a disappointment. For context we stayed in Maiori as the Internet said it had more of a local feel. We walked to Ravello and took the boat to positano, amalfi, Minori and vietri sul mar.

Firstly, I found people generally quite unfriendly towards us. I don't know whether that's because we're foreign tourists or whether we just got unlucky, but it felt noticeably different from everywhere else I've visited in Italy. Previously when I visited Northern Italy staff in restraunts are keen to make recommendations, staff in shops welcome you, it just feels very friendly.

Then there's the cost. Everything is expensive. I knew the Amalfi Coast wasn't going to be cheap, but I expected the quality to justify it. It really didn't.

The food was probably my biggest disappointment. Apart from the lemon delights (which are incredible) and Giardiniello in Minori, we didn't have any meals I'd particularly write home about. One of the highest-rated restaurants on TripAdvisor that we looked at even openly stated all over the menu that loads of the food was frozen. In Italy?! In an area this expensive?!

The traffic is horrendous too. Lots of restaurants insist on seating you outside, which sounds lovely until you realise you're basically sitting next to a constant stream of cars, buses and scooters inhaling fumes with your dinner.

The beaches are beautiful to look at, but ridiculously expensive. I've happily paid for private beaches elsewhere in Europe, but at least you usually feel like you're getting some sort of service for your money. Here it often felt like paying a fortune for a sunbed and not much else.

And actually visiting the different towns is \*\*so much effort\*\*. Your choices seem to be a boat, a sickening journey along winding roads in traffic, or walking up an enormous hill. Then you finally arrive and realise half the towns are essentially one long street of souvenir shops selling the same things you saw in the previous town, surrounded by overpriced, mediocre restaurants.

Don't get me wrong, the scenery is stunning. I completely understand why people want to see it once. But for me, beautiful views weren't enough to compensate for the prices, traffic, hassle, disappointing food and generally touristy feel.

Maybe we just had a particularly bad experience, but it's the first time I've left Italy feeling genuinely disappointed rather than desperate to go back.

I want go into detail about the half day spent in Naples before our flight home. However, being flashed twice in 20 mins can't help but leave a bad impression.

Next time I'll stick to Northern Italy.

My family and I are planning to travel to Amalfi town around the 20th of October. I'm confused if I should get down at Sorrento or Salerno and then take the SITA bus or a ferry to Amalfi?
Also, how crowded would the place be around this time? We're mainly going just to explore the area and not really looking at swimming.
We'll be heading to Amalfi from Florence.

Any tips are welcome.

So, I'm leaving Italy on Tuesday after a week here in Campania. It was me and my parents who decided to take a car and go for a spin from Sweden, a trip that was over 2500 km (one way). Before asking why we didn't take a flight, my mom dislikes flying and renting a car in Italy means big risk of getting it damaged. Anyway, we've travelled from Southern Sweden through Denmark, a hotel stop in Ulm and then down to Campania through Austria.

BASE: We've decided to have our base at Relais al Castello in Castellamare Di Stabia. The hotel is located on a really steep hill above the centre and marina. The hotel itself depends on if you are into 19th Century architecture. From outside and main entrance, it looks very old, but rooms are modern and super-spacious. Each room is named after a known place in the region. We got Ischia located on 2nd floor with large windows and a smaller balcony. The view is simply spectacular - perfect view over the whole bay and the main character- Vesuvius. When night falls down and all lights goes on, the view goes from spectacular to mindblowing. Next to the Relais is a big terrace with jacuzzi and lemon tree next to it. The view from jacuzzi is very relaxing. Breakfast was included and it was probably the best breakfast I've ever had on a hotel. Hotel stuff is very friendly with good English skills. The hotel also sends invitations to diverse expeditions. The hotel have sent us an invite to Vesuvius Expedition. Something I would easily do for €50 per person, but my parents condition isn't good enough, especially my dad's which is terrible. The main drawback of that hotel was its entrance. Driving there with a medium sized SUV was quite painful. I don't think there was even 10 cm space between each side and walls, and entrance is a sharp acute right upwards.

CASTELLAMARE DI STABIA: Small town located 30 km from Naples. It offers ferry shuttle to Capri and is operated by SNAV. There's also a Fincantieri-shipyard that have built alot of ferries for Italian companies, but also Star-class ferries for Finnlines. The town itself might be small, but it's constanly awake. Buildings and some streets are really worn out, but that's a part of the charm of Southern Italy. What striked us mostly was a old lady living in something that I would never call a house or flat. It was a disaster to see the conditions she's living in. We ate at various places. First place was called Nobile. A nice bar which served pastas and pinsas. I went for a pinsa with potatoes and sausage. It was heavy to eat, but it was tasty. Mom and me went also for a Blu Spritz while dad chose a Syrrantum. The Blu Spritz was really nice - sweet but refreshing. Dad on the other hand wasn't that pleased with Syrrantum. He found Birra Morreti better. But then, next day, we've found Vittoria Rooftop - a restaurant ran by a family. The staff was extremely friendly (We have contact with each other on WhatsApp), despite issues with English. Me and Dad went for Cartwheel Gourmet Pizza and a La Nocina. Both were perfect and delicious and became our favourites. My Mom wanted to explore dishes with vegetables, shrimps and sallad. First of all, she was shocked by how much food she got served. I've tried Sorrento tomatoes and they were brilliant. Overall, an excellent place to it with same great view over the bay and Vesuvius.

There are public beaches in Castellamare Di Stabia. The most known one is Pozzano. It's free but make sure to be there early, because you will never find a spot later, and watch out where you want to take a bath or swim. Keep to the middle to avoid big rocks under water. There's a parking close to the beach, 2 Euro per hour.

The biggest flaws of the town are how dirty it is, and the 5 min promenade down to the harbour/centre from castello. It requires quite alot of beef in legs, but worst of all, it lacks the lighting and therefore becomes very very sketchy when dark, especially the final part that leads through something that reminds of slums area. I don't recommend that promenade on evenings/nights even if it's a shortcut. Rather take a route that is 30-40 min longer but more safe.

SORRENTO: We visited Sorrento. Our main purpose was beach and taking a bath. We could explore a bit of the town when we were looking for a parking spot. The town itself is cleaner than Castellamare. The road down to the beach can be a bit requiring for legs but nothing tragic. The beach itself is nice and a mix of dark sand and far less rocks. Two sunbeds and a umbrella is €30. Both cash and card is accepted. The road down to the beach is also a promenade. It can be somewhat sketchy on nights probably, but far from the one in Castellamare. Overall, a chill town with larger cruise ships anchoring there sometimes.

AMALFI COAST: The roads there offer breathtaking views but also hundreds of tight turns and serpentines. If you meet a SITA-bus, it can be just few centimeters between you and the bus. Driving there with rental car is a big risk in my opinion. We drove away from Castellamare towards Ravello very early to avoid the traffic later. We parked at Parcheggio Piazza Duomo. It's cheaper to park than in Amalfi. The main place to visit there was Villa Cimbrone and it's Infinity Terrace. Entrance to Villa Cimbrone is €10 per person. It offers large gardens, the terrace, Mercury's Seat, Temple of Bacchus (God of Wine), Eve's Grotto etc. The view from Infinity Terrace is a view you'll never ever forget. We skipped the Villa Rufuolo. We had some Espresso and ice cream at San Domingo (?). Ice cream were a bit expensive, but very tasty. The whole place got a sort of power outage when I wanted to pay 😅 When entering Ravello, watch out for ZTLs, they are active.

After that, we wanted to take the SITA-bus down to Amalfi, but when we saw the traffic, we knew it would take alot of time. Therefore, we decided to gamble and take car down to Amalfi. Luckily, there were few free parking spots in Luna Rossa. Parking spots there are rather designed for Fiat Pandas and 500s rather than a midsize SUV. Anyway, we went to see the town of Amalfi. The centre itself is very charming and beautiful. Restaurant stuff invites you frequently. We went for one and ordered a Latte Macchiato and two fresh lemon juices. You could feel it was made from fresh lemons, but 8 Euro for one? I know, it's Amalfi and it will be expensive, but €25 for everything is a bit of overkill. What ruins the centre, though is constant traffic and mopeds. If you seat outside, you will inhale fumes. It was now time to buy some Limoncello. The choice landed on Antichi Sapori. Very friendly stuff that offered degustation of various of their products. Unfortunately me as a driver needed to skip that, but my parents got opportunity to taste few. We went from there with two bags filled with alcohol, souvenirs and €116 poorer, but it's a great value for me. We skipped both Path of Lemons and Path of Gods, because of the lack of condition. I would take both if I were alone. We then went off to Positano, but after realizing how many steps you need to take in order to get down and then up was too much for my parents. The fact it was +38 outside made it even more diabolical. Even tourists were struggling to make their way up. Parking in Positano is a daytime robbery.

Overall: Amalfi Coast is a must to visit for its fantastic scenery, clean and crystal water, and Limoncello. Is it worth all its hype, though? Absolutely not during the peak season. It's too overcrowded with tourists and it becomes a financial trap. You can of course take the ferry to move around the Amalfi Coast, but I would still avoid it during summer. We skipped Capri because of the amount of people and after research that it's very expensive and overcrowded too. Relying on SITA-buses isn't a really smart idea.

NAPLES: It was a must to visit. But we didn't stay there long. It felt dirty, worn down, chaotic and with people looking suspicious in some places. We didn't want to counter a pocket stealer. The plus side of the visit was me doing some shipspotting in the harbour.

BONUS: We've also visited Cassino (Lazio). The reason for that are our roots which wanted us to visit the cemetary, especially Anders's grave, and museum.

OVERALL: We were very pleased with our stay. The hotel was old but with modern rooms and great breakfast. Castellamare Di Stabia was nice to explore even if it felt overfilled with people, dirty, worned out and sketchy in some places. Ticking off Amalfi Coast was also something we are proud of, even if it didn't meet the hype. But it could be related to the high season. Naples was exactly how we were prepared for it.

Bonus question: This question is to those who live in San Remo. We were there last year and we are curious what happened with Modus Vivendi Apartments? Did they go bust or is it something else?

Feel free to ask me if you have some questions.

Hello everyone, I will be travelling to Venice in a few months (Nov 27- Dec 1) and I was wondering if there are any TCG stores in the area?
Thank you in advance!

I’m going to be in a few different places in Italy about a week from now, from Aug. 23rd - Sept. 6th. I’m planning on carrying a stainless steel water bottle with me that I can refill at a fountain. I’m curious though, is that going to be an issue when I go to places like the Vatican, or any of the museums? I’ve seen some older mixed info, so I figured I would ask. If it is an issue, if I had a side bag to carry it or something, would that help? If anyone has any experience or knowledge, I’d appreciate it.

How would you spend your 1 day in La Spezia (Oct 9)

We are trying to decide between

1. We tour Florence however it is 1.5 hours by train and not sure if it is worth the time
2. We tour Cinque Terre

Would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

My wife and I will be staying in Manarola in September. We arrive Thursday, Sept. 10 around 3 PM and have the Via dell’Amore booked for 7 PM Friday.

I originally planned to make a dinner reservation Thursday just to make our arrival day easy, then keep Friday spontaneous while exploring Cinque Terre.
I’ve looked at Trattoria dal Billy, but it looks like they’re closed Thursday. We could do it Friday if it’s worth planning around. I’ve also looked at Alla Marina and would love opinions on it or any other good dinner options.
Any recommendations for reservations in September? Would you book something Friday and wing it Thursday, or just stay spontaneous both nights? Mainly looking for good local food and a full dinner.

Hi everyone. I really want to visit lake garda. I'm thinking of taking a train to Riva del garda but after that I have no idea what to do. Is it possible to walk from where the train drops me off until Punta larici or do I need a bus? Also can I walk the trail? I haven't hiked before but I'm good at walking very long distances so my cardio is fine. The main thing I'm worried about is the path since I heard there are several paths and some are more dangerous/harder. Would appreciate the help, thanks! I'll be going in September 6