Ellmeister Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Me and the girlfriend have finally decided to go Italy for a few days for a mini/first holiday together. Now I have no idea where to go except the typical idea of Rome as it has the coliseum etc. I was hoping people could post their ideas of where we should go/what to see/ what not to miss out on/ tips. And if you haven't been to Italy, what would you go and do if you had the chance? Andddddddddddddddddddddd..GO! P.S No Ashley you can't come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenuh Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Oooh, Venice of course is lovely to visit with the canals and all that. As is Florence, which has some nice old buildings. I really liked it there. Pisa, Pompeii, Siena all have something special too, especially Pompeii. I also liked Paestum for it's Greek temple ruins. It depends what you want to do though, these are all cultural places. I've only been to Italy once, with school, and we travelled through the country visiting different cities. We went to see all the ruins and old Roman and Greek art etc. I loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 P.S No Ashley you can't come. The only reason I came into this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellmeister Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Thanks Eenuh I will look into those places. Does no-one else have any suggestions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolness Bears Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I've been to Italy about 4/5 times me thinks. If you are going for a mini break/few days I definitely recommend Rome it is perfect for that. I went last year with my friend for about 5 days and there was enough to do to keep us interested but not too much to feel like we missed out on a lot of things. It's just a great place to spend with someone, I've been twice and it was great each time. There is a lot of atmosphere throughout the day and night so there is loads to do in my opinion. Venice is just as magical, one of my favourite places ever since it is so different but I only went for a day so don't know how it'd hold up for a mini break. I forget where it was since I've been to Sorrento, Dezenzano and Sirmione but one of those acted as a great central base to then go off and explore not just that place but Venice, Pompeii, Herculanium (can't spell) amoung other things. Also Verona where I watched Aida in the Ampitheatre. mesmerising. Alternatively Lake Garda is also beautiful, some of the places I mentioned above are situated on the lake and you can be situated on one and set off and visit other lesser known villages/places across the lake which are lovely. Not as much to do/see on them though. Also Capris is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellmeister Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 Thanks Coolness! What did you do in Rome? We were thinking of Rome because it has so much to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodleman Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Dont go to Milan its shit and far too humid (or at least it was last Friday). Trieste was pretty nice, Lago d'Iseo was quite cool. Lake Como looked quite nice from the car. Stelvio Pass was pretty awesome, if you're going to hire a car. :awesome: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenuh Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Thanks Coolness! What did you do in Rome? We were thinking of Rome because it has so much to see. Rome of course has the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica... There's quite a bit to see in Rome. Maybe get one of those small travel books, they will highlight everything worth seeing. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 If you're going to Italy for the first time, go to Rome. I went there for 4 days with my grandparents and absolutely loved it. The highlight of the trip for me was the Colosseum, but everything else was just amazing too. The whole of the Vatican is incredible. The Sistine Chapel is amazing and St Peter's. We had a tour guide who just had so much to tell us about these places and really made the trip for us. Ofcourse you can get books etc but our guide was great. Other things we went to of the top of my head were: -Spanish Steps -The Trevvi Fountain -Panthenon -The Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenuh Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Yeah it's always good to have a guide to tell you things! We had our teachers as guides so it was free haha. And I forgot about the Spanish Steps! Ah now I want to go to Rome too. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolness Bears Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 As others have said above I recommend getting a small travellers guide to Rome or something and actually plan what to do. Also we got a map which had all the things on it and some other lesser known stuff and we went on a massive search to get to it, so we managed to wander about and explore different parts of Rome. :p So it should mostly be planned but with room left to wander/ get lost in. I went to all the places listed above but I was lucky enough to have a friend who new what he was doing/where he was going so yeah. I do not like the Sistine Chapel though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellmeister Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 So is it expensive? Do you have to pay a lot for these trips to such historic places? I always planned to see Rome but never really thought about when. I guess now may be a great time to do so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenuh Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 St. Peter's Basilica information: http://saintpetersbasilica.org/touristinfo.htm#cupola 6 euros to go up the stairs, 7 for the elevator. They recommend going up by elevator and down by stairs. I'd say it's the best option; we went up by stairs and it's quite a walk, with not much to see when you go up (as you're going through the sphere shaped roof). But the view on top is beautiful. =) Information about Colosseum, Forum Romanum and Palatine Hill: http://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/colosseum.htm Has some information about tickets too. And seems to have more information about other stuff in Rome on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 So is it expensive? Do you have to pay a lot for these trips to such historic places? I always planned to see Rome but never really thought about when. I guess now may be a great time to do so! Things in the Vatican were expensive from what I remember but 100% worth it. I'm pretty sure the tour guide we were with something like "Angel Tours" which is run by young people. I think that you get entry into the place your tour goes with that tour group too so you just pay for the tour beforehand and that gets you into entry for wherever you're planning on going. http://www.angeltoursrome.com/ That's them there. They were fantastic, all 4 of us, my elder brother and Grand and Grandpa thought the guides were amazing. We had to queue up for 30 mins to get into the Sistine Chapel and she was able to give out information about it for all of that half hour. You get a wee earpiece so you can hear her however big the group is (ours were pretty small) and also means if you want a break from someone talking you can take it out. Edit - Ooh, they have a student/young person discount too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konfucius Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 (edited) If you are in Rome you might want to take a trip to Ostia as well (about 25 km away from Rome). There are some nice beaches if you want to swim in the sea and ostia antica was a harbour which actually offers some historic buildings and stuff. Edit: And if you plan on sending postcards, send them from the Vatican. Vatican post services are a lot quicker than italian and probably more reliable Edited July 22, 2010 by Konfucius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Dont go to Milan its shit and far too humid (or at least it was last Friday). Trieste was pretty nice, Lago d'Iseo was quite cool. Lake Como looked quite nice from the car. Stelvio Pass was pretty awesome, if you're going to hire a car. :awesome: I would absolutely love to drive round there, hopefully I'll get a chance to soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayseven Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I didn't enjoy rome. Too busy for my liking. But one tip I have! If you're looking for authentic pizza then don't just enter the first place you see -- roam (lol) down the streets behind the main restaurant-filled streets and you'll find more traditional, real, homely restaurants with (slightly) better prices and pizza done the way it should be! Try and go on one of those red open-top sightseeing tour-buses. They're always good for getting a general overview of a city, and a handy way of noting the places you would like to have a closer look at. I wouldn't mind re-trying Rome at a less-busy time of the year... but I don't think there ever is one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReZourceman Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 When in Rome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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