# Northern Italy Road Trip



## J Leis (Jul 24, 2013)

We are spending 3 weeks in northern Italy in Sept/Oct & have plans in place to visit Florence, Tuscany and Venice. Would like some advice for our 10 day road trip through Northern Italy after leaving Venice. Tentative plans are to drive to Trieste, then north to the Dolomites, maybe stay in Bolzano 2 nights then drive to Bormio, spend 2 nights there. Then we would head to the Lake District for a few days. Any advice on how long to spend, or places we should not miss would be appreciated. We are comfortable driving and hope the weather that time of year will be good. My husband would like to go into Switzerland for a day as well so any ideas on that or other suggestions are appreciated. We like scenery, small towns, visiting wineries and want to do some easy to moderate hiking. Thanks for your help!


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## lizap (Jul 25, 2013)

Y'all sound so much like us.  If possible, I would work in a trip to Lake Bled Slovenia, not terribly far from Trieste.   It is worth the short drive.  We stayed in Titos summer palace on the lake.  The setting was phenomenal and accommodations were excellent.  The scenery is gorgeous as you make your way back toward the Dolomites.   Also would consider staying in northern Umbria; Tuscany has gotten so touristy and Americanized.



J Leis said:


> We are spending 3 weeks in northern Italy in Sept/Oct & have plans in place to visit Florence, Tuscany and Venice. Would like some advice for our 10 day road trip through Northern Italy after leaving Venice. Tentative plans are to drive to Trieste, then north to the Dolomites, maybe stay in Bolzano 2 nights then drive to Bormio, spend 2 nights there. Then we would head to the Lake District for a few days. Any advice on how long to spend, or places we should not miss would be appreciated. We are comfortable driving and hope the weather that time of year will be good. My husband would like to go into Switzerland for a day as well so any ideas on that or other suggestions are appreciated. We like scenery, small towns, visiting wineries and want to do some easy to moderate hiking. Thanks for your help!


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## Laurie (Jul 27, 2013)

The Italian Alps are one of my favorite areas so far, been 2x and hope to go again. I'll name off a few places to not miss and might have to come back because I'm sure I'll forget some.

We've spent 2 timeshare weeks there, first time in June near Val Gardena near Alpi di Siussi in the Dolomites ... and second time late Oct. near Merano which is in the Alps tho not the rosy pink Dolomite peaks - it's a gorgeous area of vineyards. Both were fantastic locations. Near the first, we overnighted in Castelrotto, a well-preserved medieval town - highly recommend. I'd highly recommend spending a couple nights in the scenic town of Merano as well. 

We started our second trip with a couple nights in Varenna (Hotel Olivedo) on Lake Como, highly recommend that too. Then we drove thru a bit of Switzerland (passing thru St Moritz - pretty route but not the most beautiful part of Switzerland as we've seen on a different trip) to our Merano timeshare. We didn't drive thru the Stelvio Pass, the highest road thru Italy because we weren't sure about snow and grades (and we always have the cheapest cars), and the rental place recommended not - but turned out we could have - we took a day trip up there from Merano one day and it was a very cool drive. If you're in Bormio I'm sure you'll drive up there, I bet it's already on your radar - take the whole road if possible, it's considered one of the most spectacular roads in the world:
http://carsroute.com/top-15-most-beautiful-roads-in-the-world/
(it's #2 on this ranking)

Before our first trip, which was pre-prime season, I spent a lot of time online figuring out which lifts would be open and to what level, because that's my favorite hiking - ride up as high as possible, then easy-to-moderate, sort-of-level hike with jaw-dropping views -then ride back down. This worked out great because we hit about every open lift in the area, and every day enjoyed an amazing hike. Second trip we did a few of those as well. If you request, I can try to gather up which lifts were open where, since you'll also be traveling out of high season.


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## vikingsholm (Jul 28, 2013)

The northern Italian alps and lake country is one of the most beautiful and rewarding destinations for mountain and lake terrain and classic alpine (Dolomites) and Italian stone (in the Lake country) architecture.

There are various different sections of large natural park areas in the Dolomites, and each have their own character, but all are spectacular.  One really exceptional area is centered at Cortina d'Ampezzo, where you can circle through Lake Misurina and up to Dobbiaco for a really scenic tour.  But the entire section east of Trento and Bolzano and north of Belluno over into the Julian Alps in Slovenia is fantastically scenic.

A drive along the east side of Lake Garda is very attractive also, including the old castle at Malcesine and ending at the lakeside town of Riva del Garda, with cafes near the shore.

Heading west from Bolzano through Sondrio takes you to Lake Como, one of the best of the large Italian lakes, though they're all appealing.  A short ferry trip on Lake Como to Bellagio on the peninsula from Varenna or Mennagio is a great trip, and just driving around the lake itself as well.  A short side trip from Mennagio takes you over to Lugano and Lake Lugano in Switzerland, which is one of the easier ways to include a visit there.


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## lizap (Jul 28, 2013)

There is so much beauty in Italy and especially in this part that it's hard to go wrong.


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## J Leis (Jul 29, 2013)

*Thanks!*

Your ideas are excellent and so helpful. I'm glad we have 10 days to incorporate your suggestions!


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