Expert: Andrew Smith - 9/13/2009

Question
I am planning a surprise trip to Italy for my husband. We leave Sept 29th and return EARLY Oct 8th
We fly into Milan and out of Bologna. My plans are to see Milan, Florence, Cinque Terra, Bologna and over to Split Croatia.
What do you suggest we see, where to stay,how to get to each city as well as over to Croatia.
I want to make this a very special trip, filled with a lot of sightseeing, eating in the best restaurants, staying in moderate price hotels, unless there is one that is a MUST and then I will splurge on it. We also want to do as the "locals" do.
The delicious restaurants that are a must as well as music/entertaining.
Thanks for any and all help you can offer.
Please answer ASAP, as we leave soon
Thanks
Sara


Answer
Wow, you really do have a lucky husband.

I have a lot of suggestions, including a number of places not on your list.

First of all I would not waste any time in Milan rather see Venice, nowhere is more romantic. I recommend on my site (http://www.venice-italy-veneto.com/veneto-hotels.html) a couple of good value hotels, a few more expensive hotels but very romantic ones and lots of great restaurants.

Have you also considered Piedmont as a region? Lake Orta (http://www.my-italy-piedmont-marche-and-more.com/lake-orta.html) is one of the most romantic places in Italy and one of my  most romantic of all Italian hotels is also in Piedmont, it is a real fairytale type castle (http://www.my-italy-piedmont-marche-and-more.com/landmark-hotel.html) with a superb restaurant

Getting from city to city is easy by train but hiring a car and exploring the countryside is always a good idea. If you visited Piedmont then I would suggest you go from Milan to Turin and hire a car to explore for a few days then get the train to cinque terre and then again the train onto Florence and Bologna.

Alternatively catch the train from Milan to Cinque Terre and then to Florence, Bologna and Venice. Also a good idea is to stay in Venice and then spend a few days around Verona or in Soave exploring Lake Garda and the wine area around Soave, late September is a good time as it is harvest time and there is a huge festival in late September in Soave (http://www.venice-italy-veneto.com/soave.html)

I hope this give you a few ideas. The Italian railways site can give you train timetables http://trenitalia.it/homepage_en.html