Northern Italy mid Sept - itinerary help

[Ian Sutton]

We are more comfortable than we used to be spending money to save time/effort. So money for a taxi instead of a bus with luggage is an easy choice.. Even laundry - we discovered our last stay at a hotel in Rome that for €20 a service would wash 2 bags of clothes - returned clean and beautifully folded instead of us searching for a laundromat and waiting around for loads to finish. I figured out the total cost of our trip / # waking hours = cost per hour. So like if your trip is $50/ hour it is better to spend $20 for laundry service.

The worst part of the trip for me is arrival morning and getting to our first accommodation, when we have had little sleep and trying to navigate transit tickets or car rental line ups with luggage. I was googling to see if we could get a car service to drive us from Milan airport right to Varenna upon arrival. Any recommendations? Approx cost?

It's been a while since we've used a service wash, as there's generally a washing machine in the apartment, but recall doing it in Puglia and them coming back beautifully folded, wrapped in tissue paper and smelling wonderful. Something of a treat.

If doing the laundry at the apartment, then it usually fits nicely in with 'chill time' that helps re-energise us for exploring.

I don't have any personal reccos for cars from Milano to Varenna, but would personally lean towards a Varenna taxi firm over a Milanese one. On balance I just find smaller places to be a more personable service than the big cities... oh and we had a poor experience in Milano with one off the airport rank.

I'll throw one place into the mix, whose appeal increases if the timing fits. Il Cavenago http://www.ilcavenago.it/en/home.html in Ghemme is an agriturismo maybe 30 mins drive from Milano Malpensa. It's a great place to stay, even if for just a single night, but with the appeal ramping up when they are serving food (typically Friday/Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch, but other nights if there is local demand). So if it's one of these nights and you'll be hiring a car at Malpensa, it might be a brilliant way to ease into arrival and allow you to wake up happy and refreshed for onwards travel.

 

[Sharon J]

Hi there. We are travelling to northern Italy this spring. It was a pandemic trip that we had to cancel. We also live in Toronto. Pre-pandemic Air Canada had direct flights to Milan. Now the only flights to Milan through Montreal. We considered many options, but because we love Rome so much and are also going to do Umbria and Emilia Romania this trip we decided that we wanted to fly into Rome. We had credits on Air Canada so we knew we were flying Air Canada and airfares from Toronto because of the high airport fees were ridiculous. So we are driving to Montreal and flying from Montreal to Rome. At the end of the trip, which will end in the Lake Como area, we are spending a week in Bellagio, we will take the train from Milan back to Rome and fly home from Rome.(it’s much less expensive than open jaw)This is our first time in the north of Italy. We are very excited about it. But As I mentioned, we will be combining this with Cambria and Emilia Romagna . I suspect/hope that we might do another trip at some point through the lakes and explore those other than Como. We haven’t planned travel other than just the towns around Como for the time that we are going to be there. Although we haven’t also ruled out, renting a car for a day so we can go a bit further a field . I don’t know if this was any help at all other than telling you what you probably already know that Toronto airport fees are outrageous. Anyway, good luck, and just to let you know, the trip to northern Italy, that we cancelled play during the pandemic, was planned for the fall. We did a little lot of research into it, and ultimately thought we would be just fine regarding the weather.

We have visited Lake Como many times, and have always stayed in a small water front hotel in Varenna. We've been thinking we would like to stay in Bellagio on our next visit. Even though it is much busier, we would really like to give it a try. I'd love to know where you stay.

 

[wco81]

Maybe this:
Arrive Milan and train to Varenna 4 nights (Linate or Malpensa?)
7 nights in Turin (day trips to Milan)
Rent car in Turin and drive to ~Montepulciano
7 nights at Sant’Antonio
Drive to FCO return car (maybe overnight if flight is early)

This is a 5.5-6 hour drive according to Google Maps. Probably similar times if you check on Via Michelin.

Also on different posts, you listed Montalcino, which is a different town and Sant'Angelo or Sant'Anselmo, which I assume are also two different places.

Montalcino and Montepulciano are great Tuscan towns but they're not really North Italy.

 

[joe]

The Avis car rental in Turin is at Porta Susa. What do we need to know about driving to the apartment, dropping off luggage and then returning the car? With GPS driving is so much easier, but it doesn’t always work well in places with streets really close together. Can it even be done with ZTL? Not sure which is the lesser frustration - driving straight from ~Montepulciano to Turin (5-6 hrs?) and navigating Turin streets to return the car, or hauling luggage to/from the train station in Lucca and then again in Turin.

I can sympathize with your dilemma. Last time we visited Torino with a rental (2016), I found driving in the city an experience that next time I'd like to keep to the bare minimum. Not that it's especially bad, but I simply hate driving in cities....anywhere.
I am now researching options for a trip this October to Piemonte, during which we will also have a rental. In our case it will be picked up at MXP, but our last three days will be in Torino, in which we will basically have no need for the car. So : to drop off the car in Torino and bus back to MXP, or use it to get back to MXP and pay for a couple of "wasted" rental days? There are advantages and disadvantages to both options, as you can imagine.

In your case, you at least have relatively easy access to the Avis office. You have an underground parking garage right below the office, so half the problem - being able to find a spot close to the office - is solved :

About taxis - it seems that this service, too, has become more user-friendly and now there are apps :

Taxi Cabs – Muoversi a Torino – Turin Infomobility Portal

www.muoversiatorino.it

As for Torino itself, I can only add one word to Ian's great overview : go.

 

[Alpinista]

The worst part of the trip for me is arrival morning and getting to our first accommodation, when we have had little sleep and trying to navigate transit tickets or car rental line ups with luggage.

A number of years ago, we started doing first day stops at a spa and just relaxing away the jet lag. I don't know if this fits with your time schedules, but it has been a real joy to have a fun first day (swimming pools, thermal baths, massages) rather than a long drive, opening up the house, doing grocery shopping and other chores.

 

[Ellesee]

We are planning to go to https://www.santantonio.it/
near Montepulciano. I know it’s not North and I made a mistake in an earlier post but I can’t edit it for some reason. Anyway it may be dropped if logistics get too complicated or we can only go for 2 weeks instead of 3. I have only read rave reviews so it been on the list for a while. We would need a car only for there so if we drop this part of the trip then we could possibly avoid renting a car at all.

Ian what a good idea to search for taxi service based out of Varenna instead of Milan. I like the idea of getting off the plane with transportation to Varenna arranged. I also like the spa idea. I also like the agriturismo idea. Sigh.

Lots of great options for us to consider.

 

[Joe Baumann]

I can also add to Ian's and Joe's post, GO. You will not be disappointed. Ian mentioned staying at Loger Comfort. I stayed there a few years ago and they are lovely apartments. There were two ladies who worked at reception and they couldn't have been any nicer. If you do go to Torino, be sure to have a Bicerin. When I first went, I took Ian's recommendation on some restaurants. However, that was pre-Covid and don't know how many of them would still be open.

 

[Ellesee]

Loger Confort look great. Is there any particular room that should be requested with nicer view or anything? 1 bedroom and full kitchen seems right for us.

I think we have an itinerary gelling:
YYZ to MXP on Condor
Taxi to Varenna from airport is ~€180.
Still considering the comfort vs cost of taxi vs train.
3 nights in Varenna at Albergo Milano terrace room (booked)
Train Varenna to Turin
5 nights in Turin at Loger Confort apartment. Day trip to Milan (or maybe not).
Rent car in Turin and drive to Tuscany ~4hrs
1 night at Grotta Giusti spa hotel (Marriott using points)
Worked that spa break in Alpinista and it breaks up the long drive.
Drive to Montepulciano area 2-3 hours
6 nights at Sant’Antonio county resort apartment
Drive to FCO area
1 night Marriott hotel (using points)
Return car to FCO
FCO to YYZ Condor

I would have liked 4 nights in Varenna but room is only available available for 3. Oh well it’s never perfect.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Loger Confort look great. Is there any particular room that should be requested with nicer view or anything? 1 bedroom and full kitchen seems right for us.

I think we have an itinerary gelling:
YYZ to MPX on Condor
Taxi to Varenna from airport is ~€180.
Still considering the comfort vs cost of taxi vs train.
3 nights in Varenna at Albergo Milano terrace room (booked)
Train Varenna to Turin
5 nights in Turin at Loger Confort apartment. Day trip to Milan (or maybe not).
Rent car in Turin and drive to Tuscany ~4hrs
1 night at Grotta Giusti spa hotel (Marriott using points)
Worked that spa break in Alpinista and it breaks up the long drive.
Drive to Montepulciano area 2-3 hours
6 nights at Sant’Antonio county resort apartment
Drive to FCO area
1 night Marriott hotel (using points)
Return car to FCO
FCO to YYZ Condor

I would have liked 4 nights in Varenna but room is only available available for 3. Oh well it’s never perfect.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I'm not sure if any are nicer than others. I *think* we've had the same one when we've stayed there. I think all are on the upper floors (4th & 5th floors).

As for the itinerary:

Taxi vs. train: Time of arrival can make a difference. An early morning arrival might point towards a train journey, whilst the later it is in the day, the more the appeal of fast and easy. It looks a manageable journey, just over 2 hours, with 1 change in Milano itself. I did check on the offchance there was a direct bus service, but it appears not.

Day trip to Milano? The nice thing is you can pencil it in as an option, and see how the mood takes you. I like to have a number of options partially prep'ed and we might decide the night before on one for the following day, or merely see how we are when we wake up. As a minimum I'd prep the route from train station to centre (we decided on the shortish metro journey)

One-nighter in a spa hotel. I think it's a super idea from Alpinista and glad it fits the schedule. With a car such one-nighters needn't be a chore - simply pack what you'll need for the day into day bags when leaving Torino, and everything else can stay in the car until Montepulciano. A longish journey is halved into two much easier ones. Also worth noting that if you love the spa experience and fancy a repeat, Chianciano Terme is a very nearby option.

Montepulciano country resort hotel - seems like a nice way to relax after the hustle and bustle of Torino, and those two drives. San Biagio and Montepulciano close enough you could probably walk there!

Some Montepulciano reccos:
- If you like wine, winetasting there is very easy, with (unusually for Italy) plenty of drop in tasting rooms). They also have some of the more interesting winery tours, as most have kept the humungous ' botti' wooden barrels that are no longer used, but still are a sight to behold. I love the local wine style (lean, even bony, but can age superbly). Plenty of good producers e.g. Dei, Boscarelli, Avignonesi etc. plus the most historic producer Contucci. I'll offer up a couple of more 'under the radar' producers: Crociani who have a tasting room in the centre of town & Daviddi who you may need to make an appointment for and are a drive away in Montepulciano Stazione. This latter one very much off the radar of most wine critics, being a family run winery where they'll hold some wine back to release onto the market when mature. They mostly make Chianti and I'd definitely recommend picking up a mature bottle from them - they're not very expensive considering that extra age.

- Ristorante la Grotta, San Biagio. I tend to be a little wary of restaurants in sight of tourist sites. However this is one of the smaller tourists sites, and tourism here is a long way from the mass tourism trail. The slight trepidation I had was misplaced. The food was excellent, as was the service (professional, yet also genuinely friendly). Definitely the best food we had in/near Montepulciano. Also enjoyable, but far more of a casual place was Osteria del Conte, but there are others that should be just as good, and there are also enoteche in the town for light dishes and wine.

FCO airport hotel to finish? Whilst not an idealistic destination, it is practical and removes the stress of getting to the airport on time. Sometimes common sense is the right option.

p.s. one more suggestion for Torino, and a somewhat quirky one. There's a small chain of shops selling their own cosmetics/toiletries with a central branch in Torino on Via Roma. https://kelemata.it/ Their website doesn't list them (it's never been that good a website) but I love their unisex 'aromi e spezie' range of deodorants, but there's plenty more stuff in the shop as well. (including the Perlier range I find less interesting). Their focus on clear herbal aromas has always appealed. There's also a strong range of skin lotions, from modest to "they're charging WHATTTT?!!!"

 

[Ellesee]

FCO airport hotel to finish? Whilst not an idealistic destination, it is practical and removes the stress of getting to the airport on time. Sometimes common sense is the right option.

Yeah airport hotel is uninspiring but necessary as the flight out the next day is early. Any dinner recommendations in the area of Marriott Park? It’s at A90 & A91 and that whole area looks pretty bleak on google street view.
We will keep our car until the morning drop of at the airport, so we can travel a bit for a nice last dinner. Maybe to Ostia? Or further north to Fregene waterfront?

 

[Ian Sutton]

Sorry, no personal experience of Rome. Hopefully others will have suggestions.

One suggestion if nothing much appeals, is to have a picnic pre-prepared when in Montepulciano, and find somewhere enjoyable to have it near the hotel. A quick look at the map doesn't highlight anything obvious, with the coast fairly busy, and whilst there are walking paths along the river, they don't look especially inspiring on google maps (satellite view). Still, with the car, you might be able to head a bit further to a nice scenic place.

 

[Andrew]

In the town of Fiumicino, our last dinner last time was at Amelindo Mare Ristorante, a pretty nice seafood place, if you want to drive there; there are a few seafood restaurants around there. On a previous trip, we stayed in the area where you're planning it at the Sheraton Parco de' Medici, where the hotel restaurant offered what you might expect for an upscale chain hotel.

 

[Phyllis]

Because of Ian’s recommendations we went to Turin 1918, it’s now my favorite city. I loved so much about it, the scale was ideal for walking and also the wonderful cafe life. We are now planning another Italy trip to the Amalfi Coast but I wish we could revisit Turin : (