We will be spending a week in Cortona Italy in early October. Considering a few nights prior in Venice, driving to Cortona and then departing out of Florence at the end. We have been to Florence before and Rome which is why Venice is on our list.

Anyone have suggestions for Venice, where to stay, how many days, or stops along the coast when he head to Cortona?

Thanks!

I don't think you need that many days in Venice. 2-3 maybe? Later in the year places should be a little bit cheaper. My wife and l are about to go back. In early September after a few days in the Dolomites before we head to Tuscany and then Spain. It really depends on your budget. Venice can be crazy expensive at times. We stayed at the Gritti Palace a few years back. Opted for an Air BNB this time because the Film Festival is going on so hotels prices are even more inflated than usual. My main suggestion would be to make sure you have accesss to wherever you are staying directly by boat as it looks like a pain in the ass to navigate the streets with luggage. Happy to send over recommendations if you'd like.

Spend no more than two days in Venice. I would recommend udine, trieste, sacile and Pordenone. Tremendous small Italian cities and great history. Trieste is home to the only axis former concentration camp, which is interesting.

speck3 said:

---

I don't think you need that many days in Venice. 2-3 maybe? Later in the year places should be a little bit cheaper. My wife and l are about to go back. In early September after a few days in the Dolomites before we head to Tuscany and then Spain. It really depends on your budget. Venice can be crazy expensive at times. We stayed at the Gritti Palace a few years back. Opted for an Air BNB this time because the Film Festival is going on so hotels prices are even more inflated than usual. My main suggestion would be to make sure you have accesss to wherever you are staying directly by boat as it looks like a pain in the ass to navigate the streets with luggage. Happy to send over recommendations if you'd like.

---

Recommendations would be great! Thanks!

Coming down from Venice, I would definitely recommend Ravenna which was capital of the Roman Empire & later a minor capital the Byzantine Empire in Italy. It's a UNESCO world heritage site & has some awesome old architecture.

If you're not stuck to the coast, I would also recommend Bologna.

Curious why a week in Cortona? It's very small & the whole town is walkable in a day. If you use it as a base, I would recommend renting a car and venturing out to places like Chiusi, Pienza, Montepulciano, Siena and Perugia. Some of those towns are so small & close you could see two in a day and it would definitely be worth it.

Apache said:

---

Coming down from Venice, I would definitely recommend Ravenna which was capital of the Roman Empire & later a minor capital the Byzantine Empire in Italy. It's a UNESCO world heritage site & has some awesome old architecture.

If you're not stuck to the coast, I would also recommend Bologna.

Curious why a week in Cortona? It's very small & the whole town is walkable in a day. If you use it as a base, I would recommend renting a car and venturing out to places like Chiusi, Pienza, Montepulciano, Siena and Perugia. Some of those towns are so small & close you could see two in a day and it would definitely be worth it.

---

Thanks for the tips! We have an "apartment" in Cortona we bought at a fundraiser and yes....will be renting a car and doing day trips.

f2foxes2001 said:

---

Spend no more than two days in Venice. I would recommend udine, trieste, sacile and Pordenone. Tremendous small Italian cities and great history. Trieste is home to the only axis former concentration camp, which is interesting.

---

Agreed 2 days is plenty. Also be prepared for flooding in low areas as the tide comes in.

AustinScubaAg said:

---

f2foxes2001 said:

---

Spend no more than two days in Venice. I would recommend udine, trieste, sacile and Pordenone. Tremendous small Italian cities and great history. Trieste is home to the only axis former concentration camp, which is interesting.

---

Agreed 2 days is plenty. Also be prepared for flooding in low areas as the tide comes in.

---

Agreed. We just did Venice last week. We spent a day in Venice, and that was enough for us. I could see how somehow who really wants to see all the museums and stuff might be able to add a day, but after that you'll have seen everything. We really liked it, though. It was the most relaxing part of our trip so far, mostly because we didn't have to dodge cars like we had to do in every other Italian city.

befitter said:

---

Apache said:

---

Coming down from Venice, I would definitely recommend Ravenna which was capital of the Roman Empire & later a minor capital the Byzantine Empire in Italy. It's a UNESCO world heritage site & has some awesome old architecture.

If you're not stuck to the coast, I would also recommend Bologna.

Curious why a week in Cortona? It's very small & the whole town is walkable in a day. If you use it as a base, I would recommend renting a car and venturing out to places like Chiusi, Pienza, Montepulciano, Siena and Perugia. Some of those towns are so small & close you could see two in a day and it would definitely be worth it.

---

Thanks for the tips! We have an "apartment" in Cortona we bought at a fundraiser and yes....will be renting a car and doing day trips.

---

Castiglion Fiorentino (just to the north of Cortona) is worth a day trip for sure! It's another small hillside town like Cortona, A&M has/had a study center there for years. If you decide to stop through, definitely check out Ristorante Roggi, the owner has become really close to many of the Aggie students over the years. Sadly, it looks like a couple of the other spots popular with the students have closed (there was an amazing gelato shop there), but the town is definitely worth a walk through!

Also, random fact, the first 9/11 memorial in the world was actually designed by the students at the study center and placed outside of it's walls. It can be seen here: Memorial Location

befitter said:

---

speck3 said:

---

I don't think you need that many days in Venice. 2-3 maybe? Later in the year places should be a little bit cheaper. My wife and l are about to go back. In early September after a few days in the Dolomites before we head to Tuscany and then Spain. It really depends on your budget. Venice can be crazy expensive at times. We stayed at the Gritti Palace a few years back. Opted for an Air BNB this time because the Film Festival is going on so hotels prices are even more inflated than usual. My main suggestion would be to make sure you have accesss to wherever you are staying directly by boat as it looks like a pain in the ass to navigate the streets with luggage. Happy to send over recommendations if you'd like.

---

Recommendations would be great! Thanks!

---

Personally my recs are as follows:

1. Private Taxi Boat when entering and exiting the city from the train or airporti used these guys because they were much more reasonably priced IMO.

http://venicelink.com/

2. If you do other islands Murano and Burano seem to be the most popular. Venice Link can also help with rides there if you want private tours.

3. Favorite Restaurants as follows (reservations needed)
-Hostaria Bacanera
-Alle Testiere
-l'Osertia Santa Marina (tasting menu)
-I' Bacaro de' Bischeri - fantastic sandwiches for a quick bite
-Vino Vero - Natural Wine Bar with Ciccheti

4. Sites to visit
-St. Marks Square
-Doges Palace
-Gritti Palace
-Opera House

Get lost wondering around at night. When we visited in the winter one year it was so quiet and lovely. Curious how chaotic it will be during the film festival while we are there next month.

Quote:

---

Get lost wondering around at night.

---

x1000
When the crowds empty out, the place is magic. Like nowhere on earth.

100%. Incredible at night. get out of San Marco and San Polo. Spend time in Dorsodouro and Cannaregio, find a hole in the wall with the crowd spilling into the square and grab a few 1.50 Euro glasses of local wine and a couple 1 euro sandwhiches. Just awesome.

speck3 said:

---

befitter said:

---

speck3 said:

---

I don't think you need that many days in Venice. 2-3 maybe? Later in the year places should be a little bit cheaper. My wife and l are about to go back. In early September after a few days in the Dolomites before we head to Tuscany and then Spain. It really depends on your budget. Venice can be crazy expensive at times. We stayed at the Gritti Palace a few years back. Opted for an Air BNB this time because the Film Festival is going on so hotels prices are even more inflated than usual. My main suggestion would be to make sure you have accesss to wherever you are staying directly by boat as it looks like a pain in the ass to navigate the streets with luggage. Happy to send over recommendations if you'd like.

---

Recommendations would be great! Thanks!

---

Personally my recs are as follows:

1. Private Taxi Boat when entering and exiting the city from the train or airporti used these guys because they were much more reasonably priced IMO.

http://venicelink.com/

2. If you do other islands Murano and Burano seem to be the most popular. Venice Link can also help with rides there if you want private tours.

3. Favorite Restaurants as follows (reservations needed)
-Hostaria Bacanera
-Alle Testiere
-l'Osertia Santa Marina (tasting menu)
-I' Bacaro de' Bischeri - fantastic sandwiches for a quick bite
-Vino Vero - Natural Wine Bar with Ciccheti

4. Sites to visit
-St. Marks Square
-Doges Palace
-Gritti Palace
-Opera House

Get lost wondering around at night. When we visited in the winter one year it was so quiet and lovely. Curious how chaotic it will be during the film festival while we are there next month.

---

Thank you!!

We stayed in Venice prior to going to cortona last year (same fundraiser type thing). Spent three days/two nights there and felt like we saw everything. Personally Venice was neat, but it's a total tourist trap. Cortona was a great little town to visit even though we were about 20 minutes in the mountains outside of it. I would recommend cantina canaio for a winery day trip. The family there that runs the winery is fantastic.

If you have the opportunity, tag on Oktoberfest in Munich beforehand. Definitely worth the experience.