Verona, Venice, Vicenza, Milan

wandererz

Hi,

I will be flying into Verona in May for 4 or 5 days.

Key item on the list is to take the wife to Venice for a day or two & perhaps to Milan as well.

Would like some advice as to where to stay that's decent enough yet not too expensive.

Was thinking of staying in Vicenza, Verona, Padua or anywhere in the general area that's accessible for the majority of the time.

Has anybody had any positive or negative experiences or suggestions as to where and what type of hotels/ guesthouses to look at.

Also, wouldn't mind spending a night at the Hotel Danieli even though it wouldn't be considered inexpensive... Any recommendations here as to the room types etc. would be appreciated.

Thanks

zagmund

Too many variables.

If your main reason is to bring her to Venice then it would be mad to stay in a different city and commute there every day. You would just be getting into a nice romantic mood in the evening walking around Venice, picking out somewhere nice to sit down and eat and people watch for the evening when one or other of you would be going "right, we need to get to the station now to get the 1943 to Bologna (change to platform 7 at Verona, reservations mandatory, Saturdays excepted)" This may ruin the buzz.

There are plenty of nice relatively affordable hotels in Venice, and there are a few threads here with suggestions. We stayed in one of the Best Westerns (forgot the name) and it was pefect. There were easily 5-10 other similar hotels in spitting distance (like a few hundred metres). The place is full of them.

We also stayed in Verona for a few days, but it really is geared up for the opera (www.arena.it) so unless the opera is on your schedule it's not worth detouring for. I'm not saying it's not a nice place (because it is) but just that there are plenty of other nice places to visit in the region. With the opera on, all the cafes and restaurants will be chockers in the early evening and then empty out when 10,000 (or whatever number) of people all bale over to the show at the same time.

My suggestion - if you want to go to Venice, then go and enjoy it. Don't put pressure on by having to be somewhere else in the evening. A few days in Venice and a few days in one of the other cities would be the way to do it.

z

ardmacha

I agree with the previous poster that if you want to go to Venice then go there and stay there and take in the evening atmosphere. It is a unique place and deserves a stay.

Verona is a nice place and one the main rail junctions in Italy, so ideal for day trips to places. Unlike Venice, a daytrip should give a good impression of the likes of Vincenza.

wandererz

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

Will be staying in Venice anyway.
Perhaps i should be more specific...

Will be flying into Verona mid afternoon (3.30-4pm) and it will probably be about 5pm by the time we get out of the airport.

Ideally would like to be doing something or the other that day rather than spend time traveling too much. So was thinking of

Day 1 Sat - spending the evening in Verona or close by.
Day 2 & 3 Sun & Mon - Venice
Day 4 Tues - Train to another city (AM) & overnight there
Day 5 Wed - 2nd day in above city & return home PM

So, the question is: Are 2 days sufficient for Venice or should it be extended to 3?

As to the other cities - i can choose something suitable.

zagmund

2.x days would be sufficient for Venice in my view, but I would go there the evening you arrive, get to see a bit of the city that evening, and wake up Sunday morning right where you want to be. The alternative is to spend the night in Verona, not see much of it, wake up the next morning, go get the train, and arrive in Venice in the late morning or afternoon. After you get to your hotel, check in, sit down, relax, etc . . . you will already have lost a significant part of Sunday. Get the transport out of the way on Saturday and start afresh on Sunday morning. That's what I would do anyway. That gives you Sunday & Monday in Venice and then (as you suggest) head away on Tuesday morning.

I take it that flying in to Venice is out of the question & flying to Verona is a given - correct ? What are your options for flying home ?

z

wandererz

Thanks zagmund.

Flights already arranged to/from Verona so cannot change those.

Being midway between Milan & Venice i'm thinking it may be good flying in/out there for both cities.

If anyone has stayed at the Hotel Danieli in Venice, i would appreciate any advice on rooms etc. Have seen some fairly good reviews on Tripadvisor so far so just need an idea of what type of room to book.