Italy Trip: Advice needed

[londonray]

Hi guys.. me going to Italy in the very near future... 22nd June to 3rd July...
Will be visiting some of the major cities... Was wondering if there are any kind souls that could point out some of the spectacular photog places that you think are really worth going to whilst I am there in the city or near them... Stated below is a rough plan... (can be changed slightly if necessary)

Arrive in Rome (22nd June)
leave Rome for Florence on 24th june
Leave Florence for Cinque Terre on 26th June
Leave Cinque Terre for Milan on 28th June
Leave Milan for Venice on 30th June
Leave Venice and go back home....

Also... feel free to pass on your experiences on Italy if you have met some kind souls... or if you met with some mishap... Good food places are also welcome through PM... (would like to keep this thread more on photog)

Last but not least... I would be posting some of the pics that I took on this thread as well... so pls... do help me along... and I hope that I can post some nice photos.. for everyone to see... Cheers

(I hope that this is in the right forum) coz can't think of a better one...

 

[daanis]

florence is beautiful for photos. the whole city is like a museum. if you find the time, try to go to siena and around the area. you can have beautiful countryside and those beautiful medieval towns. assissi is wonderful especially when the sun sets in, glowing the town with wonderful colours. tuscany is probably the most beautiful region in italy.
i think you should not stick to big towns because the smaller ones are more interesting.
but that does not mean you should totally skip the big ones.

 

[Astin]

Arrive in Rome (22nd June)
leave Rome for Florence on 24th june
Leave Florence for Cinque Terre on 26th June
Leave Cinque Terre for Milan on 28th June
Leave Milan for Venice on 30th June
Leave Venice and go back home....

If u intend to take the night trains to and fro from these cities, be careful of your wallets, backpacks, camera equipment, etc.

 

[nemesis32]

It seems rather rush but i guess you can still cover most places.

Rome - must go places is the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps (go in the evening) or after shopping/window shopping at Via Condotti, go to Via Veneto and experience high-class dining and look at all the beautiful hotels and cafes, Colossium, Roman Forum, Vatican Musuem and St Peters. All these must do no matter what. Other things you may want to do is to try the to die for ICECREAM - the GELATO..., Flower market and the other fountain (4 rivers fountain) near the market.. forget the name i think is Piazza something...

Florence, go to the top of the hill where there's a DAVID and take in the view of the ponte vechhio. Go to the ponte vecchio, museum (to see real David), have dinner at one of the renaissance palace (not sure if you can have access as i did when i travel with Trafalgar), go outlet shopping (the Prada one is very good) by tour bus (abt 20 euro?). Go to see the church with the black and white stripes... can't rem the name..

Cinque Terre & Milan - i dunno much abt both places as never visit.

Venice - Go up to the tower for view of venice to help you appreciate the place better, take a gondola ride esp if you are with your love 1, try and see if they sings as well as mine does..., buy some sourvenirs like small glasses or expensive stuffs like Burano glass or the famous venice's carnivale Face Masks. Take a walk to rialto tower. One thing to remember, don't sit down and have coffee at those cafes at St marks sq. They charge extremely exp prices like 10-15euro if you sit down and drink! If you need to drink, buy takeaway or drink standing like the italians do.

Thats all i have. If i got time, maybe will pose some pics for viewing. Cheers.

 

[Glyyde]

visiting aside.... becareful of pickpocketters....

 

[sam_always]

yes beware of pickpocketters... they are usually small kids... Rome, Milano and Venice is nice. You can easily shoot few thousand pics there. enjoy your trip...

 

[code]

just came back from Rome in May. My main advice is to book your accommodation in advance if possible. Rooms are scarce and given the peak season now, many hostels/hotels have taken the opportunity to jack up prices.

As for pickpockets, I think it's a generalisation. Though it pays to be careful, you shouldn't be overly paranoid.

 

[nemesis32]

Well... i was sort of pickpocketed by a group of gypsie kids.. About 10 of them just come and surround me. I dropped my wallet but they returned me the money intact, i just give them some small change. So yes, it's dangerous esp in Rome.

As for Accom, Italy is very exp now esp in Rome, ever since they use Euro. Now is sightly better as Euro dropped a bit. Try and stay in those boutique hotels, better value and more centrally located. In Rome, best to stay near the CENTRAL STATION as it;s wehre the line A & B of the MRT meets.

 

[londonray]

Woah... sounds like everyone has been to italy.... lucky me... Yups... I booked my Accoms in advance already... it's sort of settled.. that's why I said the schedule can only be changed slightly (ie a few more hours here and there)

How are train tickets like? heard it's really cheap... Code did you travel on train?
How is the availability? planning to get tickets there and then... THat's what all my frens who went to italy told me to do...

Sounds like I alreally have more than enough information that I need

Cinque Terre is a seaside town/village, my friends told me that it's really nice (one of those small towns) yups, so going there to enjoy the sea... hehe... cool...

Yups, if any of you guys can post some pics.. that will be much appreciated... thanks... :thumbsup:

 

[Astin]

U can buy your train ticket there and then when u are at Italy, but take note:
- the queue at ticket counter can be very loooooong
- Italian ticket counter staff normally cannot speak English
- check your money and ticket (date, time, destination, class) before u leave the counter

 

[code]

Regarding train rides, you must remember to validate your tickets BEFORE you board the train. Otherwise, you may get fined by the conductor on the train. The reason you need to validate is because there is no date on the ticket.

 

[Jed]

A bit late, but there seems to be too much travelling in there... And also, too little time in Rome IMO. Are you going on a photographic trip, or a holiday?

 

[londonray]

Hmm.. it's a little of both I guess... my GF's graduated from NUS recently... bringing her on a grad trip to Italy... hope to do some sightseeing and photography whilst I am there.. She's fine with me taking pictures... and is quite into it herself... but I also have to remind ourselves not to get too carried away... wun wanna just go take photos and come back to look at the photos.. wishing i had LOOKED at the original object myself... not through the lens...

So I guess it's a balance of both.... btw, with regards to train tickets.. I was told by my friends that there are self-service counters there... Which have english options... Are those tough to use?

Oh yah.. sorry will be spending 4 days in rome.. and 2 days in venice... typo...
Yups... thanks guys

 

[code]

I had no problem getting the tickets from the counters. The staff there usually speak a bit of English so no prob. I stress again: remember to validate your tickets before you board the train.

 

[dkw]

It seems rather rush but i guess you can still cover most places.

Rome - must go places is the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps (go in the evening) or after shopping/window shopping at Via Condotti, go to Via Veneto and experience high-class dining and look at all the beautiful hotels and cafes, Colossium, Roman Forum, Vatican Musuem and St Peters. All these must do no matter what. Other things you may want to do is to try the to die for ICECREAM - the GELATO..., Flower market and the other fountain (4 rivers fountain) near the market.. forget the name i think is Piazza something...

I second nemesis's points. It does seem a little rushed. I spent 4 full days roaming Rome alone, and it wasn't enough! St Peter's and Vatican museum are must see. Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps are so-so. The Piazza Navona is a nice place to sit down and have an Al-fresco meal. The Coliseum (makes you feel like you're on the set of the Gladiator) and Roman forum are interesting and worthwhile to see and take pictures.

A selection of my so-so pics, all resized so quite low-res....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/Coliseum3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/StPeters_FromDome2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/StPeters_Square9.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/StPeters_Square3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/StPeters_FromDome1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/StCatharine3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/SpanishSteps2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/dkws1/Rome Apr 2004/Apostles_onRoof4.jpg

The gelato is really to die for. There is one shop, from St Peter's square, if you are walking toward the entrance of the Vatican museum, you will soon be tracking along the wall of the Vatican on your left side. After about 200 meters, look across the street on your right, there is a stall which I think has absolutely the best gelato in that part of Rome.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[londonray]

Nice pics dkw... thanks... Anyone went to Cinque terre before? No? woah... so "ulu" meh? haha...

 

[tomcat]

Went to the even more 'ulu' and ancient city of L'Aquila in Feb this year to attend a course and spent one day in Rome on the way back. 'ulu' is also good because you get to see sights that most tourists might not get the chance to see.

Rome is built for tourists ... all the attractions are right in the city itself. Wished I had a week to spend there.. so many places I wanted to see but had no time

Anyway, Coliseum and Vatican City are a must. Spanish Step was a let down at that time of the year - no flowers in bloom and there was major renovation of the buildings at the top of the steps ruining the view completely. Hopefully, they are completed now. Trevi Fountain is very impressive but crammed and crowded with tourists because it is actually located in some narrow back alley. Don't go in the morning if you want to take good photos as the nearby buildings cast deep shadows which when contrasted with the sunny parts of the fountain produced dynamic range which proved too much for digital cameras to capture properly.

And bring the widest wide-angle zoom lens you have as the attractions are so vast that that lens will stay on your camera most of the time from my experience.

Photos of my trip here:
http://www.pbase.com/pschia/roman_holiday

 

[nemesis32]

I second nemesis's points. It does seem a little rushed. I spent 4 full days roaming Rome alone, and it wasn't enough! St Peter's and Vatican museum are must see. Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps are so-so. The Piazza Navona is a nice place to sit down and have an Al-fresco meal. The Coliseum (makes you feel like you're on the set of the Gladiator) and Roman forum are interesting and worthwhile to see and take pictures.

Me too, i spend 3 days Free & easy in Rome with my wife on our honeymoon and another 1 day with tour group and trust me, Rome has too much to see. Vatican Museum and St Peters are the must-go places. If i am not wrong, the late Pope John Paul's body shd be at the basement of St Peters' so worth a visit even if you may or may not be a christian. btw, rem to rub's St Peter's foot for good luck!

I did not go in Coliseum as not enough time and i think not much to see as it's just an Arena. Roman Forum can be very interesting but you need a guide otherwise you will be BLUR.. trust me on that! A pictorial guide can do also. As for Piazza Navona, thats the place with the 4-rivers fountain is as said, a nice place for lunch and lazy walkaround... not much to see.

The Trinity Church at the top of Spanish Steps is under reno. However, i feel the atmosphere at the spanish steps esp at night is particularly nice. You can window shop around there at Via Condotti,whcih your Gf will definitely enjoy.

The gelato is really to die for. There is one shop, from St Peter's square, if you are walking toward the entrance of the Vatican museum, you will soon be tracking along the wall of the Vatican on your left side. After about 200 meters, look across the street on your right, there is a stall which I think has absolutely the best gelato in that part of Rome.

Enjoy the trip!

I rem one morning around 9-10am, it was drizzling and i just drag my wife to eat gelato, it was funny yet romantic. There's 2 famous gelato shops near Piazza Navona if i not wrong. Will try and rem and post the name.

 

[nemesis32]

Some useful links i surfed when i planned my trip.

official tourism site
http://www.italiantourism.com/
Train site
http://www.atac.roma.it/
Rome
http://www.enjoyrome.com/main.html
http://www.romeguide.it/
Guided tour
http://www.odyssey-tours.com/content/links.asp

Guess what... managed to find something on Cinque Terra!
http://www.fishnet.it/

 

[nemesis32]

One of the most famous gelato place is
Giolitti
Via Uffici del .....(cannot rem)