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Traveling to Italy in late August and will be in Venice, Portofino, Florence, and Rome. Looking for recommendations on places to see and eat.
What a coincidence! Wear your Pitt gear and we might see each other en route. We are traveling to Florence for 8 days, then on to Venice area for another 3 days, beginning late August. We are doing a tour for the Florence/Tuscany portion; the Venice/Padua/Trentino portion will be on our ownTraveling to Italy in late August and will be in Venice, Portofino, Florence, and Rome. Looking for recommendations on places to see and eat.
Yes, wear your Pitt gear, eat at 5:30. Order the spaghetti. And meatballs. Don't just be a tourist, embrace being an American tourist.What a coincidence! Wear your Pitt gear and we might see each other en route. We are traveling to Florence for 8 days, then on to Venice area for another 3 days, beginning late August. We are doing a tour for the Florence/Tuscany portion; the Venice/Padua/Trentino portion will be on our own
@vikings1980 Like the other reply posts mention, there are loads of wonderful places to eat. We enjoyed so many of them. Milan, Como, Florence & Tuscan countryside, Sorrento, Rome.Traveling to Italy in late August and will be in Venice, Portofino, Florence, and Rome. Looking for recommendations on places to see and eat.
That was a joke. I am fully aware of not standing out like a sore thumb when traveling to foreign countries ... but thanks for the reminderYes, wear your Pitt gear, eat at 5:30. Order the spaghetti. And meatballs. Don't just be a tourist, embrace being an American tourist.
Hah. Add, make sure you wear big clunky white sneakers. That will definitely seal the deal.Yes, wear your Pitt gear, eat at 5:30. Order the spaghetti. And meatballs. Don't just be a tourist, embrace being an American tourist.
Very true. But the first-time visitor to Rome has to see all of those main, major sites. I loved Trastevere too, but you don't bypass any of the other things you listed.I would not stay central as possible in Rome myself. It is over priced and touristy, which is fine if you’re only there for a few days to tick off the the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, coliseum, and Vatican. But IMO Trastevere, across the river is a better neighborhood to enjoy Rome. Lots of little cafes, cheese shops, bars, boutiques, etc. to explore.
Oh my dude. There are literally thousands of places to eat and things to see in the cities that you mentioned. The good news is, you can't go wrong and you can't make a mistake. You can't eat everywhere and see everything, but where you do choose to eat will be great and the things you see will be incredible.
Rather than bombard you with actual restaurant names, I'll just say this: avoid anything that looks like it caters to American tourists. Avoid any restaurant that has a tourist menu ("menu turistico"). Do these two things, and you can't go wrong. You can pick little hole-in-the-wall places that look like nothing outside, but once you go in you see that it is actually very quaint, and the food will be amazing. Rome, in particular, has thousands of these little places, as does Florence. Venice is a little bit different, but it's very similar.
I don't normally ask for advice in hotels, but my first time in Florence I was still a novice and we asked at the hotel front desk for a restaurant reservation. The guy told us where to go, which wasn't far away. Well, this place was shall we say very unimpressive from the outside. It was literally just a doorway with little signage, but we figured it must have been the place because there wasn't anything else around. Well. We went inside, fully expecting to turn around and leave, and it was amazing. The food was incredible, the wine list was extensive and extremely fairly priced, and the whole place was rocking. You'd have never guessed from the outside. I never forgot that lesson.
The other thing is, the places that the locals and the cognescenti go to don't open early for dinner. Some of them don't open until damned near 8pm, and the locals don't go for dinner there until 9. If you show up too early, they will know that you are a dumb tourist. And as a rule of thumb, if they are serving dinner at 6pm, you probably don't want to go there.
I remember being in Siena, dead tired on the first day of our arrival, and going into a restaurant at 930pm down off of the Campo. It was just getting started around then. When we left after 11 every table was full, and the place was glorious. In the smaller cities, like Siena in particular but even in Florence and Rome at a lot of places, the table is yours for the night. They don't assume that you will leave and some other party will sit at your table next. It's your table. At least, in the smaller non-touristy places, this is what you can expect.
You will love it all.
I'll focus on Portofino, since others have already chimed in on Rome, Venice, and Florence.Traveling to Italy in late August and will be in Venice, Portofino, Florence, and Rome. Looking for recommendations on places to see and eat.
I too was going to recommend Siena. Plenty of restaurants and in my opinion the City to visit in Tuscany. Siena hosts the Polio on August 14th every year. This is a horse race you would want to see, if you are in the area at that time. A restaurant in Siena would be the Antica Osterio DA Diva, but just one of so many and none will disappointOh my dude. There are literally thousands of places to eat and things to see in the cities that you mentioned. The good news is, you can't go wrong and you can't make a mistake. You can't eat everywhere and see everything, but where you do choose to eat will be great and the things you see will be incredible.
Rather than bombard you with actual restaurant names, I'll just say this: avoid anything that looks like it caters to American tourists. Avoid any restaurant that has a tourist menu ("menu turistico"). Do these two things, and you can't go wrong. You can pick little hole-in-the-wall places that look like nothing outside, but once you go in you see that it is actually very quaint, and the food will be amazing. Rome, in particular, has thousands of these little places, as does Florence. Venice is a little bit different, but it's very similar.
I don't normally ask for advice in hotels, but my first time in Florence I was still a novice and we asked at the hotel front desk for a restaurant reservation. The guy told us where to go, which wasn't far away. Well, this place was shall we say very unimpressive from the outside. It was literally just a doorway with little signage, but we figured it must have been the place because there wasn't anything else around. Well. We went inside, fully expecting to turn around and leave, and it was amazing. The food was incredible, the wine list was extensive and extremely fairly priced, and the whole place was rocking. You'd have never guessed from the outside. I never forgot that lesson.
The other thing is, the places that the locals and the cognescenti go to don't open early for dinner. Some of them don't open until damned near 8pm, and the locals don't go for dinner there until 9. If you show up too early, they will know that you are a dumb tourist. And as a rule of thumb, if they are serving dinner at 6pm, you probably don't want to go there.
I remember being in Siena, dead tired on the first day of our arrival, and going into a restaurant at 930pm down off of the Campo. It was just getting started around then. When we left after 11 every table was full, and the place was glorious. In the smaller cities, like Siena in particular but even in Florence and Rome at a lot of places, the table is yours for the night. They don't assume that you will leave and some other party will sit at your table next. It's your table. At least, in the smaller non-touristy places, this is what you can expect.
You will love it all.
Traveling to Italy in late August and will be in Venice, Portofino, Florence, and Rome. Looking for recommendations on places to see and eat.
Absolutely true. You have to see those if you haven’t before. I just enjoyed the neighborhood feel in Trastevere and didn’t mind the stroll from there to the sites. But if you’re only in Rome for a couple of days staying central to maximize your time would make sense.Very true. But the first-time visitor to Rome has to see all of those main, major sites. I loved Trastevere too, but you don't bypass any of the other things you listed.
Yes, wear your Pitt gear, eat at 5:30. Order the spaghetti. And meatballs. Don't just be a tourist, embrace being an American tourist.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Italian-American food is influenced by Italian food (mostly Southern Italy), but is its own distinct cuisine. Polpettes (meatballs) are popular in Italy, just not eaten with spaghetti or sauce. The most popular meat dishes are pork (by far the most popular), beef and chicken. And lastly, Italy is a huge coffee drinking country.You won’t find a meatball anywhere in Italy, veal and rabbit are big there, coffee is hard to find, unless you can find a McDonald’s which they do have in very few places, growing up eating my mothers Italian cooking I was spoiled, I didn’t care to much for the Italian foods there. Trevi fountain, leaning tower, Luca a city surrounded by a wall, Venice, capri, Roman colosseum, Michelangelo’s original statue of David to name a few. They do have highway stops, have great salami sandwiches, and when I was there a few years ago I noticed they had no potholes
There’s a lot to unpack here. Italian-American food is influenced by Italian food (mostly Southern Italy), but is its own distinct cuisine. Polpettes (meatballs) are popular in Italy, just not eaten with spaghetti or sauce. The most popular meat dishes are pork (by far the most popular), beef and chicken. And lastly, Italy is a huge coffee drinking country.
Find a McDonalds. You cant go wrong.Traveling to Italy in late August and will be in Venice, Portofino, Florence, and Rome. Looking for recommendations on places to see and eat.
My understanding is that Italy will not allow Starbucks or any non-Italian coffee chain to open there.Not coffee, Cappuccino, espresso, but not much American coffee
Almost every town in Italy looks like a postcard.I'll focus on Portofino, since others have already chimed in on Rome, Venice, and Florence.
First off, Portofino really does look like a postcard. Absolutely beautiful little village. Keep in mind Portofino is very small (you can walk through the entire village in 10 minutes.
As you probably know, August is prime travel season so everything is going to be crowded (book well in advance if you can). Since Portofino is so small there aren't a ton of hotels. Those that are right in Portofino are going to be super expensive during the prime season. Of course if money is no object, stay at the Belmond. A couple of alternatives:
1. Stay in Santa Margherita (just down the coast) and take a day trip to Portofino. Santa Margherita is much larger with more hotels to choose from. There's a bus that runs frequently between the two towns if you don't have a car. If you do have a car you can technically drive into Portofino. I say technically, because there is one road from Santa Margherita to Portofino and it is one of the most beautiful and hair raising drives you will ever experience. Italian drivers, tourists, buses, incredibly narrow road, and sheer cliffs make for quite an adventure. One additional problem, if you drive into Portofino you may never get out of the car because parking is virtually impossible. You're more likely to see Pitt in the national championship game then to find a parking spot in Portofino. There is one public parking garage uphill from the harbor that sometimes has space. All this leads to my next suggestion: If you're staying in Portofino, look into an airbnb. We found a nice two BR 2 bath that was a 2 minute walk to the harbor. The big bonus was they had underground parking for their guests. AND it was pretty reasonable (at least in the off season). Final benefit....the estate agent, Bianca, is smokin' hot. The apartment is not fancy, but it's comfortable, very clean, and has everything you need. Link is below:
In terms of restaurants, I honestly can't remember where we ate. Food was generally good, but not great (by Italian standards). Most of the restaurants were very pricey too.
One things you'll want to do is head to the beach in Paraggi. Water is clear and really warm. Lot's of places to grab lunch right on the beach. You can walk to Paraggi from Portofino in about 20 minutes. The hike is actually really nice. One other thing to do is to take the ferry from Portofino to Cinque Terre. Easy way to get to Cinque Terre and you can walk between the various towns once you're there.
Hope this helps.
Divertiti!
Cruzer
Add Castel Sant'Angelo to the list. It's worth the visit.I would not stay central as possible in Rome myself. It is over priced and touristy, which is fine if you’re only there for a few days to tick off the the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, coliseum, and Vatican. But IMO Trastevere, across the river is a better neighborhood to enjoy Rome. Lots of little cafes, cheese shops, bars, boutiques, etc. to explore.
Well according to Google, there are 31 Starbucks locations in Italy. The real question is why? Anyone who travels all the way to Italy and goes to Starbucks for coffee, should instantly be prohibited from ever returning.My understanding is that Italy will not allow Starbucks or any non-Italian coffee chain to open there.
You can get ”Americano”. But we like strong coffee. And when you order coffee, you get espresso unless you stipulate otherwise.Not coffee, Cappuccino, espresso, but not much American coffee
Vivoli was a block away from the B&B we stayed in on our first trip to Florence in 1984. It was the first time I ate gelato, and little did I know that it would be the best gelato I ever ate. That church, Santa Croce, and the square in front of it are a wonderful place to spend an hour people watching.So was the gelato. In Florence, go to Vivoli for gelato. Fantastic! It’s down a small side street. Beautiful little old churchyard across the street with some benches. Your can sit over there and enjoy your gelato!
Vivoli
vivoli.it
Venice was my least favorite city in Italy. Florence was cool, the Statue of David is a must. Rome has a ton of landmarks, the Trevi fountain is a must see. If you get a chance Sienna is a beautiful small town ( ~ 60,000 ) in Southern Tuscany. It will be hot in Southern Italy in August. Have fun. A beautiful country.Traveling to Italy in late August and will be in Venice, Portofino, Florence, and Rome. Looking for recommendations on places to see and eat.
It's been a few years now, so I don't remember the restaurants in Venice. I apologize for that.I'll also be in Venice in July and was looking for places like you described online. Any specific restaurant that you recall?