mosha

My fiancee and I are planning a May 05 wedding and we want to spend our honeymoon in Italy. Any ideas how we can get a jump on the planning would be great, we have never really traveled anywhere and neither of us has been out of the country before.

amonkie

Are you set on being in Rome? The only time I spent there was driving from/to the airport, so I can't give you much advice about Rome specifically.

Remember that in Europe, there is TONS of travel by train. When I was in Italy a few summers ago, we were in Desio for the most part, which is on the outskirts of Milan. One of the neatest parts of our trip was the drive south along the eastern coasts.... it was one of the most beautiful things to watch the turquoise blue water for a couple hours. Maybe pick a coastal town if you want something a little less busy?

If staying in Rome, or any other large city, try and choose a hotel that is somewhat close to the things you want to see/do, since you'll most likely opt to walk or take a train. One of the other cool things about being in northern Italy is that it is a little closer to the surrounding countries, if you wanted to take a quick day trip into Switzerland, or something other place.

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

goodhabits

I live in australia but i travel to italy several times every year to visit family, are there any specifics you want to know? Feel free to ask anything else...

If you do your research:

You should go on a tour of all the various churches and catedrals littered throughout italy. I'm not aware of any holiday tours, but make sure that u visit the churches in each city you visit. I'm in no way religious, but they are full of art, sculpture, and history that tell the story of italy. much more interesting than the museums.

Learn a few Italian phrases well. You should know how to swear because most italians will try and push tourists around- so show them who's boss

Save money to buy clothes with. there is great shpping, and if u look like a dag, u will get pushed around.

Try to suss out the crime situation as soon as you get there.Italy has an interesting multiculturalism, where everyone cept the italian are in poverty The darker skinned north africans are usually the dangerous ones, but only at night. The blacks who sell cd's and watches are actually very friendly, and will sell u hash if u ask nicely. The asians are scared of everyone. If you are obviously not an italian expect some rudeness in the smaller cities. If someone asks you to hold something, don't. The homeless are the best pick pockets.

I'll start off with bigger cities:

ROME is beautiful and large but very busy and expensive, if u dont have alot of money to burn, u won't enjoy it much. Hotels are the real killer. that said, great sight seeing, nice retaurants.

MILAN defines modern Italy, mix between old and new, good night life, Great opera and performances, lots of young people. Milan is not a very romantic city though, its more somewhere you would go with friends.

VENICE is everything you imagined. Unfortunately the city revolves aound tourism and this spoils the mood a bit, but it is still amazing. gondola rides are overrated, pack some good walking shoes, and try and catch the Venice Bienale thats on once a year.

FLORENCE is where the Renaissance started. This explains the rich art, culture, and cuisine you can expect to find here. More engaging then Rome. magnificent city.

There are a couple of Major cities which are less well known:

VERONA is a grungy urbanised side of Italy, not much appealing about it except for a miniature coloseum. On the up side it has some good music and a decent nightlife.

BOLOGNA is a cool version of Verona. Busy relatively large modern city going about its business with 2000 year old roads and buildings. people here are snobbish but its not too expensive. Great shopping very good food, and very nice sightseeing- quite romantic.

RICCIONE/RIMINI are the coastal cities on the Adriatic. Terrible water quality due to a stagnant sea but a huge party scene during summer. some good food, only fun for a weekend stopover though.

The smaller places are:

TUSCANY is beautiful coutryside/mountain towns. cobble stone roads winding through ochre houses, amazing food. Very small and isolated towns, not very tourist friendly if you dont know your way aound or speak good italian

PERUGIA is like tuscany but more friendly to foreigners. great views, very romantic, again very small and no night life, unless you're there during the Chocolate Festival, which assuming you have one romantic bone in your body, u will be.

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO is the premier skiing location in Italy. Overpriced and overcrowded during winter but absolutely stunning during summer. long walks in through the mountains and great food. the friendliest of the Italian people (especially towards tourists.) very romantic.

Transport:

Taxi's are expensive, do your research when u arrive and you will find deluxe taxis (nicer car, helpful driver) which seem more like a chauffer and more importantly, have a fixed rate, usually making them cheaper than taxis... weird

ppl say that Mussolini made the trains run on time. well Musolini is gone, and the trains are awful. unfortunately there arent many alternatives. There are 2 types of train in Italy: Eurostar and Intercity, the first has allocated seats, the second is more like the orient express.

Planes in italy aren't to bad. Just ignore the fact that ALITALIA stands for "always late in take-off, always late in arrival"

amonkie

But DO make sure you request your passport early - May is a big time for trips, so waiting until April to submit, I can gaurantee you it won't come in time. Get your request in by the end of February, and you should be good.

__________________
Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

mikmckna

I have been to Rome one time but do travel at least once per year. I am planning to return soon but I can say one thing for sure... buy a Michelin green guides. You can find them at Amazon.com and most book stores. FANTASTIC for locating convenient hotels and resturants. Everything from very posh and expensive to downright cheap. They also rate each entry and I have found that their rating system is very good.

I might also recommend locating a hotel in a convenient area of Rome. There are many smaller hotels near all the "Tourist" sites. Rome is not really THAT big and you can walk to many areas of interest. Shopping is GREAT not far from the "Spanish Steps" and it seems like there is much to see and do right in that area.

If you go to the Vatican, get there early! I would try to go the Cathedral as soon as possible and come back to the tour. It gets VERY crowded ver quickly and it is just too amazing to be rushed out.

Let us know how you like your trip!

mosha

Thanks to everyone for the tips so far. We really haven't sat down and figured out exactly where we will be staying and what we want to see. The churches are a must, i cant wait to go!

Mephisto2

I've been to Rome several times, including a week for my honeymoon.

First off, let me congratulate you on your upcoming wedding. Congratulations! You've also picked a beautiful place to go on your honeymoon. You can't beat the Eternal City.

There are many many things to do in Rome, with the following list being some of the most common and popular choices.

St Peter's
Even if you're not Catholic, I recommend visiting St Peter's Cathedral. It really is amazing. The size is of the dome is staggering. Even though I'm an atheist, I found the serenity in their palpapable (if you'll allow me an oxymoron).

The Forum
I'm absolutely fascinated by Roman history, but I think everyone would enjoy this visit. You can see the Curia where the Senate met (rebuilt by Mussolini, but very accurate). It's much smaller than you may think. There's also the many many temples and Fora (or markets) to be explored. You can actually see the remains of the Temple of Juilius Ceaser, built on the spot where his body was cremated by the people of Rome after his assassination. To this day each morning fresh flowers are left at this location.

As you walk down from the Capitoline Hill (see below) you travel along the Via Sacre (or Sacred Way), towards the Colosseum.

Colosseum
It's truly amazing to think that this was built almost 2000 years ago. It's accurate name is the Flavian Amphitheater and is only known as the Colloseum, not due to its size (a common misconception), but because it was situated near a huge gold statue of Nero called the Colossus. It was built to hold 50,000 spectators and has 12 different entrances, each one providing access to particular Roman citizens depending upon their "ticket".

Circus Maximus
Just down the road from the Colesseum are the remains of the Circus Maximus. This is a huge racing track immortalized in the movie Ben Hur. Remember the chariot racing scene? That was set in the Circus Maximus. Overlooking the Circus Maximus are the remains of the great Imperial Palace (on top of the Palitine Hill), where the Emperors could sometimes watch the activities below them.

Capitoline Hill
This is the religious heart of ancient Rome. This overlooks the Forum and is not far from the Palitine Hill. From here you can walk down to the Forum. Actually, it's a good starting point for your exploration of ancient Rome.

Palintine Hill
This abutts onto the Forum and is where the richest people, and later the Emperors, built their houses and palaces. Climbing up towards the Palitine Hill from the Forum gives you a great view of the Colesseum and the ruins below you. Truly amazing.

Forum Augustus
This was originally part of the Forum, but is now on the other side of a large major road built by Mussolini. You can walk back along this as your return from the Colisseum. This is also where Augustus built the very impressive Temple of Mars the Avenger (Martius Ultor I think). Actually, all along this road are very impressive temples and ruins, including the Forum of Ceaser (opposite the Forum of Augustus).

Vatican Museum
One of the best museums in the world. Truly breathtaking collection of materials from Etruscan times (the people "before" the Romans) all the way up to modern times. Lots of paintings if you're into your art, including numerous masterpieces. Make sure to see the Sistine Chapel (though officially this is in the Vatican proper, and not the museum). Recently restored, it is well worth the visit. Remember this is a living place of worship, so be respectful.

Catacombs of Rome
These dot the underground of Rome and are pretty spooky. It's where the original Christians used to bury their dead, and were used up until quiet recent times (even during WWII by partisans and anti-Nazi agitators). Still stacked with thousands of skeletons, it really is an experience to take a tour.

Back streets of Rome
Make sure to step off the main trail and wander some of the many many small, winding back streets of Rome. Make sure to eat here in any of the hundreds of small family run trattroria and cafes. Stay away from the large and very expensive tourist restaurants. You will need some pidgin Italian ideally, but most of them have bilingual menus. The food is divine, the wine even better and the hospitality usually excellent.

Spanish Steps
The most romantic location in all Rome. Amazing at night. A great location for people watching (a favourite Italian pastime). Below the Spanish Steps you will find Rome's premier shopping district. Unbelievably beautiful shops (and prices!). Do yourself a favour and set aside a couple of hundred bucks to buy your new wife a "surprise wedding gift" here. She will go wild. Just stick to your budget! You can spend anywhere from $50 to $500,000 (I'm not kidding).

Fountains of Berlini
Berlini, perhaps one of Rome's most famous sculptures, has many fountains scattered around the city. If you like classical art and sculpture (as I do) these cannot be missed.

Trevi Fountain
Beautiful to look at, but very very busy. You throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain and legend has it you will return to Rome one day. It's worth visiting, but try to get there before the crowds.

Panthenon
Originally built as a temple to "All the Gods" by the Romans, this was the world'd largest dome for over a thousand years. Can you imagine the technological and engineering skill required? It's amazing. It has survived because the Christians adopted it as a church. Now it houses the graves of famous and important Italians (kinda like the Panthenon in Paris).

River Tiber
Well worth strolling along, especially as you wander towards the Vatican. Very romantic.



Wow... I'm getting all excited just thinking of it all again. This is all from memory. I hope you have great fun. It will be a honeymoon to remember your whole life.


Mr Mephisto


PS - Rent and watch the classic movie "Roman Holiday" before you go!!


EDIT - I just reread this and my spelling was terrible! Apologies to all...

spindles

Just a few tips from my brother and parents recent trip:
* If you order a "latte", don't be surprised when you get milk. If you order a "Cafe Latte", you'll also get coffee included
* My brother could not get into the vatican, as he was wearing short (knee length) pants
* Pickpocketing is pretty chronic - mum had her wallet stolen on day one

Maybe similar to the Green Guide mentioned above - but I never visit a country without perusing the relevant Lonely Planet guide book - they are probably designed for the budget traveller/back packer but are full of useful travel info (accomodation, maps, bus/train info etc.)

... and Congrats on the upcoming nuptials

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who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

mosha

thanks to all for the input. I met with a travel agent recently and he suggested that going to Rome alone for a week may get a little mundane. Does anyone think this would be the case? He suggested taking a train to Florence and staying there for a few days as well.

Also, the first agent I met with said not to buy a "pre made" tour because it may demand that we be in places at time when we want to do something else. Then a 2nd and 3rd agent said to only consider these tours because we dont speak the language and will have trouble getting around. Any thoughts on this???

Mephisto2

MUNDANE?!!!!


My God...

No offence intended, but I can't get over the complete lack of cultural awareness of some Americans. You can't "do Rome" in a few days...

Now, having said that, if you feel staying in one city is too restrictive, and you don't have an interest in ancient Roman, Christian and art history then maybe Rome may not have the allure for you that it does for me. Florence is also beautiful. You could book one of those overnight train journeys from Rome to Florence. Spending a night in your own little sleeper cabin as the train winds along the north of Italy is rather romantic. Just remember to pack a bag of cheese, Champagne (or Spumante!) and salami. Sheer heaven.


Mr Mephisto

asdfasdf1

To further what spindles said, Roman pickpockets are fantastic.. There are hundreds of them throughout the city, I used to sit and watch them work from afar.. Lots of kids grouping, the classic cardboard sign blocking your view, babies/kids handed to you, and tons of other scams, I felt someone go into my back pocket (brocures were in there) and when I turned around I couldn't tell who it was..

(On a side note, just last month I was in the Dominican Republic in Higuey and caught a little boy with his hands in my girlfriend pockets.. )

Florance was much better,

My suggestion to you would to also be up early, 6'ish or so.. In Florence @ 6:00am, the city is extermly quite and most beautiful.. It was one of the highlights of my trip.

Rome takes about 5 days to get around and explore the basics, I spent 4 there, walked everywhere and loved it.

Rome was hot, tourist-ladden and beautiful.
Florance was just beautiful...

thrsn0730

Congratulations and good luck. The wife and I went to Italy for our honeymoon, as well. We went with an American Express tour group, though, and I highly recommend it -- or some other group experience. You'll still get enough time to yourselves, but you'll have the bonus of a guide who can tell you and take you to all kinds of stuff you might otherwise have missed. Also helps immesurably with the language (unless you're fluent).