Northern Italy Road Trip

Recommended days	7
Budget	£
Difficulty	Easy

This was a road trip to see some of the huge number of sights in northern Italy. I took my daughters as Deb had to stay at home for work and we met my sister and niece for part of the trip too so it was my first family holiday for many years! This was our second road trip in this area and we could probably revisit it every year and see something new every time.

Venice

We took advantage of some bargain Easyjet prices and flew to Venice, collected our hire car and then drove to our hotel, just outside the old city. We stayed in the Holiday Inn as I could pay for it on points so it was a bit of a bargain break! We arrived mid evening so had an early night ready for a day of exploring.

The bus stop for the city was a few minutes walk from the hotel and our very early start (the girls were in shock for quite a while!) meant we were able to see some of the sights before the arrival of the masses. We had a wander and met up with Mel and THB and then carried on to St Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace.

Venice: Murano

After a gelato based lunch we took a water taxi across to Murano to see some absolutely incredible glass work there, really unique art. It was far quieter than the main island and very pleasant to meander around.

The day was very hot so after a trip back to the hotel (via a minor diversion as we got off the bus at the wrong stop) we freshened up and went out again in the evening. Sofia stayed behind but the rest of us had a great meal and then a night time gondola ride – the stillness at night made that a very special experience.

Venice: At night

There was one embarrassing moment when the gondalier expected us to have a kiss, not realising we were brother and sister, so we all just sat there for a while. We arrived back at gone midnight, having walked nearly 14 miles during the day, which made it a long day but well worth it!

Lake Garda

Next morning we drove to Lake Garda. Note the ‘to’ part – traffic was so bad we didn’t have anywhere near as long as we hoped at the actual lake. We eventually parked up and had a wander then took the cable car to the hillside viewpoint of Monte Baldo. The scenery was stunning but selfishly, half of Italy was there to partake of it too and we probably spent between 3 and 4 hours queueing for the cable car, both ascending and descending!

We didn’t get in to the castle at Malcesine which was a shame but we had dinner in a beautiful location, so nice that we were joined by a load of mosquitos that particularly liked THB. We missed the sunset as we were sat in a traffic queue which was a shame but it just gives a reason to visit another time. We had a late arrival in Milan, a new city for me.

Milan

We stayed on the outskirts of the city as I really didn’t fancy driving into the centre so we got the hotel shuttle to the metro station and then the metro into the centre and, after a cafe breakfast, walked to the castle.

Milan: Castle

This was an awesome building, difficult to see the scale from the pictures but it would have dominated the area. The towers were immense, as befitting the Sforza family’s impact on history.

Milan: Duomo

Another day of baking heat. From there we walked down the shopping streets and to the Duomo – the kids went off on their own to do shopping and Mel and I had an amble. And Gelato. There were some pretty impressive designer shops and the cathedral needs a visit, but at a time when we can go on the roof and when we arrive before the queue. The Vittorio Emanuele shopping mall was also an impressive work of art deco architecture.

After an expensive lunch (my fault for choosing the wrong place!) I went back to the castle and everyone else did more shopping. The museums in the castle were extremely good – I only had time to see 2 but you could easily spend a day there. And they have a cafe.

We then met up and walked back to the metro in a bit of a panic for Mel’s flight – we resorted to a taxi for the last part and then I drove her to the airport. Another busy but fun day. We rounded off with dinner at a McCafe – bargain chicken salad – before continuing on to Bologna. This city impressed me so much that I revisited it a few years later with Deb.

Bologna

The next morning I drove into the city with Nat, leaving the hotel at 7.30 so as to make the most of the coolish morning. It took about 10 minutes to drive there and then about another 30 to find the car park – there was a market between the main road and the entrance and the sat nav kept insisting we drive through the middle of it.

There was a police man at the round about that kept watching us as we drove past him 3 times. I later got a ticket for trying to drive through a historic zone without a permit – a very nice money making scheme for the city!

Bologna: Torre Asinelli

With some lucky navigating we walked through the narrow streets (amazing how invisible the towers are from the ground) and got to the medieval centre. We climbed Torre Asinelli as soon as it opened, I looked like I’d just stepped out of the sauna when I got to the top! Impressive views though, it must have looked awesome when there were all the original towers there and it’s nice there are no modern high rises to interrupt the view.

Bologna has the oldest university in Europe which we found, again by chance, and wandered inside. It is a shame none of the information was in English but it looked impressive enough.

Bologna: Basilica of St Petronius

Nearby was a gorgeous cafe with a damned impressive cake selection. After the obligatory bolognese we tested a couple of the cakes. Lush. Near there was a huge basilica, again it is one of the largest in the world and was meant to be larger but the Pope diverted the money so it didn’t overshadow St Peter’s apparently.

It was certainly impressive inside, more so as it was quite plain. After a bit more ambling we got back to the car and then the hotel. The only downside was the graffiti, almost every wall had tags on it, not street art just crap, which was a shame.

As always, road trips are a great way to see a country. We could have visited these places individually and all of them were reachable by public transport once we were in the country. The car gave us the freedom to explore at our own pace and create our own itinerary in the incredibly architecture and culture rich cities of northern Italy.

2015