First week of August, where?

[Ian Sutton]

I know Pauline has a good recommendation in the Monferrato area near Asti. No sizeable lakes nearby though, indeed the Ligurian coast is closer, but still a fair distance.

I had a look earlier at trains, and it is feasible (one change) to take the train to Trento. Quicker to drive, but a decent train can feel like a positive element to a holiday, where flights rarely do these days

Here's another thought - Bolzen / Bolzano is even closer by rail, and I've only heard good reports of it. A holiday shared between Bolzano and Trento gives you a very easy transfer and a perspective of two cities that found themselves moving from German to Italian 'ownership'. Bolzano leans much more towards Germany than Trento and this might be an interesting comparison.

Trento is certainly modest in size for a regional capital city, and is spacious to walk around, so shouldn't suffer the heat as badly as busier and hotter cities. Bolzano should be a fraction cooler again. Both will offer the option to get out of the city with ease, but they'd feel to me like the best options for an Italian city in early August.

 

[Alpinista]

Udine is a great stop. The town was part of the area controlled by Venice and has a lot of Venetian style architecture with a flavor of Austria thrown in based on past political administration.. Despite its size (about 100,000), it is a nice strolling town.

 

[Phyllis]

I need help with the sequence of our week in Piemonte. We are looking at a 12:30 PM train from Basel - Torino, arriving Torino Saturday 6:00 PM. I need some help on Sunday, I read that much is closed in Torino and we would like to see Casale Monferrato Synagogue open only Sunday. For our week we would like to see towns in Piemonte and Torino. Should we drive to a town upon our Torino arrival and come back to Torino at the end of the week or stay in Torino and bus to Monferrato on Sunday? Possibly there is a way to see the Synagogue during the week?

 

[Tery]

We have stayed several times over the years at Villa Sampaguita B&B, which is only 5 km outside Asti. It's also only about 3 km from Asti Ovest exit for the A21 Autostrada (so, very easy to get to Torino, Milan or other places), but it's situated in a very lovely, quiet countryside area. Tim and Rina are great hosts, and Rina is a fabulous gourmet cook. Her breakfasts are incredible!

 

[joe]

Possibly there is a way to see the Synagogue during the week?

On the synagogue's website it's written that during the week it's possible to visit "by appointment only". If Sunday is not convenient for you, you might want to contact them and ask if it's possible to make an appointment during the week, or ask if there might be a group you could join that is visiting that week.
You might also want to rent a car from Torino, find an accommodation in the countryside for Sunday and part of your week, and then return the car to Torino and devote the remainder of the week to that city.

 

[Phyllis]

Hello, I would like to purchase our train tickets from Basel Switzerland to Torino. We are 4 and all have luggage, thinking that given we are traveling in July we would be best to have a reserved seat from Basel to Torino. I see that trenitali is where I should purchase, if I want the 12:28 train July 28 do I want standard, premium, or business? Also, do I want post 1or 2 class comfort is most important. Thank you

 

[Jim Zurer]

In the same general area is Udine, another small gem.

Udine is definitely worth a visit but over three hours away from Trento by car...either through the mountains or the more roundabout route by autostrada.

 

[Andrew]

Hello, I would like to purchase our train tickets from Basel Switzerland to Torino. We are 4 and all have luggage, thinking that given we are traveling in July we would be best to have a reserved seat from Basel to Torino. I see that trenitali is where I should purchase, if I want the 12:28 train July 28 do I want standard, premium, or business? Also, do I want post 1or 2 class comfort is most important. Thank you

It looks like that choice of seat is only for the one-hour trip from Milano to Torino, so short that the comfort of the seat isn't a big deal. For the longer trip, there's just the choice between first and second. I'd expect second class to be fine, but if you're looking for major comfort, you could go for First.

About booking on Trenitalia, I'm trying to replicate a booking for that day, and keep getting "no seats available" messages. I'm not up to date on how well Trenitalia can do with booking trips that originate outside of Italy: will their e-tickets work for Swiss ticket inspectors? If you're looking to arrive in Torino at 17.55, I'm concerned that 18 minutes to connect at the big Milano Centrale station could be tight. You can also look to book at www.trainline.eu , which doesn't show that option: it gives more time to connect to an Italo train.

 

[Phyllis]

How much time do we need to transfer to another train in Milan? I have never been to that station.

 

[Andrew]

I'd aim for at least 30 minutes.

 

[Phyllis]

At this point we will train to Torino on a Saturday and we have one week before departing from Milan. As I read too much I have become swayed into thinking that we will be happier in cities. What are your thoughts on 2 nights in Torin, 2 Bologna, 2 Bergamo. I know there is nothing slow about this. Help..can this be done?

 

[Ian Sutton]

Doable - yes. Enjoyable? Slower would allow more actual holiday and less travel stress.

I'd strongly recommend dropping Bergamo or Bologna. FWIW we could easily find plenty to do for a whole week in Torino, but we love the city. Certainly some really easy day trips out, to Stupinigi, Venaria Reale and Basilica di Superga; quick city hops to Asti or Ivrea; eclectic museums (Pietro Micca, automobile, Mountains, Cinema etc); central historic buildings of national importance; historic coffee houses; grand churches; legendary chocolates; wonderful food (and wine); a large daily market, with good selection of occasional markets; porticoed streets that will help in baking hot weather, or decent parks that allow you to enjoy it to the full; fine shopping; thriving aperitivo culture, plus a transport system that is wonderful but can take a week to get to grips with! You can even book a meal on a tram that traverses the city (see the Turismotorino site - there are also boat trips along the Po).

Are you leaving from Bergamo (Milan) airport, or Milan Mlapensa, or Milan Linate? The answer to that would influence the recommendation. If the former, then I like the idea of some time in Bergamo, so would drop Bologna. For the other two, either drop Bergamo or Bologna. Masses to see in Bologna, so I could see that winning out, even though the time of year isn't ideal.

So I'd strongly recommend choosing between Bologna and Bergamo, and split the time 4:3 or perhaps even 5:2 if Torino/Bergamo; 4:3 or 3:4 if Torino/Bologna

regards
Ian

 

[Phyllis]

Thank you, Torino sounds great, how best to get to Bologna? Drive with a great town stop overnight or direct train? Thank you

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Phyllis
The train is direct, fast, easy, comfortable, and if booked a few weeks in advance, so cheap that going 1st class hardly feels like a splurge.
If you choose Torino + Bologna, then I can't see an argument for having a car, as public transport will serve you well.
Regards
Ian

 

[Phyllis]

Hi, I would like to go over some transportation questions. I have two questions.

A. On our last day in Turin we need to pick up a car and travel to casale monferrato synagogue for a 10:00 AM entry. After seeing the synagogue we will meet up for a 1/2 day tour in the area. After this day of touring we will drive to our hotel in Alba, staying at Palazzo Finati for three nights. Can you suggest a car rental company for four people with significant luggage and how and where best to get our car?

B. We are staying three nights in Alba, we will have a car and need to spend last night in Milan to fly home following morning. How to structure this?
1. Drop car off in Alba on a Friday morning, train to Milan for our last night. I would love to hear where I should stay for this last night. Need a good night sleep before long flight?
2. Drive to Milan from Alba, drop car off in Milan?
Thank you

 

[Pauline]

Can you suggest a car rental company for four people with significant luggage and how and where best to get our car.

AutoEurope is good for booking cars in Europe. They are a broker and give you very good prices. They clearly show the size of car you are booking. I would pickup the car in Turin, at the downtown location, the day you are leaving.

I would drive the car to Milan and spend your last night near the airport. On the SlowTrav forums people had hotels they recommended near Milan airport. Does anyone remember which ones? You could have a full day out driving from Alba to Milan, arriving in the evening to return the car at the airport and get a shuttle to a nearby hotel, to make it easy to get your morning flight.

 

[Phyllis]

Thank you for this, can you please make a suggestion of what best to do that day.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Phyllis
I can't advise on a good location to pick up a car in Torino, as we've only ever hired from the Airport. However when looking for someone else recently, I noticed car hire from Stazione Porta Susa, which might not be the worst. Much could depend on where you are staying, as I'd not want to have to drive across the city if I could avoid it... however having a long trek to get to a hire care is probably worse. At least the ZTL is reasonably simple, bounded by Corso Vittorio Emanuele II to the south, Corso Regina Margherita to the north, Porta Susa to the west and the river to the east. Driving west to pick up the autostrada may even be easier than going south through the old Fiat suburbs / Lingotto.

One I recommend quite a bit here, and it's only c. 30-40 mins drive from Milano Melpensa, is Il Cavenago at Ghemme. It's a great agriturismo, with sumptuous meals at weekends - potentially a memorable exit. As an alternative, I did look at a Hotel - Villa delle Rose, set in a park near Malpensa. It might (perhaps) have a balance between proximity and peacefulness. With heavy luggage I'd definitely recommend dropping the car off at the airport, rather than suffer additional logistics.

The journey from Alba to Milano should not be too taxing in the car, though it might be worth asking Pauline where the troublesome junction was she recently encountered. It can help to prepare for a tricky bit of navigation.

Regards
Ian

 

[Ian Sutton]

p.s. for the later question - it depends where you stay. Perhaps Parco Ticino if staying somewhere like Villa delle Rose, or one of the marked walking routes heading out from the Agriturismo if staying in Ghemme. If staying elsewhere, I'd similarly lean for something peaceful and out in the fresh air... but then I rapidly tire of the processed air in airports and airplanes!

 

[Andrew]

For a Malpensa-area hotel, I vaguely remember Hotel Cervo getting good recommendations on ST. The Sheraton attached to the terminal could be nice if you have Starwood points, which can be converted from Marriott points.