Rome and Venice - any country side around?

Question

Hi guys,

we are planning a trip to Rome and Venice in August for 7 days. Now while I love cities, I also wasn't to squeeze in a bit of countryside in my trip.

Since we will be travelling to Venice and Rome, is there a nice countryside which is not too far from the city and offers a nice view of the vineyards etc?

thanks in advance!

Answer 1

From Florence take a day trip to Tuscany, Sienna and Pisa.Just out side the train station there are travel agencies who arrange day trips.

Answer 2

drive to sorrento italy. the countryside going there is beautiful and the smaller town is located on cliffs on the water. it is so beautiful!!

Answer 3

Rome definitely has countryside around, and it's easily accessible.

Venice technically doesn't have any countryside around it, since it's an island chain, but if you come back to the mainland by train, there's definitely some countryside - though not as pretty as around Rome. There are vineyards on the "Venice mainland," though. (I believe there are vineyards just about everywhere, in Italy.)

If you really want countryside, however, go to the Tuscany region. That has countryside for miles, blue skies, and is definitely worth going to. I don't believe you'll be too far from Tuscany once you get to Rome, so you might want to do a day trip there. Siena is definitely worth going to. I believe it's about a two hour (maybe three hours maximum) to get from Rome to Siena.

I would also suggest that, while you're in the Venice area, to go up further northeast to see the mountainous regions of Italy. It's very Switzerland-ish and pretty. Great skiing up on Piancavallo (a mountain near the city of Pordenone). Should take you about three hours maximum by train to get from Venice to the Pre-Alps.

Answer 4

The drive from Venice to Florence (~160 miles) and Florence to Rome (~180 miles) is amazing!! Florence has some great country side and awesome vineyards!!

Answer 5

NEAR VENICE:  very easy to get to & less than an hour from venice is trieste directly on the adriatic coast.  go by train from the venice train station to see rolling hills & coastline-- & tour austro-hungarian castles.  trieste also borders the country of slovenia where you can easily visit the original lippizan stud farm w/ many lippizan horses & a show 2x per week -- about 20 minutes from trieste.  some info follows here....

http://wikitravel.org/en/Trieste

Across the countryside you can find small beautiful farms where you will find beautiful different kinds of home-made salami, cheese and ham, and a characteristic red wine. And maybe along the Riviera ( Muggia, Sistiana,Duino)you can find some nice places to sleep, too.

The pretty island of Grado just to the west makes a good half day boat trip (ticket retour 6 €) [19].

Venice and Ljubljana are also major nearby destinations.

Grotta Gigante - The Giant cave claims to be the biggest tourist cave in the world (since 1997 in the Guinness'book of records). 15 km by city bus #42 or the tram of Opicinathen 1 hour walking along the path #26. The enormous hall is 107 metres high, 280 metres long and 65 metres large. The multi-lingual guided tour takes about 45 minutes. You can also visit the Museum of Speleology is near the cave and besides the various speleological, geological and paleontological finds it also includes some valuable archeological pieces and a poster collection of the cave. Two wide parking lots are available on the outside.

The Slovenian coastal villages of Koper and Piran are about 30 minutes away (1 hour by bus) and make a great day trip.  they have authentic medival centers.  The twin small towns of Gorizia (in Italy) and Nova Gorica (in Slovenia) are around 45 minutes by train from Trieste.  all surrounded by countryside & vinyards....red wines are excellent!!

many places to go to directly outside rome...  but try ostia antica which has ruins like pompeii -- but not as crowded.....

Answer 6

Assuming that you will travel by train (car would be the same route) you should stop in the province of Umbria or Tuscany.

Tuscany is more famous regarding to Florence and Siena, but also much more expensive and touristy, especially in August, the high season. I am traveling Italy for work since April and like to recommend the following. By train or car traveling between Rome and Venice, stop either in Perugia, Arrezzo or Orvieto! These towns are in between and easily reached on your trip, if not even on the direct route. All of these towns have beautiful country side all around and are less touristy. Enjoy Italy and have a great trip.

Answer 7

There is alot of beautiful country side around Rome. If you want to go somewhere very close Albano is a town a couple miles outside of Rome. There is a lake with a few restaurants and it is a quick peaceful break from the city.

If you dont mind going about an hour outside of Rome, then I would definitly go to Sorrento which is right on the coast! clear water and beautiful! From this town you have a clear view of Mount Vesuvius. The link i gave you is the same picture I took when I was there! I guess alot of people like this particular view.