Italy Travel Guide

[gorgeous_me]

^thanks mama squeak, need ba bumili na ng ticket online? or on the day na lang..same lang ba price, hehe..

[mama squeak!]

^yung regional trains (Rome to Florence) you can buy online. You can do it in advance only if you are sure of your dates otherwise buy ka na lang sa station. As for the local trains, you can buy it on the day itself at the station. I doubt if they sell online kasi tipong commuter trains lang yun parang RER or metro ng Paris.

[gorgeous_me]

ahh, ok, kaya pala wala akong makitang sa trenitalia, going to statuto, hehe
kala ko tuloy walang train papunta don, LOL

thanks, mama squeak

[luckypal]

Hi everyone! Just got back from our trip to Italy I'm in love with this country and I wish I could just live there! Just wanted to share some things that I learned on my trip:

1. Beware of fake gelato - it's everywhere! My husband and I joined a food tour and our tour guide said that there was a gelato scandal a few years ago when Romans discovered that there were a lot of establishments selling fake gelato. They didn't want tourists being duped by this and tarnishing the reputation of Italy/Rome. She told us that fake gelato usually has bright colors and is flufflier than the real one.

2. For better food in Rome, go to Trastevere or, even better, Testaccio. Trastevere is closer so it's more convenient to eat there but Testaccio is where you can really avoid tourist trap restaurants. Also if you're an adventurous foodie, Testaccio is where you can get the "Poor Romans food" because of the traditions surrounding the Roman cuisine of the stockyard workers. This means offal will be served in local restaurants, as workers were given these pieces at the end of the day--and they (or most likely their wives and mothers) learned to cook them into tasty meals.

Lol, puro food ang tips ko

[gorgeous_me]

sisies, question ulit, san mas ok to get to Pisa...Pisa Centrale or Pisa S. Rossore?

I've read some opinion in google, but I'm still torn, hehe

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ not sure if it's better, but we got off at Pisa Centrale and walked to the leaning tower. Nice naman ang walk, malapit lang din and madami naman pang-aliw sa madadaanan. And madami din kasabay naglalakad. We came from Florence lang. Sa Centrale din kami sumakay pabalik ng Florence.,

[gorgeous_me]

^thanks for the input sis
will be coming from Florence too.
Baka sa Pisa Centrale na nga lang, kung hindi naman pala ganon kalayo, hehe

[darkchoco]

Mag se-second the motion lang ako dun sa recommendation to visit Burano if you have time, and want to get away from the crowds in Venice. Burano isn't as crowded and it's very charming. Masarap picturean yung colored houses.

I also really enjoyed Venice. I dien't expect that I'd be so captivated by it. I guess I really enjoy places where there are no cars and you'd have to walk (or take a boat ride) to places.

[gorgeous_me]

Sisies..has anyone tried going to Cinque Terre DIY?
Did you buy your RT tickets online? I'm planning to book from Firenze SMN to La Spezia then back to Firenze..I'm kinda worried that it will be sold out on my preferred date and time, hehe
And will there be a long walk from station to the Village, let's say, Manarola station to Manarola Village(where I can take a pic, hehe)

[mama squeak!]

^sis backread ka konti. Na discuss na ang CT in previous posts. Si melody_medley if I remember right DIYed CT.

[eischied_21]

I'm done backreading France thread and now it's time for Italy thread. Backreading makes me more excited for my trip next year. Thanks for all the active sisses who are very generous sharing their first hand info about Europe.

[powerpacfan]

Hello mga sis i back and and listed the places i want to visit, just wanted to know you opinion.
We will be flying from Paris to Venice then train to Florence then train to Rome.

We are looking at spending 4 days lang in Italy so diko sure kung kaya ba lahat ito. Based from what I've read Florence is the best town to stay in so 2 days kami don. Rest will be a day lang. kaya ba lahat ito. Let me know which ones I should drop.

Venice:
Basillica Di San Marco
Doge's Palace
Torre de'll Orologio
Grand Canal
See or ride Gondola

Florence:
Leaning tower of pisa
The Mall
Palazzo Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio
Duomo
Mercato Centrale
San Lorenzo Market 
Galleria Láccademia

Rome: for this alam ko madami pero kung gipit sa time kaya ba lahat ng required sites ko
St. Peter's Basilica (required)
Sistine Chapel (required)

Vatican Museum (required)

Castel Sant'Angelo (optional)




Campo de' Fiori

Piazza Navona

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain (required)

Spanish Steps



Roman Forum

Colosseum (required)

San Giovanni Laterano

[chynna_v]

^sis when alis mo?

Have you applied visa through Italy embassy? If yes, do you really need to show all proof of accommodation and in between transfers from EU countries. I am asking kasi 5 days kami sa Italy so need kami doon kumuha and I saw sa French Embassy hindi naman required based dun sa nakalagay sa site nila.

[powerpacfan]

Hi sis i am not sure actually finafinalize ko palang ang mga requirements namin. Most probably in and out from europe na flights lang papakita namin n mga refundable na hotel bookings

[melodymedley]

Who here has tried renting a water taxi from Venezia Santa Lucia station to the Rialto area? Our Airbnb is near Rialto. We are 6 adults travelling with at least 6 luggages + handcarry. Is it easy to just get a water taxi upon arrival in Sta. Lucia station? We will arrive past 3pm.  I am worried din kasi na baka hindi fair yung ibigay na price. Our hostel said dapat 80 euros lang daw yung water taxi.

[minnie99]

So I am currently living in Italy (from September to December) to study. Our centre organizes trips occasionally and yesterday we joined the daytrip to Venice. From Torino (where I study and live), it took us a looooong bus ride (siguro mga 5 hours) to get to Venice. And it was very cloudy yesterday, in fact it rained when we first got there and for most of our tour. At ang daming tao sobra.

But I would still say that Venice is worth a visit, and the gondola ride is definitely a must-do. Unfortunately, we weren't able to visit the other islands because we were with a group (doing everything alone would have been more expensive, kaya at 85 euros, okay na ako hehe).

Looking forward to visiting more places in Italy during my stay!

[kireinachean]

Hello mga sis i back and and listed the places i want to visit, just wanted to know you opinion.
We will be flying from Paris to Venice then train to Florence then train to Rome.

We are looking at spending 4 days lang in Italy so diko sure kung kaya ba lahat ito. Based from what I've read Florence is the best town to stay in so 2 days kami don. Rest will be a day lang. kaya ba lahat ito. Let me know which ones I should drop.

Venice:
Basillica Di San Marco
Doge's Palace
Torre de'll Orologio
Grand Canal
See or ride Gondola

Florence:
Leaning tower of pisa
The Mall
Palazzo Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio
Duomo
Mercato Centrale
San Lorenzo Market 
Galleria Láccademia

Rome: for this alam ko madami pero kung gipit sa time kaya ba lahat ng required sites ko
St. Peter's Basilica (required)
Sistine Chapel (required)

Vatican Museum (required)

Castel Sant'Angelo (optional)




Campo de' Fiori

Piazza Navona

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain (required)

Spanish Steps



Roman Forum

Colosseum (required)

San Giovanni Laterano

Hi Sis, this is our plan too, Paris to Venice, then train to Rome.. we are traveling with kids, can I ask kung mas ok sa Florence magstay than venice?

Thanks

[i_miss_sleep]

^sis, between Florence and Venice as home base, I prefer Florence. Keep in mind there are lots of stairs in Venice so if you have baggages, that's a big concern. When we were at Venice, we actually stayed at Lido. It was summer and I had to give in to my son's request for swimming at the beach, so we opted to stay at Lido. It's a Vaporetto away from Venice train station. Venice is so small, you can explore it in a day.

In Florence, most of the rooms are generally really big. It's close to Pisa and outlet shopping too!

Just something to consider.

[kireinachean]

Thanks sis, I think we'll go for Rome and Florence/Pisa muna

[eischied_21]

@kireinachean , better to stay in Florence because hotels/hostels there are cheaper compared to Venice.

Venice was too touristy but it's still VERY beautiful. I thought I wouldn't enjoy the view anymore because there's a lot of copycats already (Venetian Hotel Macau and in McKinley) but I still got amazed. It's on top of my beautiful destinations during my Eurotrip last month. As in WOW!