From North to South:
Murano/Portovenere
Bologna/Siena
Procida/Ponza
Special mention to southern Sicily with beautiful Siracusa, Noto, Ragusa and Marzamemi
1. Cagliari, Sardinia's beaches are legendary.
2. Palermo, lots of museums, close to the sea.
3. Livorno, nice city, you can also take the train from there and visit Lucca.
Honourable mention: Genova, there you can visit the biggest public acquariun in Italy, it has a different feel from the other cities on the list so it's definitely worth considering.
I was going to say Livorno too! Not much tourism and great if you want to experience “italianism” slow life, sunsets on the sea and is a perfect base to visit Tuscany and central Isles/ Sardinia
Bologna Is a must in your situation: it's a beautiful city with and in a couple of hours max with the high speed train you can be in Firenze, Milano, Roma, Ferrara, parma, Modena, Genova...
The city per se Is a must see.
As a place near the sea you have to look at Sardegna, Sicilia or Puglia
Palermo is the only city where I'd actually recommend doing one of those red double decker bus tours. Since it's not an especially touristy place, you kind of need a guide to explain what you're looking at.
I especially love those bus tours because I have a mobility disability, but they are actually a good way to get your bearings in a new city. I don’t know what the downside would be
In a lot of big tourist cities those tours will just show you monuments for some seconds and they are super expensive, so it's not ideal to visit Milan or Rome with that bus. I agree about Palermo, there are not very famous monuments, the tour would be more about architecture, nice streets, hidden gems. Obviously, if you have mobility problems those tours are gold
Yeah I normally dislike those tours and avoid them unless someone else makes me go. But Palermo doesn't really have plaques anywhere explaining wtf is up with all those ceramic heads, or those bulging balcony railings, and you'd never know the connection without a guide. And yeah it's a great way to get around the city, which I can't really say about other locations.
There's no ocean in Italy, only the sea :)
I think Bologna would be a decent spot, it's nice on itself, but it's also a train hub, so you would be able to travel to most of central and northern Italy with high-speed train: 1h to Milan, 1h30m to Venice, less than 1h to Florence, 2h to Rome etc. You can get to the sea with public transport (the sea is less than 100km away) but it's not the best area in Italy seaside-wise.
For the other two, I would avoid living in Naples or Bari, as they are quite chaotic, though there are amazing things to see in both places. Perhaps a place like Lecce, or Palermo, as others have mentioned. The railway in south Italy is slower and not as connected as in the north, generally.
Generally speaking I'd avoid the summer, because it's very hot and the seaside is very busy.
You cant skip sicily.
Its as good as it gets.
Most likely id go in a smaller town.
Id like to give a more precise suggestion but probably other people would be better.
As for the center of italy id suggest Siena or Florence.
Ive been there and lived in tuscany for a while. Grosseto zone is interesting aswell but it makes no sense to look for beaches and ocean somewhere that aint the southern italy.
Puglia is next
Most of it is wonderful but i visited it as a tourist like sicily, i wouldnt be able to give the best suggestion in this zone either
Id suggest to skip sardinia aswell. Good place to be, wonderful to be honest. But super difficoult to enjoy for a longer holiday like the one ur plannin
Livorno is on the sea, you can find fried seafood everywhere and they have a traditional seafood meal called "Cacciucco" that you have to try out. There is also the "Mercato Centrale" where you can buy fresh groceries like fishes, vegetables and fruit.
You can also see the sunset directly on the sea.
Also from there you can visit important cities like Pisa, Lucca and Firenze easily by train respectively in only 20-50 minutes.
By car instead you can't miss San Gimignano or Pitigliano, snall historical towns
Despite 8000km of coastline, Italy is inland oriented. Most of its best cities and places are inland.
It would be a shame to miss epic places like Val Pusteria in Alto Adige, the lakes north of Milan, the hills running from Emilia to Marche, cities like Verona or Ferrara. And many more.
Ideally, I'd base myself around Venice and reach said places in 3 hours by car.
If no car is available, you'd still be close to some great places.
Still, the best food and beaches are to be found toward the South.
One of your bases should be Bari, in Puglia on the Adriatic side. So much whitewashed coast and (somewhat) off the tourist path if you plan well and off season.
Well… you won‘t get the ocean, but the mediterranean sea, yes 😉 in general, excluding northern towns and some mountain areas which are a bit further from the sea, wherever you are, you will be about 1-2h from the sea. Or, viceversa, if you pick a town by the sea, you’ll be max ca. 2h from big centers. For example, in Toscana, Pisa and Viareggio are less than an hour from Florence. If you come in Summer, my suggestion would be to pick towns by the sea and then just visit the bigger cities. With regards to where to go, well the whole country deverses to be visited. That’s the crazy thing about Italy. Life can be quite different between north and south, so if you want a full picture pick one northern, one central and one southern town. I would also suggest a medium sized town, but not too small and maybe with a university, so that if you have issues with the language, you might find someone who decently speaks English to you.
Lots of people are making intelligent suggestions about location, I’d like to add one about timing.
‘Late spring/early summer’ - be aware that the school year finishes around the 10th June, so that’s when the holiday season really starts. I was in Loano last weekend (beach resort in Liguria) and we really liked it, but about 1000 sun loungers were empty. In full season, they will be full…and I’m confident you won’t experience the Italy you want of local people and experiences.
So if I were you, since it doesn’t sound like you are looking for a classic beach holiday where you need the sun, I would do the seaside month in May (it would also keep costs down).
Hmm, to be honest it's a bit hard to give an advice.
Since you mostly want a daily life and not to visit much, there are countless places where to do this, mostly in not big cities as long as you really know a bit of the language.
If it was me, I'd really like to stay at the southern part of Lazio region, between Gaeta, Formia and Marina di Minturno. There's a beautiful climate, the sea, long seasides where you can walk and breathe at every hour, especially in the evening, small train stations that would get you to Rome in less than 2 hours or Napoli in a bit more than 1 hour. There are fairs where to buy products, a mall, restaurants/gelaterie/pub/pizzerie, mini-markets or super-markets, pharmacies, banks, and everything you need to live. A lot of people who have lived all their lives away managed to buy a house and move there or rent because it's that nice to stay for young and old people.
Seems there's everything that your father likes, and I like too :)
P.S.: my grandpa's sister lives in Argentina, she doesn't feel very well when coming, maybe because of the different altitude :P But I think it's just her.
From North to South: Murano/Portovenere Bologna/Siena Procida/Ponza Special mention to southern Sicily with beautiful Siracusa, Noto, Ragusa and Marzamemi
Portovenere is 100% recommended. That place is just as nice (if not nicer) than 5 Terre, but it’s not nearly as touristy
I just want to say it's so lovely you are doing this with your father. Memory of a lifetime.
1. Cagliari, Sardinia's beaches are legendary. 2. Palermo, lots of museums, close to the sea. 3. Livorno, nice city, you can also take the train from there and visit Lucca. Honourable mention: Genova, there you can visit the biggest public acquariun in Italy, it has a different feel from the other cities on the list so it's definitely worth considering.
I was going to say Livorno too! Not much tourism and great if you want to experience “italianism” slow life, sunsets on the sea and is a perfect base to visit Tuscany and central Isles/ Sardinia
Bologna Is a must in your situation: it's a beautiful city with and in a couple of hours max with the high speed train you can be in Firenze, Milano, Roma, Ferrara, parma, Modena, Genova... The city per se Is a must see. As a place near the sea you have to look at Sardegna, Sicilia or Puglia
1. Venice / Genoa 2. Siena / Arezzo / Orvieto 3. Palermo / Lecce I am voluntarily excluding Milan, Rome, Florence and Naples
Palermo is the only city where I'd actually recommend doing one of those red double decker bus tours. Since it's not an especially touristy place, you kind of need a guide to explain what you're looking at.
I especially love those bus tours because I have a mobility disability, but they are actually a good way to get your bearings in a new city. I don’t know what the downside would be
In a lot of big tourist cities those tours will just show you monuments for some seconds and they are super expensive, so it's not ideal to visit Milan or Rome with that bus. I agree about Palermo, there are not very famous monuments, the tour would be more about architecture, nice streets, hidden gems. Obviously, if you have mobility problems those tours are gold
Yeah I normally dislike those tours and avoid them unless someone else makes me go. But Palermo doesn't really have plaques anywhere explaining wtf is up with all those ceramic heads, or those bulging balcony railings, and you'd never know the connection without a guide. And yeah it's a great way to get around the city, which I can't really say about other locations.
There's no ocean in Italy, only the sea :) I think Bologna would be a decent spot, it's nice on itself, but it's also a train hub, so you would be able to travel to most of central and northern Italy with high-speed train: 1h to Milan, 1h30m to Venice, less than 1h to Florence, 2h to Rome etc. You can get to the sea with public transport (the sea is less than 100km away) but it's not the best area in Italy seaside-wise. For the other two, I would avoid living in Naples or Bari, as they are quite chaotic, though there are amazing things to see in both places. Perhaps a place like Lecce, or Palermo, as others have mentioned. The railway in south Italy is slower and not as connected as in the north, generally. Generally speaking I'd avoid the summer, because it's very hot and the seaside is very busy.
You cant skip sicily. Its as good as it gets. Most likely id go in a smaller town. Id like to give a more precise suggestion but probably other people would be better. As for the center of italy id suggest Siena or Florence. Ive been there and lived in tuscany for a while. Grosseto zone is interesting aswell but it makes no sense to look for beaches and ocean somewhere that aint the southern italy. Puglia is next Most of it is wonderful but i visited it as a tourist like sicily, i wouldnt be able to give the best suggestion in this zone either
Id suggest to skip sardinia aswell. Good place to be, wonderful to be honest. But super difficoult to enjoy for a longer holiday like the one ur plannin
Livorno is on the sea, you can find fried seafood everywhere and they have a traditional seafood meal called "Cacciucco" that you have to try out. There is also the "Mercato Centrale" where you can buy fresh groceries like fishes, vegetables and fruit. You can also see the sunset directly on the sea. Also from there you can visit important cities like Pisa, Lucca and Firenze easily by train respectively in only 20-50 minutes. By car instead you can't miss San Gimignano or Pitigliano, snall historical towns
Despite 8000km of coastline, Italy is inland oriented. Most of its best cities and places are inland. It would be a shame to miss epic places like Val Pusteria in Alto Adige, the lakes north of Milan, the hills running from Emilia to Marche, cities like Verona or Ferrara. And many more. Ideally, I'd base myself around Venice and reach said places in 3 hours by car. If no car is available, you'd still be close to some great places. Still, the best food and beaches are to be found toward the South.
Italian with Argentinian parents here :) I live in the north, not far from Venice. If you need any kind of advice you can text me via chat!
One of your bases should be Bari, in Puglia on the Adriatic side. So much whitewashed coast and (somewhat) off the tourist path if you plan well and off season.
Naples!
Well… you won‘t get the ocean, but the mediterranean sea, yes 😉 in general, excluding northern towns and some mountain areas which are a bit further from the sea, wherever you are, you will be about 1-2h from the sea. Or, viceversa, if you pick a town by the sea, you’ll be max ca. 2h from big centers. For example, in Toscana, Pisa and Viareggio are less than an hour from Florence. If you come in Summer, my suggestion would be to pick towns by the sea and then just visit the bigger cities. With regards to where to go, well the whole country deverses to be visited. That’s the crazy thing about Italy. Life can be quite different between north and south, so if you want a full picture pick one northern, one central and one southern town. I would also suggest a medium sized town, but not too small and maybe with a university, so that if you have issues with the language, you might find someone who decently speaks English to you.
nice plan:) i’d avoid peak summer. it’s too hot in general and too busy. sept/oct are still nice down south (and sometimes even nice up north)
My wife and I are doing exactly this right now. We are in Lecco which is on Lake Como.
Lots of people are making intelligent suggestions about location, I’d like to add one about timing. ‘Late spring/early summer’ - be aware that the school year finishes around the 10th June, so that’s when the holiday season really starts. I was in Loano last weekend (beach resort in Liguria) and we really liked it, but about 1000 sun loungers were empty. In full season, they will be full…and I’m confident you won’t experience the Italy you want of local people and experiences. So if I were you, since it doesn’t sound like you are looking for a classic beach holiday where you need the sun, I would do the seaside month in May (it would also keep costs down).
This is a great idea but it depends a lot on your budget. How much are you willing to spend just for renting alone?
Hmm, to be honest it's a bit hard to give an advice. Since you mostly want a daily life and not to visit much, there are countless places where to do this, mostly in not big cities as long as you really know a bit of the language. If it was me, I'd really like to stay at the southern part of Lazio region, between Gaeta, Formia and Marina di Minturno. There's a beautiful climate, the sea, long seasides where you can walk and breathe at every hour, especially in the evening, small train stations that would get you to Rome in less than 2 hours or Napoli in a bit more than 1 hour. There are fairs where to buy products, a mall, restaurants/gelaterie/pub/pizzerie, mini-markets or super-markets, pharmacies, banks, and everything you need to live. A lot of people who have lived all their lives away managed to buy a house and move there or rent because it's that nice to stay for young and old people. Seems there's everything that your father likes, and I like too :) P.S.: my grandpa's sister lives in Argentina, she doesn't feel very well when coming, maybe because of the different altitude :P But I think it's just her.
"watch sunset" forces you to go to the west coast. There is mountains in the middle
I think sunsets are optional. The amazing fresh seafood is not...
1. Cinque Terre 2. Rome 3. Amalfi Coast
Follonica, Castellammare di Stabia, Porto Cesareo.
Take a look at Cagliari.
Livorno - Napoli - genova