Make a point to get lost when traveling to Italy
Get lost.
Really.
The best advice for a visit to Venice and much of Italy is to take a few wrong turns and see where you end up.
In Venice, it’s easy to find St. Mark’s Square; simply follow the throngs of tourists heading that way.
Go ahead and take a stroll through the busy square, then turn around and head upstream against the crowds in any direction. Venice teems with charming, narrow alleys and canals waiting to be explored (many of which are free of crowds).
So put away that map because you’re on an island, and that means you can’t go all that wrong.
My favorite times in Venice were spent when I was quite lost. And I’m happy to say that I’d have a hard time navigating back to the wonderful cafes and campi (city squares) that my wife, Wendy, and I stumbled across.
We were thrilled that Venice was the first stop during our 12 days in Italy. Only a few steps from the airport, visitors can hop on an Alilaguna water bus for a reasonably priced, and unforgettable, trip across the water and into the Grand Canal. It’s a terrific way to reach this beautiful city.
If you’ve got money to burn, you might even spring for a pricey water taxi that will deliver you directly to the “water door” of your hotel.
After three days, we left Venice and headed into the Italian countryside. A Trenitalia train took us to Florence for our next adventure.
While trains are a great way to relax and experience some of Italy’s countryside, we did rent a car in Florence for our five days in Tuscany. The car gave us the chance to venture out every day without a schedule and also offered the “opportunity” to get lost a few more times.
To really get a feel for the region, stay in one of Tuscany’s countless agritourismi (combination of agriculture and tourism) areas. Since 1985, the Italian government has given tax breaks to these family farms that open their doors to vacationers while tending to their operations.
Sitting around a Tuscan table with guests from all over the world at Agritourismo Marciano in Siena, we savored family- style meals that featured local produce and wines made on the farm. The multicourse dinners were easily the best of our trip.
Our host Nadia’s farm was a homey, comfortable base from which to explore neighboring medieval hill towns. Each day we struck out in a different direction, stopping in any town that struck our fancy. Volterra, San Gimingano and Montalcino were among our favorites, but they were all gems.
While Italy is home to some of the world’s greatest works of art, Tuscany is a work of art in itself. My wife is an artist and an art teacher, so Florence was an important stop for us. Our visits to the Academia and Uffizi galleries barely scratched the surface of the art to be seen there, and Michelangelo’s David was the highlight for me.
The trip ended in the Cinque Terre on Italy’s Ligurian coast. These five picturesque fishing villages cling to cliffs and are connected only by trains, boats and hiking trails. We had two nights in Manarola, one of the smaller and quieter of the villages.
There’s not much nightlife here unless you count kids playing soccer in the streets. But the solitude was fine with us because it meant nights of drinking in the view from our balcony at Hotel da Baranin, the highest spot in town.
And while nights like that are great for romance, the hotel’s lofty location did put a strain on my love affair with getting lost – upon taking a wrong turn climbing hundreds of steep, stone steps with rolling suitcases in tow.
Fog hangs in the valley below the hill town of San Gimignano, Italy. At one time the town had more than 70 medieval towers and 14 of them stand today. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Gondolas await customers in Venice. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Manarola is one of the smaller of five fishing villages that make up the Cinque Terre on Italy’s Ligurian coast. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Customers dine al fresco at Cafe il Refolo in Campo San Giacomo da L’Orio, one of Venice’s many charming campi (city squares). Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Olive trees (foreground) and vineyards meet just outside the medieval hill town of Montepulciano, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
A gondolier guides visitors along a Venice canal. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
St. Mark’s Capanile is framed by on of the countless canals of Venice, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Customers dine al fresco at Cafe il Refolo in Campo San Giacomo da L’Orio, one of Venice’s many city squares. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
A street performer walks thhrough an alleyway near the Church of San Salvador in Venice, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Venice, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Venice’s St. Mark’s Campanile is framed by sailboats tied up near the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Venice, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Fog hangs in the valley below the hill town of San Gimignano, Italy. At one time the town had more than 70 medieval towers and 14 of them stand today. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Siena’s Piazza del Campo is one of the most spectacular of Tuscany’s town squares. Mark Reis iPhone photo
Citta di Colle Di Val D’Elsa, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Volterra, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
View from the Torre Del Mangia in Siena, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
View from Cappella di San Jacopo in Castello di Brolio, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
San Gimignano, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Agriturismo Marciano, Siena, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Agriturismo Marciano, Siena, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Near Montepulciano, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
The Temple of San Biagiou and the lush Tuscan countryside viewed from the medieval hill town of Montepulciano. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Agriturismo Marciano, Siena, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
The Castle of Monteriggioni, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
The Castle of Monteriggioni, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Agriturismo Marciano, Siena, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Agriturismo Marciano, Siena, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Hercules and Cacus, outside the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy.Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
The Arno, Florence, Italy.Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Florence, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
A statue of Dante Alighieri outside Santa Croce Cathedral in Piazza Santa Croce Square, FLorence, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Secondary school students celebrate the end of the school year in Florence, Italy. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Manarola is one of the smaller of five fishing villages that make up the Cinque Terre on Italy’s Ligurian coast. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Manarola, Italy, Cinque Terre.Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Manarola is one of the smaller of five fishing villages that make up the Cinque Terre on Italy’s Ligurian coast. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette