After a week of hiking in Switzerland, Chrissie and I decided to head to Italy. Our ultimate destination was Venice since Chrissie had never been and it was high on her bucket list. So we trained/bused from Zermatt to Milan (many trains are under construction, or what they call “interrupted”, but the train/bus combo was NOT bad) where we began our adventure.
Milan:
Jo has been to Milan many times and considers it the most efficient Italian city, combining some of the best Italian art, architecture, food, and shopping within a small footprint – minimal steps, taxis, or public transportation necessary!
Hotel:
Hotel Manin: We chose this hotel because it was equidistant between the train station (where we arrived and where we were renting a car the next day) and the historical center of Milan. It was clean, reasonably priced, and had A/C!
Another hotel Jo likes is the Grand Hotel et de Milan, which is directly in the heart of the shopping quadrant. It is very old world and gorgeous with a price point to match.
Shopping:
Milan has some of the best shopping in Europe, all within 4 city blocks. It’s an especially great place to shop given there is no sales tax (as in the US) and if you spend more than 70 Euros, you can claim the 12% VAT back when you leave the EU. There are some great deals, especially in July when it is the end of the season and there are many saldis (sales).
We hit the high-end basics: Prada, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, La Double J, Loewe,and Herno (yes, puffers were purchased) and wandered through the historic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. We liked the department store Rinascente, right next to the Duomo, because it has AC as well as a great rooftop terrace with terrific views of the Duomo and the city.
We also shopped at Arket – a cheap chic arm of H&M that doesn’t ship to the US – and we both found some great pieces. 10 Corso Como is another great store – a bit removed from the core of the city but worth a trip. It was opened in 1990 by Carla Sozzani, former fashion editor and publisher, and sister of Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italy, and the space combines fashion, art, and has a great cafe..
Sights:
We visited the Duomo di Milano, the Teatro alla Scala (Opera House), the aforementioned Galleria, and wandered around the city. Other sights to see include Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper (tickets needed), the Castello Sforzesco, and the Fondazione Prada, a campus around 20 minutes outside of the city dedicated to modern art and culture. It has a great cafe designed by Wes Anderson and hosts fabulous art and film exhibits. A must-see if you love art and design!
Food:
We had a delicious lunch at La Locanda Gatto Rosso, on a square a few blocks from the main shopping drag. Delicious piadinas and salads and fun people watching! Other fun choices are:
- Cova on Via Montenapoleone, one of the main shopping streets, for a sit down traditional meal. Owned by Moet Chandon Louis Vuitton, it has been feeding chic Milanese since 1817.
- Salumaio di Montenapoleone: on a side street, Santo Spirito, around the corner from Cova. It has a beautiful interior courtyard and classic Milanese food.
We had dinner at Bice, also in the shopping zone on Via Borgospesso. A Milan classic since 1926, it serves classic Northern Italian food. The ravioli was superb!
Lake District
After a two-hour classic Italian Rent-a-Car experience with Hertz (make sure you rent a car from a location that actually has the cars on site…the train station office does not!) we hit the road and headed to Lake Iseo, a small lake between Lake Como and Lake Garda. It was awesome because it’s small and doesn’t attract the crowds of the other lakes. With the helpful recommendation of a barista, we settled in for lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Vela, on the East side of the lake, up the hill, with a great view and great pizza! Beautiful!
Our pizzeria waitress led us to our next stop – the town of Salo, on the west side of Lake Garda. Not too touristy, the town is full of cobblestone streets and has a beautiful lungolago (lakefront promenade) which made this a great stop. Of course there was also shopping and one of the shop owners told us about the best gelato in town in front of the Duomo. Yes it was!
Hotel:
With Verona as our target for the next day, we stayed nearby in the most incredible hotel, Villa Giona. 15 minutes from Verona in Valpolicella, the 16th century villa with amazing grounds and vineyards was less than $200/night for two, including breakfast. It has a great pool, and incredible, huge gardens. We ate dinner on site and it was delicious and so beautiful. A magical stay. HIGHLY recommend!
Verona:
We spent a half-day in Verona:
- Arena: Roman amphitheater built in 30AD – older than the Colosseum!
- Castelvecchio Museum:14th century medieval castle on the river, houses a number of iconic paintings from the Renaissance and was beautifully restored in the mid-1900’s by Carlo Scarpa.
- Casa di Giulietta: tourist trap due to its association with Shakerpeare’s play Romeo & Juliet. Tourists come for the balcony – which is fictional. It’s become a symbol of romance and is a major attraction in Verona. We peeked in.
- Piazza delle Erbe: Square in the center of town – beautiful space with a daily market.
Shopping:
Verona has a surprisingly strong shopping game along its main drag, Via Mazzini. We had luck in Cos and enjoyed eyeballing luxury goods at Folli Follie Donna and Pavin.
Lunch:
Our saleswoman at Pavin suggested Buoono for casual piadinas (wrapped sandwiches) and it was sososo good!
Vicenza:
Our next stop was Vicenza, about an half hour east of Verona and home of the architect Palladio. We were lucky enough to be guided through town by a friend of Chrissie’s who has lived there for 30 years! We went by the Palladio museum, visited the Palladian designed Olympic Theater (the first permanent indoor theater!), strolled around the Piazza dei Signori, and enjoyed the Palladian Basilica. Thank you Cynthia for the great tour!
Bassano del Grappa:
We stayed about an hour outside of Vicenza in Bassano del Grappa at Villa Lovi. Under $100 a night including breakfast, it was a nice, quiet, clean spot outside town with easy parking! We went into Bassano for dinner and it was a charming town with a beautiful covered bridge. We ate at Leonceni, a pizza restaurant, near the center of town and it was yummy. Other restaurants recommended to us were Ottone, Daniele, and Cardellino.
Asolo & Treviso:
The next day we drove from Bassano to Venice, via Asolo and Treviso. Asolo is a gorgeous tiny medieval town at the foothills of the Dolomites. It is worth a stop! It has a branch of a store Jo likes in Venice called Pot-Pourri – puffers were purchased! It also has a Cipriani hotel – totally charming. We then drove toward Treviso, stopping at a few of the many outdoor clothing manufacturer outlets along the way: Salewa/Dynafit, Millet, The North Face, etc. This seems to be a hub of outdoor gear manufacturers and many of them have outlets. We stopped in Treviso for lunch and ate gelato in front of the Duomo. Treviso is bigger than Asolo yet still charming with its canals and narrow arcaded and cobbled streets.
And on to Venice!
Having driven through hundreds of roundabouts (we opted to stay off main highways as much as possible to enjoy the countryside), we dropped the car at the Mestre train station (we were thrilled Hertz found it because there was NO signage or any direction – a stranger told us to leave it in a parking garage and drop the keys in a box!!) and took the train into Venice. From S. Lucia train station, we took the vaporetto (water boat) to the Accademia stop. Our base for the next three nights was the Hotel Pensione Accademia, a 17th century Villa with two gardens, a very nice staff, a good location, great breakfast, and good A/C… which was appreciated ‘cause it was HOT!
Here is a quick summary of what we did in Venice:
Shopping:
The main Venice shopping drag near S. Marco has all the big guns. Our fav was Herno – they have good sales this time of year. TIP! Be SURE to ask them what they have in the back on sale…most sale items were not on display! Puffers were purchased at great discounts!
A villa on the canal, recently renovated by Rem Koolhaas and opened as the first Duty Free Shop in Europe in 2016, this space is a must see. The interiors are gorgeous! And the rooftop terrace is one of the best viewing spots in Venice. And they have a La Double J boutique (also ask for sale items to be brought out from the back!).
Jo has been visiting this shop for decades and it is chock-a-block full of great Italian clothing brands. It is owned and operated by a very stylish yet grumpy mother and her two daughters! It is very entertaining and worth a visit for the attitude! No sales here ..ever!
Carlo Moretti: Beautiful, contemporary glassware, plates, and lighting. We especially like the champagne classes!
Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella: The famous Florentine pharmacy with roots back to 1221 has a store in Venice near the Accademia bridge. Their soaps make great gifts.
Chiarastella Cattana. Near S. Maria Novella above, this store features timeless home textiles and pieces combining traditional Italian craftsmanship with modern inspiration. It carried beautiful linens and clothing – I especially liked the scalloped linen placemats and cotton slacks.
Food:
Trattoria da Arturo: Seen on the show ‘Somebody Feed Phil’, we enjoyed this small restaurant and its famous Venetian double pork chop which is double breaded and finished off in wine vinegar. It’s hard to find a restaurant in Venice without fish but we did it! A Hollywood producer flies the owners out for a week every winter to cook for his famous celebrity friends…ask to see the photos!
Rosticceria Gislon: No frills lunch spot popular with locals with food displayed on the countertop that is warmed up and served for counter eating. The roast chicken and veggies definitely hit the spot and it has lots of other Venetian specialties, aka fish.
Le Cafe: On Campo Santo Stefano with simple pizza, salads, pasta and good Venetian Spritz cocktails.
Al Nono Risorto: Recommended to us by the shop girls at DFS, we liked this garden restaurant by the Rialto. Pizza, salads, salmon – and tons of locals. Great outdoor atmosphere!
Also recommended by women at DFS:
Gelato:
Find the longest line and get in it!
Sights:
Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Fab modern art (most of it collected by Peggy herself) featured in the villa owned and lived in by the eccentric Peggy. It’s a delightful outing – sit in the garden for a coffee and take your time looking at Peggy’s grave as well as those of her beloved dogs, who are buried beside her. There is also a patio on the Grand Canal side and this is a great sit spot to watch the world float by.
Scuolo Grande di San Rocco: Over 60 paintings, mostly Tintoretto, are preserved in their original setting in a building that has hardly undergone any alteration since its construction. Head upstairs to the Salon Maggiore, grab a mirror to more easily view the ceiling, and enjoy.
Palazzo Ducale: We hired a guide (Ernesto) to take us through this home to many Doge’s. We highly recommend Ernesto as he quickly and efficiently moved us through this large historic building. Again, many gorgeous paintings by Tintoretto and Veronese and the famous Bridge of Sighs and prison. Guide: Ernesto Bonamano – enrico.bonamano@gmail.com.
La Biennale: Held in Venice, every two years, this international art exhibition showcases a wide array of contemporary visual arts, including painting, sculpture, installation, film, and performance art. This year’s theme was “Foreigners Everywhere” and we enjoyed going to the National pavilions in the Giardini as well as the Central Pavilion.
And we walked, and walked, and walked the many charming canals and side “streets” of Venice!
