I'll be visiting a friend and his family who live north of Venice the first few weeks in December. Besides Venice what are some must see/ do places in that area? I was also thinking about possibly taking a train to Austria, Switzerland or maybe the Czech Republic, but not sure how long it would take or how many days a trip away like that should be.

I still have awhile, but wanted to get a jump on planning. Thanks.

Venice is amazing! You can spend 2-3 days there and love it.

Truthfully, I'd spend all the time in Italy as there is so much to see while you are there, unless you want to go skiing.

Rome
Tuscany

Chech Republic is a hike!

If you go west, Geneva and then France!

Venezia -> Wien 8 to 13 hours by train
Venezia -> Salzburg 7 to 9 hours
Venezia -> Prag 14 hours

I only put in big towns because I dont figure you want to go to actually authentic interesting places.

Id suggest you stay in Lombardi or Tessin and go up to Como, or Lugano. If you get tickets at trenitalia they are quite cheap. I was in Como/Chiasso in January and it cost me like 8€ to get to Milano. I figure it would be then like 16€ in an IC to get you to the Swiss border. The weather on the Italian side of the Gotthard is much better than the German side that time of year, so dont ride any more north than Bellinzona or you get stuck in the train for like 2 hours going through the Alpes.

[This message has been edited by Randy03 (edited 5/11/2011 7:30a).]

There is always Slovenia and Croatia not too far either

Personally, i think 3 days in Venice is 1 too many. The town in great and very unique, beautiful too, but it is very small and you just see the same things over and over. The food was my least favorite from Italy and everything is VERY expensive. Many of the bistro's charge a sitting fee, yes your on the clock the minute your butt hits the seat even if you don't order anything.

Things to see:

Murano
Lido
Piazza San Marco and museums surrounding.

I'd take the train to Florence. Its about 2 hrs and there is TONS to see and do in Florence.

If your already in N. Italy you could go to Lake Como though.

I.Y.A.C.Y.A.S. '91

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Personally, i think 3 days in Venice is 1 too many. The town in great and very unique, beautiful too, but it is very small and you just see the same things over and over. The food was my least favorite from Italy and everything is VERY expensive. Many of the bistro's charge a sitting fee, yes your on the clock the minute your butt hits the seat even if you don't order anything.

Things to see:

Murano
Lido
Piazza San Marco and museums surrounding.

I'd take the train to Florence. Its about 2 hrs and there is TONS to see and do in Florence.

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Late fall to early winter is a great time to be in Venice if you get lucky with the weather. The crowds get pretty thin. Be mindful of the "acqua alta."

[This message has been edited by p_bubel (edited 5/11/2011 12:06p).]

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I only put in big towns because I dont figure you want to go to actually authentic interesting places.

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What an ass.

same thing i was thinking cubicle...

haha...It wouldn't be an European tread without Randy03 smarting off and stereotyping American travelers! He usually starts with a back handed insult then proceeds with his advice. To his defense, he usually gives good advice. Although, people I know on here normally skip his advice and move on to the next post.

Chowdah ~ finally looked at a map (haha) and those other places do seem far...even by train. I'll probably just stick to northern Italy, check out Venice then tool around on the train hopping out in various small towns. Similar to what I did a few years ago on the opposite coast of Italy. From what I've been reading a few days in Venice should be enough.

TexAgs does a fine job of its own stereotyping American tourists.

From what I read on here, this is all there is to Germany.

Rothenberg
Heidelberg
Baden Baden
Neuschwanstein (mostly referred to as Disney Castle)
"Oktoberfest"
Dachau or other war crap that the Germans are trying to allow to decay

Italy, or France also have similar lists, sadly other than Brittany Im not sure there are many places in France that arent overrun by tourists in the summer.

On the rare occasion that someone has a solid post asking about places other than Oberbayern or crap they read out of some cheesy tourist website, I offer advice without snide remarks. In the event that people ask about dumb touristy places that are pretty much a waste of money and a lack of immersion, then I still offer good advice, just with snide remarks.

You have never seen me making a snide remark about defroach .. guy goes awesome places, a real traveller, not a tourist.

[This message has been edited by Randy03 (edited 5/11/2011 5:25p).]

So you move to Germany and travel around a little bit, and now you're the only person who knows anything about travelling the world? You sound like you have a complex.

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Besides Venice what are some must see/ do places in that area?

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and I'm possibly thinking about,

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Austria, Switzerland or maybe the Czech Republic

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I only put in big towns because I dont figure you want to go to actually authentic interesting places.

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Yeah, I see how you can be confused that I got names of cities and entire countries from a cheesy tourist website. defroach, does travel to cool places, but will still give good advice no matter what a poster is asking without the insulting comments.

[This message has been edited by Rebel96 (edited 5/12/2011 1:23p).]

[This message has been edited by Rebel96 (edited 5/12/2011 1:23p).]

I think Randy brings a lot of great information to this board and I appreciate that he keeps coming back despite the flak he takes. I don't think the judgmental remarks are necessary for people interested in touristy places but I get where it comes from.

If people were constantly asking about places to visit in Texas and all they wanted to know about were NASA, the Fort Worth Stock Yards, and South Fork Ranch, I would eventually get annoyed too.

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I only put in big towns because I dont figure you want to go to actually authentic interesting places.

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What a cock smoker.

I wouldn’t waste a whole day on train when you are so close to some really cool stuff. I would jump a train from Venice to Florence then head out to Tuscany. I liked San Miniato, it gets a bad rap for being touristy but I loved the views. Lucca is great also and Pisa has a lot more to offer than just the leaning tower. I was underwhelmed by Siena.

Interesting Dallas, i loved Sienna. I would absolutely love to back for the Palio!

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Dachau or other war crap that the Germans are trying to allow to decay

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