Northern Italy Road Trip Adventure

Northern Italy has become more popular as a tourist destination with many hoping to find less crowded historical attractions. We were intrigued and excited to plan out and explore a selection of smaller towns rich in history. We were equally excited to visit a sampling of spots along the picturesque Italian lake area.

Our plan, as usual, started off when we found a deal on a flight and jumped on it. We would fly into Venice, rent a car, and return it to Milan Malpensa Airport for our return home. We also allocated a generous 11 days to this journey (about the maximum our cat would allow us) and really didn’t have much more of a plan than that to begin with.

In addition, we knew we wanted to visit the Italian lake region after getting a few tips from a friend and neighbor who had recently been on an organized tour of Northern Italy and had told us about some of her favorite towns. Above all we knew we would find great pizza and lots of delicious gelato, let the planning begin!

As we started to look at the map and dig into the various castles and historical sites, we quickly realized that we could not possibly see all the highlights and that one could easily spend a full day or more in many of the towns. We would surely not run out of things to see.

While we had previously visited the larger cities in Italy by train, this time we opted for a car. We love the freedom we get doing a road trip on our own. Even if parking can sometime be costly and an inconvenience, the ability to bring stuff along in the car, leave when you want and stop where you want along the way is a great way to explore.

With the flight booked, we reserved a small fiat. We had learned our lesson on other road trips such as in Ireland and France and knew that parking anything much bigger than this in those small European-sized parking spots would be a challenge.

Granted, self-guided tours and the pre-planning involved is not for everyone. It takes time to research the sites and attractions, see what’s open, and make the plan, but this is something we enjoy doing. There is both a thrill and a sense of accomplishment in creating the itinerary and then living the adventure at a pace we can set for ourselves.

We’ve done our fair share of tours and we always feel more satisfied when we can visit the sites on our own. It’s not always perfect and that’s where we hope sharing our experience can also help you.

See our guide: Planning Your Dream Trip… On Your Own

Our Northern Italy plan

Upon arrival in Venice, the plan was to pick up our rental car and drive through several small towns across Northern Italy as we headed towards Milan for our departure.

We’d spend two or three nights in most places giving us at least a full day to explore each of our chosen city’s main attractions. We’d done similar trips where we had been in different hotels every night and it’s much more exhausting to be checking in and out daily and running around with your bags in the trunk. This would let us settle in and get a full day as well as explore the sights in the evening when many are lit up.

Many of the attractions we found were actually close enough to drive back and forth allowing us to get a homebase for multiple days but the city center parking can be a challenge. We had pre-booked parking at each of our hotels and essentially left the car inside as we explored the cities on foot. It turned out to be a great idea as there had been numerous hailstorms. We did get some hail too, so it was good to have the car safely in the hotels underground parking.

We had also considered staying a bit further afield in some fancy castle-like hotels on the outskirts of town like we had done in Germany and Ireland but this time we opted instead to stay right in the heart of the historic centers of the towns we wanted to visit so we could just walk around.

A benefit of staying in the old town itself was that we could easily return to and from the hotel, enjoy dinner in the old squares, and explore the lit sights in the evenings as we strolled around. We had also booked well in advance, so we were able to find rooms in our first choice hotels. Many of these were small with only a few rooms, so booking early is essential, especially at high season.

There was so much to see that I’ve written up each of the towns individually in separate posts to provide more detail, links to each are provided in the summary below.

Getting there

So somewhere along the way between our early booking and the scheduled departure day we had had some small changes to flight times. What had started as a 3-hour layover in London Heathrow had shrunk to under 2 hours. We were reassured that British Airways had four flights a day from London to Venice but when we got wind that the flight from Miami was delayed we sprang into action.

With a few calls we were able to confirm a later flight giving us some peace of mind and not having to run around at the airport to make last-minute arrangements. We also adjusted our rental car pickup time to match. With the slight delay, we would arrive in Venice around 3pm instead of noon leaving very little time to visit Padua but we insisted on giving it a go anyway.

Flying in from London to Venice took us over the Alps and the Italian lake region and gave us a taste of what was to come. It looked beautiful even from 30,000 ft.

While it was weird arriving in Venice and not going into Venice, we had our plan to head to Padua and we stuck to it.

Padua

We arrived late afternoon, but we were happy to make it to see most of what we wanted to see. So close to Venice airport, this city is worth a small detour to see the impressive Basilica of St. Anthony and Giotto’s famous frescos inside the Scrovegni Chapel.

More on Padua: What to See in Half a Day in Padua, Italy

Vicenza

Our first evening was in Vicenza which was a charming city and one of our favorites of the itinerary. The walled city and ancient Roman theater were spectacular. The Palladian Basilica was reminiscent of the Doge’s Palace in Venice. Definitely a must-do on any Northern Italy adventure.

More on Vicenza: Historical Places to Visit in Vicenza, Italy

Along the way

Even driving city to city it’s possible and even probable that you’ll stumble upon castles, fortresses and churches or abbeys. It’s almost impossible not to.

On our way to Verona we stopped in Soave to visit the imposing Soave Castle visible from the highway. From the medieval castle’ tower there were great views of the town and surrounding vineyards.

The Soave Castle has split hours and is closed from 12pm to 3pm during the summer so plan accordingly. Also, good to know, there are a few parking spots next to the castle, so there’s no need to hike up the hill from the larger parking lot at the base of the mountain.

Verona

Our next stop, Verona, was very crowded compared to Vicenza and we actually had to wait in line and work our way through crowds looking out for pickpockets. Our hotel, whose air conditioning could barely keep up was also the most expensive of the ones we had booked. That said, there were many things worth visiting including the castle with an attached bridge, the Duomo, Juliette’s House, and the ancient amphitheater somewhat like Rome’s Coliseum from the outside at least.

More on Verona: Must-See Places in Verona, Italy

Italy’s Lake Region

We did three separate trips into the Italian lake district and found this area to be spectacular. We visited Lake Garda with its picturesque lakeside towns and Lake Maggiore where we particularly enjoyed Isola Bella (Bella Island) off Stresa.

Read more about the Italian lake region: Northern Italy Lake Area Day Trips

Brescia

This small town also turned out to be one of our favorites with its friendly people and much fewer tourists. Everything in the historic center is close by and within walking distance. There is a Roman temple dating back to the 1st century BC.

More about this Northern Italy gem: Brescia, a Must-Visit Historic City in Italy

Bergamo

We lucked out again in Bergamo with a wonderful hotel (GombitHotel) which is actually attached to the 11th century Torre del Gombito stone tower. Again, everything was within walking distance, including a nice funicular up the hill for views. A great addition to our Northern Italy road trip.

More about Bergamo: Bergamo’s Città Alta: One of Italy’s Gems

Off to Turin

On our plan, we added a few days in Turin but one could easily add Milan and or start with some time in Venice. While we didn’t spend any evenings in the Italy’s lake area if we could do it again, we would definitely add a night or two there.

See our post: What to See in Turin, Italy

On the way to Turin, we stopped in Monza. We easily found parking underground near the Duomo of Monza Cathedral. We made it inside for a quick look before it closed for lunch.

It was a very nice cathedral built in the 1600s dedicated to St. Johns the Baptist. The Museum houses relics, including a nail from the Holy Cross and pieces of gold smithery. However, to visit the Chapel of Queen Theodelinda and see the Iron Crown you must be on a guided tour. Being rushed, we opted to head to Turin instead of waiting a few hours for the next tour.

As we were leaving from Milan, we spend our last day at Lake Maggiore before ending at our airport hotel at Milan Malpensa Airport. We got lucky and we’re upgraded to a room with a view of the Alps. A nice end to a great adventure in Northern Italy.

A few tips

• If leaving out of Milan Malpensa Airport, in Terminal 1 the Sheraton was a great option. Reasonably priced and a 5-minute walk from the car rentals and the terminals it made getting the morning flight a cinch.
• Parking: If you travel by car, do try to reserve parking with your hotel. In many places we were staying in the old pedestrian areas and the hotel had to organize special city permits for us just to have the car in the cordoned off area. And parking spots are small so rent a small car.
• Watch for speed cameras, you don’t want to get a post vacation surprise ticket in the mail. Yes, it happened to us in France.
• In our small car’s trunk, we only had room for our two carry-ons and personal items, so pack light. You don’t want to have luggage on the back seat while you park to visit something on the way. See our post about traveling with only a carry-on bag
• Check for a combo ticket for the local attractions. Most of the towns we visited had a combo ticket for about €20 and this saved us about €20 on the cost of individual tickets. It’s also faster to get in as you can skip the lines and the cashiers.
• Ask hotels about their air conditioning and check the reviews. We had some hotels that had very weak A/C and one that was not working at all forcing us to change rooms.
• Watch for signs warning of parasites in the water. We saw some along the southern side of Lake Garda about a risk of swimmers’ dermatitis.
• Don’t let the ‘northern’ part fool you into thinking it would be cool in August. While we had a nice breeze off the Alps at Lake Maggiore most of the days were very hot in the sun, especially in late afternoon. Do bring a good hat and lots of sun protection!

Conclusion

We loved our Northern Italy adventure and highly recommend it. Those wanting to go by train can certainly organize it. If you prefer not to drive, there are also ferries on the lakes that take you from town to town. We picked only a few towns and loved each one. If you’ve been and have other towns to recommend or have found attractions we have missed please add a comment to tell our readers.