Tag: Italy

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48 Hours in Milan

Happy Holidays Everyone! I love this time of year. I love the cold weather, the Christmas lights. Everything Christmas and festive, count me in! This was one of my favorite blog posts to write and share with you all because nothing compares to Christmas time in Europe and spending the holiday in Milan was over the top amazing! Just thinking about this amazing city gets me excited and I hope you all find it helpful on your travels.

If you have ever wondered if traveling Italy during the holidays or during December is a good idea, trust me, you will not be disappointed! Yes, the weather is colder and you will definitely need sweaters, a nice warm winter jacket, gloves, scarves and hats will come in handy, but for the most part the weather during the day is a mild cold. It does snow in Italy, so packing with that in mind is best, but for the most part the weather is nice enough for sightseeing and exploring.

 Another great perk of traveling during the winter is the lines and amount of tourists out and about. Yes, there are still tourists and lines, but for the most part there shorter lines and less tourists than the hot summer months. Milan is a very busy city and you can expect the attractions to have many tourists anytime day or time of year. With that said, it is still very possible to spend Christmas or New Year’s in the city and fully enjoy yourself!

+Getting to Milan-

There are several different ways to get to Milan. With a large international airport, you can fly in at most any time of the day. However, depending on what your itinerary is when traveling Italy, using the train system is an easy and affordable way to get around, moving from city to city. A train ride from Rome or Venice to Milan is a little under 3 hours, and gives you a chance to see the countryside and much of the Roman landscape not just the most popular cities. While in Milan, you can use a ride share service or the public transportation, which is very good in Milan. 

+Where to stay in Milan-

Milan is a large city with most every hotel chain you can think of. Depending on the attractions or area of town you are most interested in exploring you can find a hotel close to anywhere you would like to stay. Airbnb is great, and in my opinion, the best option. I stayed in the an amazing Airbnb, right around the corner from the Duomo di Milano. It was close to every the attraction, great restaurants and shopping. It was also amazing to walk out on New Year’s Eve and be surrounded by the magic of the Duomo and the night.

+Attractions in Milan-

  • The Duomo di Milano or Milan Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe. Honestly, the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. It’s magical.
  • The Last Supper portrait, located inside the Duomo. You can buy tickets to tour the Duomo online and in advance which I recommend. Especially, if you are traveling during a holiday like Christmas or New Years.
  • Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle. If you love shopping this is the place and Milan to shop. If you don’t, the building itself is beautiful and worth seeing. It is located right next to the Duomo di Milano so you can easily see both, one right after the other.
  • Castello Sforzesco. Built in the 15th century, now a museum and houses many art collections.
  • Arco della Pace – The Arch of Peace, a dedicated to the battles of Napoleon. It’s beautiful, like everything else in Milan and worth seeing if you are in the city.
  • Navigli District- Along the canal, has lots of shops, bars and art galleries. It’s a charming district and a great part of the city.

Milan is one of the most amazing cities I have ever visited and I hope you if you ever have a chance to visit the great city of Milan during the holiday season this travel guide helps you plan your travels!

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Travel

3 Days in Rome, The Ultimate Travel Guide.

Hey everyone, I’m back with my second post about Italy, this time all about Rome! I loved this city! Rome is an unbelievable beautiful city with so much history, it’s hard not to fall in love! We were greeted with perfect weather for the month of December and most everything worked out so easily, making the start of our Italian vacation super amazing.

+Getting to Rome- Rome is a large international hub for flights and getting in and out of Rome by plane is rather easy. The largest airport,
Leonardo da Vinci airport, in the town of Fiumicino is the most commonly used airport. You can easily request for an Uber to take you to your destination, or there are many cabs at hand charging a flat fee of $50 to and from the airport to most destinations in Rome. You can also get to Rome easily from any other Italian city by train. To read a little about using the train in Rome check out my first post about Italy, https://thecharmingjay.com/2019/01/17/48-hours-in-venice-italy/

+What to see in Rome-As I mentioned earlier, Rome is a a city full of attractions and history, be prepared, you will need plenty of time to see everything. So much so, I highly recommend staying 3-4 days in the city, when visiting Rome, to be able to see most all the attractions on your list. I usually like hoping around pretty quickly, but Rome needs your time to fit everything in. Here are a few of the must see sights in Rome. Depending on where you stay, you can easily walk to the majority of these sites. I could easily add 10 other places to my list, but in 3 or 4 days you can only see so much. Some attractions such as Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Plaza Navona are free and you can walk over to any of these attractions any time of day. They are however, very popular. I first visited Trevi Fountain in the afternoon, close to sunset. It was packed! Crazy packed. I kinda hate experiencing sites this way, so after a pasta making class we took a walk over to Trevi Fountain, on our way home, a little after midnight. It was beautiful, there were still people, but nothing like during the day and it was enjoyable enough to take our pictures and sit and enjoy some midnight gelato. Moral of the story, the earlier or later you visit sites the less populated they will be, whatever works best for you. You can purchase tickets to enter attractions such as the Colosseum and Vatican city. I found it easiest to to purchase our own skip the line pass, which usually comes in with a group guided tour. I think this is the best way to go. Cheapest, quickest and most informative.

  • Colosseum
  • Trevi Fountain
  • Roman Forum
  • Spanish Steps
  • Alter of the Father Land
  • Plaza Navono
  • Pantheon
  • Vatican City
  • Sistine Chapel
  • St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Ponte Sant’Angelo

+Where to stay in Rome-Rome is a large city and there are many hotels and AirBnb’s to stay throughout the city. To really stay among the attractions your best bet is an Airbnb. We were lucky enough to find a great place, with a terrace, 5 minutes from the Colosseum! It was amazing to see the Colosseum each day! Unreal, really. We met some friends staying with a view of Trevi fountain as well. It’s a great way to experience the city and stay among some of the most popular cites in the entire cite. There are also many hotels in Rome. On our last day, after touring Vatican City, we stayed in a hotel closer to the area and closer to the airport for our early morning flight. Do your research. Plan out what sites you really want to see and then look for a places to stay.

+What to eat in Rome-Rome has no shortage of delicious food and options. There are tons of places to eat in Rome. I love to followers food bloggers on social media and try out places I’ve noted they liked in cities, more authentic places. However, wandering into a random restaurant is always part of the traveling experience. Most restaurants have menus posted outside for you to browse before deciding, which is helpful. Be assured, there will be no shortage of pasta, pizza and gelato eating. More than eating at a restaurant, I recommend taking a pasta making class while in the city. This experience was one of the best throughout the entire event. I found a pasta making class from a recommendation from AirBnb. The class had great reviews and decided to give it a try. I was so happy we did! The entire experience felt straight out of a movie. The apartment outside of the city center was beautiful and cozy and truly gave you a feel of the Italian vibe. The chef was amazing and showed us how to make 3 different kinds of pasta and sauces from scratch. We ate and drank wine till we honestly could not handle another drop of food or drink. It was beyond amazing and one of the best experiences you can have in Italy. Nothing we ate at any restaurant could compare to the food we made and ate during this class.

All in all, Rome, is an amazing city to visit and I would visit again anytime. You could easily stay and visit for weeks. I hope some of these tips are helpful to you all when planning your trip to the city of Rome! See you guys again, soon.

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Travel

48 Hours in Venice, Italy

I’m still recovering from my holiday in Italy. It was better than I could have imagined. Traveling during the December holiday kicked off without a hitch on Christmas Day, and was way less stressful than I thought it would be. Venice was unbelievable to see in real life and I am still looking back at my photos surprised by everything we were able to see and just how beautiful the entire city is. If you’re planning a trip to or have always wanted to go, here’s a few things you should know before visiting.

+Getting to Venice

There are several different way to get to Venice. You can fly into Rome or Milan(largest airports) or easily take the train into Venice, which is what we did. Coming from Rome, the train ride to Venice was about 3 hours., from other cities such as Milan, it is a quick one and hour train ride. There are several train companies running out of the train stations in Italy daily, We chose Italotreno.it for all of our travel and were able to book our tickets easily online. Depending on your ticket, you can watch movies, enjoy some snacks or snooze on your train ride into the city. It is also a great way to see what the country side of Italy looks like. Trains leave throughout the day, so you can best schedule the time of day which works best for you. Normally, for me, the best time, is after breakfast, not too long after check out, so I don’t have to carry my luggage around and can make it to the next city before sun down. Once you arrive in Venice, you will have to take a water taxi to your hotel or Airbnb. Water taxi tickets cost about $7 an can be purchased at water station upon arrival.

+Where to stay in Venice

There are several hotels in Venice but we opted for an Airbnb as we wanted to stay close to the Rialto Bridge and have easy access to the attractions we were hoping to see. Looking back, I would have booked my top choice Airbnb, that seemed to be located a little farther from the attractions but was larger with newer features. After visiting the island, you realize it is quite small and you can walk or taxi to every end of the island easily and you do not necessarily have to stay by the main attractions. Venice is an old city, there not many “new” Airbnb’s or hotels, at best they are remodeled, so choose where you will be most comfortable and then walk or taxi to the locations you most to visit.

+What to see in Venice

My best advice when visiting Venice is to just get lost in the city! Honestly. The island is small, you will wander through streets and wind up at the attractions you were hoping to see. Make a list of your must see’s and as you wander you can look up areas you haven’t yet run into and are important to you. We walked from one side to the other, were able to see everything we set out to during the day. After a nice dinner we took a water taxi back to the stop closest to our Airbnb. Easy and much appreciated after a long day of walking and exploring. In one day of exploring we were able to see all we had set out to.

  • Rialto Bridge
  • Grand Canal
  • Ponte dell’Accademia
  • St. Mark’s Square
  • Palazzo Ducale
  • Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
  • Punta della Dogana

+What to eat and buy in Venice

Venice is known for it’s seafood and most every restaurant has a seafood special or fish of the day. If you love seafood this is the place to try it. It’s fresh and you are able to find it most any place you go. Also, the island closet to Venice, Murano, is know for it’s glass making and you can find beautiful glass trinkets and jewelry across the island. This is a great item to buy on the island, as there is lots of items to choose from and for the most part it are small enough to pack and bring back with you. There are many shops, from high end department stores to locally owned storefronts, for you to enjoy plenty of shopping while exploring for the day.

Truly, Venice is so different than any place I’ve ever been before! The water way system, was amazing to see and understand how it works. Although the island is small, it is dense and there is so much to see. You can easy see everything you need to in a little over 24 hours.