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City and beach holiday in the south of Italy?

RedPandaRedPanda
edited January 2016 in Not Sports Related
Hello. I'm looking at a week in Italy during the summer, the idea being that it's semi 'romantic', we have half the time to explore a city and tire our legs, then get a train elsewhere and stay on/near a beach.

Lecce looks very cool, has anyone been there? Easyjet fly to Brindisi, Bari has potential… I’ve not been to Naples but I think Capri, Salerno etc, would be more hectic than relaxing. Sardinia I think would be hard by public transport.

Any lesser known places you can recommend, or tips on the above? A town also gets bonus points if I can potentially sneak in a preseason friendly.

Thank you.

Comments

  • ForeverAddicktedForeverAddickted
    edited January 2016
    Was looking at this myself for my August Honeymoon, we've decided on Sicily which you might wanna look at?

    Flying into Catania and going up towards Etna and Toarmina

    image
  • DaveMehmetDaveMehmet
    Florence is not too far from Rimini. Both nice places.
  • DugdaleclassDugdaleclass
    Lecce is a walled city in the Puglia region. Nice enough for half a day. This region has excellent beach towns and resorts between Bari and Brindisi but the real gems are the other historic towns such as Alberollo with its avenues of traditional trulli houses.

    For an experience you can travel from Naples down the Calabrian coast on the ferry train and get off in northern Sicily (train goes by ship).

    Would recommend Cefelu (beach) and the capital Palermo (for the catacombs alone).
  • AddickforlifeAddickforlife
    Dugdaleclass said:

    Lecce is a walled city in the Puglia region. Nice enough for half a day. This region has excellent beach towns and resorts between Bari and Brindisi but the real gems are the other historic towns such as Alberollo with its avenues of traditional trulli houses.

    For an experience you can travel from Naples down the Calabrian coast on the ferry train and get off in northern Sicily (train goes by ship).

    Would recommend Cefelu (beach) and the capital Palermo (for the catacombs alone).

    I stayed near alberabello last year. Amazing part of the world with amazing food and wine. Plenty of beaches/towns.ports to drive to as well.
  • Fortune 82nd MinuteFortune 82nd Minute
    Pedro45 said:

    Sorrento is nice. Fly into Naples and get a cab (about £70 e/w). Plenty of hotels. Lots to do (day trips to Vesuvius, Pompiei, Herculaenium, and the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Amalfi, etc), plus Capri is just over the sea. Not great beaches in Sorrento, but plenty of floating sun-decks.

    Above idea is a good one. As Pedro says, Sorrento is a great place to base yourself for some good trips.

    If you want something different, I would highly recommend what we did recently. Try 3 days in the lovely, old walled city of Lucca (not to be confused with Lecce!) - be amazed if you don't love the place - and then move on down to a typical Italian beach resort called Viareggio - beautiful golden sand, although being Italy, of course, you pay an arm and a leg to sit on it!
  • nth_london_addicknth_london_addick
    Its more in land but Baveno is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and the lake iit sits upon the shore of is the size most sea side towns have,

    Must visit place for anyone who loves Italy
  • nth_london_addicknth_london_addick
    The hotel grand Dino is fabulous and reasonable prices for the standard you get as is the hotel carillon attached are both

    Never relaxed more in my life than there
  • AddictedoldgitAddictedoldgit
    Am a big fan of Italy, visiting 5 years running. Agree with Pedro45 Lucca is a magical little city, hiring a tandem bycle ride is a must.

    Then again staying in Sorrento is a great choice with Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius, the Amalfi coast an Naples nearby.

    Last year we went to Sicily for 10 days, I give it 9.5 out of 10. Recommend Siracusa- the historical center as a base. We flew into Catania and out from Palermo with Easy Jet.

    The choice is yours! We are revisiting City of Naples this year, aim to hit Pompeii for a couple of days.

    Unfortunately I was in Tuscany 2 years ago at the time England were Knocked out of the World cup by --ITALY and 2 years before that was in Sorrento when England were Knocked out of the Euro's by --ITALY! This year we are going in late September - sorted.
  • lolwraylolwray
    Pedro45 said:

    Sorrento is nice. Fly into Naples and get a cab (about £70 e/w). Plenty of hotels. Lots to do (day trips to Vesuvius, Pompiei, Herculaenium, and the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Amalfi, etc), plus Capri is just over the sea. Not great beaches in Sorrento, but plenty of floating sun-decks.

    I have had about 8 Italian holidays and the amalfi coast would be right up there Rome not too far away and a lot of the hotels have their own private beaches. ...good call@pedro45
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  • SillybillySillybilly
    To echo @ForeverAddickted Sicily is lovely. Taormina is outstandingly beautiful. Agrigento to see the valley of the temples and Syracusa for markets etc. all doable from Catania. If you are pushing the boat out for a special romantic occasion the re is a hotel in Taormina which is a converted monastery. Fabulous but very expensive. I stayed there about 20 years ago on a business trip (thank goodness I wasn't paying) but it's on the bucket list to do again before I pop off. I'll need to hunt do the name when I get home but will post when I have it.
  • ForeverAddicktedForeverAddickted
    Sillybilly said:

    To echo @ForeverAddickted Sicily is lovely. Taormina is outstandingly beautiful. Agrigento to see the valley of the temples and Syracusa for markets etc. all doable from Catania. If you are pushing the boat out for a special romantic occasion the re is a hotel in Taormina which is a converted monastery. Fabulous but very expensive. I stayed there about 20 years ago on a business trip (thank goodness I wasn't paying) but it's on the bucket list to do again before I pop off. I'll need to hunt do the name when I get home but will post when I have it.

    Cheers for the mention about Taormina @Sillybilly - Anywhere in that region you recommend going?
  • daveaddickdaveaddick
    Redpanda I can confirm that Taomina is beautiful but you could consider Syracuse to stay as well. Bit left field this but what about Verona? Fabulous in early summer when they have the open air opera concerts, you don't have to be a fan the spectacle is fantastic. You can then chill out at Lake Garda which is nearby with great hotels etc. just a thought really
  • RedPandaRedPanda
    Thanks all. I’ll start looking at the specifics for Catania plus Taormina and Syracuse, Sorrento, and also Palermo with Cefalu and nearby.

    Cheers Dave but I’ve been to the north lots so I’m more interested in the south. Verona is indeed lovely, and funnily enough I’m back there in 3 weeks.
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