Sirmione, Italy is a stunning place to visit in Northern Italy. It is situated on the southern tip of beautiful lake Garda and it has amazing history. Sirmione, Italy is the quintessential Italian tourist destination. We arrived in Sirmione a bit tired, coming from Padua, but taking a swim in the warm waters of Lake Garda, completely refreshed us and made us ready to head into town.
Padova (or Padua) was one of the tourist attractions that we were not prepared for. Being impressed and tired after visiting Venice for two days, we did not research Padova very well, so we came ill prepared for what the city had to offer. Padova, Italy is a large city with beautiful tourist attractions which makes for a great day trip from Venice if you have an extra day. Padova, has three large areas with attractions, each within 15 minutes walking distance from each other. Read on about my walking tour of Padova, Italy.
Burano is another well known island in the Venice archipelago. Burano is well known for its fine lace industry that dates back several hundreds of years. It is a popular tourist attraction in Venice but it is not very crowded even at the beginning of August when we visited.
Since we have already visited the main island of Venice Italy we felt really bad about being near Venice and not visiting more. So we decided that we would visit Venice again for the second day but this time we wanted to visit the two islands that are well known but not visited as much as the main island. So on our second day to Venice we decided to visit the island of Murano and the island of Burano.
Before visiting Venice for the first time, I have read a lot and seen lots of pictures. I understood that Venice is fundamentally different than everything else simply because instead of roads they have water canals. Yeah, I got it…or so I thought. However, when I arrived in the central station in Venice, things were different…very different! Why am I saying that?
We arrived in Verona, Italy after a few hours drive from Milan. We were ready to stretch our legs, but most of all we were eager to experience this symbol of Italian charm and romance. We kept using the promise of Italian ice cream as a bribe for our kids as we started exploring this beautiful medieval city. Read on to experience my charming walking tour of Verona, Italy.
We were very excited to visit Oxford. We had in mind the fame of this town and the beauty of Cambridge. We got there and we tried hard to find parking on the narrow, one way streets. We finally found parking without getting any ticket. Knowing how many famous minds were schooled in Oxford…I felt kind of smart just being there. The old buildings and the street took me back in time…but the young modern students, the cars and everything else reminded me the reality. The bakeries and coffee shops’ aroma, reminded me that I was hungry…but we had to stick to the plan: to see Oxford in one day. Read on about our day trip to Oxford, England.
One of my favorite day trips from London is Bath Somerset. Much of southern England is flat, having very little interesting topography. Bath on the other hand has beautiful rolling hills that set it apart from the surrounding area. A great geographical location coupled with just over two hours drive from London make Bath an easy day trip fro London.
We stopped in Veurne, Belgium on our way back to London from Bruxelles. When we came from London to Bruxelles, I did notice the old church steeples from the freeway and thought that it would be a nice stop on the way back. So, that’s what we did on the way back to London. It ended up being a great place to stop and allow the kids to run around a little bit. We spent about four hours walking between the old building and visiting the old churches in the old center of Veurne. Read on to find out why we liked visiting Veurne, Belgium.
We arrived in Milan on a very hot July evening as we started our Northern Italy tour with our family. The following day we took on this very busy and large Italian city. Milan is the industrial and financial capital of Northern Italy and as such it is a city full of life. For the tourist, however, Milan is not very exciting. Except for a few extraordinary tourist attractions, Milan is mostly an uninteresting European city. Come along with me on a free walking tour of Milan, Italy.
