Traveling in Northern Italy

Hello! My name is Jane, I am from the USA. I spent 3 weeks traveling around Northern Italy by train, and learned a lot about cool places you can experience that I will be sharing with you today!

Rome

The first stop in my travels was Rome, where I flew into. Rome is a very beautiful city, with an amazing history and tons of stuff to do. I stayed at Yellow Square hostel, which I highly recommend if you are traveling on a budget. During my stay, I visited many of the popular spots, including; Trevi Fountain, the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, St Peters Basilica, Spanish Steps, the Colosseum and the Forum. I chose to travel on foot rather than look into public transportation. I like to do this when possible because you get a better feel for a city and see things you might have missed otherwise. Getting up early can be hard, but seeing these incredible spots before the crowds rush in makes it all worth it.

Florence

After Rome, I hopped on a train to Florence. Like Rome, all of the architecture here was stunning and the food was absolutely delicious. Florence is known for their leather, so I spent time exploring leather good shops, eating pasta, and checking out the cathedral. Not far from Florence on the coast is Pisa, so I also took a day trip there by bus to check out the Leaning Tower.

Verona

After Florence, I took another train to Verona, Italy. Verona almost seemed like a mix of Florence and Rome to me, with a downtown shopping area similar to Florence and historical sites like Rome. There is a huge arena in Verona that looks similar to the Colosseum. I had a great time in Verona, it is a bit smaller so walking around it was easy. There are amazing views if you walk up the hill on the northern side of town. I purchased the Verona Card during my stay, which was a great way to get into all the attractions without waiting in line and it saved me a ton of money. Verona is also well known as the city where Romeo and Juliet took place. I was in Verona for Halloween, and was excited to find many people celebrating! The bars were packed with people in costume and decorations were everywhere.

Venice

Another train ride and I got to Venice! This time I did not stay in the city center and used the buses and ferries to get around. The ferry can be a bit expensive, but the ride is so fun. Venice is known for its many canals that run all through the island. I visited mostly the main island, but also went to Murano, known for beautiful glass blowing art, and Burano, known for its colorful buildings.

Milan

Finally, my trip ended in the wonderful city, Milan. Here I visited the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and Sforza castle. The Duomo was really amazing, I bought a ticket to go up to the roof and the views were astonishing. I also took a day trip from Milan to Lake Como, which was so beautiful to see. The ferry to Bellagio offers amazing views. Also the city Bergamo, not far from Milan, was a great stop before I had to catch my plane to come here, to Warsaw!