Friday, August 15, 2008

Florence, Italy

Often consider “Rome Light”, Florence is the city of the Medici and art galore. Despite this, there is an odd modern influence in this hallowed city.

Florence

When it came to the Renaissance, Florence was definitely one of the places to be. The city is full of examples of the past whether from great artist, architecture or significant sites. The city center dominates travel guides, but gardens and interesting sites can be seen by just strolling through the city.

Head to the Santa Maria Novella Church and you are in a ritzy section of town. High-end shops abound as do the headquarters of world famous fashion houses such as Versace and Ferragamo. The Basso Fortress is worth a look, but has been turned into more or less a modern convention center.

For evenings, you want to stroll over to the Santo Spirito Oltrarano area where you will find tons of cafes. The area is particularly nice because it contains the Medici’s Boboli Gardens, which are definitely worth exploring with their fountains, walkways and, well, gardens. Just go.

When it comes to art, Florence matches up with many of the top destinations in Europe. You’ll find museums with Michelangelo’s David and famous paintings from a variety of artists. The museums tend to be packed, so be prepared. Still, it is definitely one of those things you have to do.

The Florence Twist

I may be burned at the stake for saying this, but I found Florence to be largely forgettable. There is no disputing the cities place in history nor the incredible architecture, art and gardens throughout it. Something about the place, however, feels artificial. It is as though Florence has become a modern city, but parades it’s past solely for the all mighty tourist currency. Then again, I could be wrong.

Regardless of your feelings about Florence, it is a city you should definitely visit for the art. I’ve rarely stayed more than two days, and usually only if I’ve missed a train.

Are you visiting Rome first time?

I am sure, Rome is a dream destination for everyone in this earth. It is always proved by the tourist in Rome everyday. But we plan to visit Rome first time, It may be bit confuse coz organizing everything is not easy task. So I though to note down some tips to help first timers to Rome

01. When to go

It is good to select the date with your other plans in the year in advance. Coz If you can decide when to go beginning of the year, you can plan other things in advance. It may help to save some money and can get good places and so many.

May, June and September are the most crowed months in Rome, So many events happening and most of tourist select these months as traveling months due to good climate. But if you do not like to go with big crowd, avoid these months and select another month, March, July, October and December and another set of good months to visit Rome, climate is mild that time there. August is not a good month to visit, Hot and some hotels also closed that time

If you select some off season months to visit Rome, Yu can save some money, Hotel rates, transportation cost and flight prices are bit high in peak times such as summer.

02. How long you stay in Rome

This is most important to decide which places you can visit in Rome, Rome is full of places to visit and many more things can do there, even month is not enough to cover entire Rome, So If you no how many days you spend in Rome, You can make itenary in advance to avoid time wasting when you traveled there. Search for attractions in Rome, you can get whole lots of places and think about the location of each attractions, then you can plan near by attraction at one time.

03.Airports in Rome

I am recommending you to use budget airlines to come rome, Ciampiano airport is for budget airlines and through train, easily you can get in to Termini Train Station in Rome City centre. Then after you can move in and around the city.

04. Hotels in Rome

Select best hotel match to your budget and the places you plan to visit. If you select the dates in advance, you can search and book a good hotel easily, than last minute booking, we can get lower rates for early hotel bookings. Staying inside the city centre is more helpful to visit most of the major attractions in City centre area.

05. eating in Rome

Most of the hotels provide good meals in Rome, But when you out, select some good restaurants to visit, you can search Rome restaurants and marked some good one to visit. Spanish steps and Piazza Navona area has some good spot to have some Italian foods. Don’t foget to tast italina Pasta and Piza when you in Rome


06.Rome map

Better to keep a Map of Rome always with you.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Simple guide to venice

Is Venice the most romantic city in the world? It’s certainly hard to beat, especially when you’re staying right in the centre of things.

Where is it?

Venice is a city built on water - just off the north east coast of Italy, facing the Adriatic Sea - and is famed for its canal network, opulent palazzos and beautiful religious buildings and art. It has an airport on the mainland but from there, you need to take a water bus to reach the city.

Where can I stay?

The best way to experience Venice is in a cool, quiet and sophisticated hotel. These small but beautifully designed hotels offer you respite from the tourist throng and the sort of service you would expect from much more expensive locations. Try Ca’ Pisani, a small palazzo that has been sympathetically renovated and decorated to provide a haven of tranquillity, or the Ca Maria Adele, an eclectic boutique hotel in one of Venice’s most exclusive quarters.

What can I see?

For a relatively small city, there’s a lot to pack into a short visit. The central area of St. Mark’s Square with the Doge’s Palace and the Campanile is a great place to hang out and soak up the atmosphere, although bars and cafes here can be expensive. Instead, visit the churches, galleries and restaurants that are slightly off the beaten track, where atmosphere and tradition are still rich. If you have time, visit the nearby islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello, all historically and culturally worth a visit.

How do I get around?

One of the beauties of Venice is that it has no road network. Most tourists use the waterbus (Vaporetto) system, which is regular and fairly cheap. Those who are looking for romantic Venice can hire a gondola at a greater cost. By far the best way to explore the city, however, is on foot. This way, you can reach the parts of the city that most waterbuses don’t travel to and discover architectural and shopping delights along the way.

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Rome Hotels and Accomadation

he accommodations in Rome

Rome's hotels since the liberalization of the accommodations in Italy are much more and in better shape than they'have been in years; dozens upon dozens of these properties have undergone recently deep renovations.

On the other side the huge quantity of tourism the city has experienced in the last couple of years, finding a good hotel room at any time of the year is harder than ever.

So, before traveling Italy, make the reservations as far ahead as possible.

The hotels in Rome are among the most luxurious in Europe, but, when reviewing the best of the upscale hotels, try always to have a good selection of moderately priced hotels, where you can find confortable, charming lodgings with private bathrooms. Rome has inexpensive choices and can offer more in services and facilities than you might expect from the prices.

Furthermore, the italian government controls the prices of its hotels, designating a minimum and a maximum rate. The difference between the two might depend on the season, the location of the room and even its size.

Government ratings do not depend on sensitivity of decoration or frescoed ceilings, but they are based on facilities, such as elevators and the like. Many of the finest hotels in Rome have a lower rating because they serve only breakfast.

Hotels usually require you to check out on the day of departure between 10 am and noon: later than this, you run the risk of being charged for a further night. As to check-in times, there are no hard and fast rules, but if you are going to arrive late in the dat, it's probably best to mention this when you book a room.

Nearly all hotels in Rome are heated in the cooler months, but not all are airconditioned in summer, which can be vitally important during July and August.

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Rome Airports

Getting to and from the main airport, Leonardo da Vinci, commonly known as Fiumicino, about 30 miles southwest of the city center is quite easy. But getting to and from Ciampino airport, 20 miles southeast of the city center of Rome is not that easy ,is time consuming and unconfortable by public transport and buses run infrequently, finish early and do not connect well with the metro trains.

Many of Italy's major cities have international airports, but the Leonardo da Vinci of Rome is the country's busiest and is a hub for flights linking Europe to the Middle East and Africa.

Soon after the big Fiumicino Airport opened in 1960, a new confortable motor road was built to link it with the centre of Rome across the Magliana section. Various big hotels for business travelers and conventioneers grew up nearby.

Negotiating Roman traffic by car is difficult enough, but you may be taking your life in your hands if you ride a motorcycle or moped in the city. The rule in Rome is to look straight ahead to watch the vehicles in front and hope that the vehicles behind are watching you.

Most of the historic centre of Rome is closed to normal traffic. Police controls some entrances to the centre, while other entrances have electronic gates. You are not allowed to drive to the centre of Rome from 6.30 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday and 2 pm to 6 pm Saturday, unless you are a resident or have special permissions. All 27 streets accessing the so called " Limited Traffic Zone " have been equipped with electronic access detection devices. To avoid a fine, customers wishing to drive to hotels in these areas, should first contact the hotel management who will fax authorities with your number plate.

Although Rome's traffic is nowhere near as cahotic as that of Naples, some drivers, particularly motorcyclists, do not stop at the red lights. And do not expect them to stop at pedestrian crossing either.

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