Italy Vacation..Best Hotel? Shopping???

[Ladydi341]

Okay ladies'..steer me here!!  Starting vacation in the south of France and going over to Italy.  Plan on hitting Florence (have reservations at the Grand Hotel ) and then down to Rome.  Where is a great place to stay in Rome.  Mid-to high-mid $$$$.  Also, where is the great shopping?  What don't I want to miss???  Upscale shopping, primarily.  Antiques??  Share your gems with me, please!  Most appreciative!!

[Susan123]

I lived in Rome for many years but have been back for a while, but I do remember the shops, oh stop me someone.... Well, the street with all the designer shops is Via Condotti, which runs from Piazza di Spagna to Via Nazionale, and any of the streets of that area have lovely shops and also shops with antiques, Via del Babuino if I remember correctly has alot of shops with antiques.  Rinascente is a big upmarket store, and Upim while not so upmarket is still worth a visit. Via Nazionale has alot of shops too but not as upmarket, but still worth a visit, Via del Corso runs from Piazza Venezia to Piazza del Popolo and has alot of shops.  Really, in that area there are so many little streets to wander aound with lots of little bars to have a coffee and a nice pastry to keep you going, also go to P Navona - lovely things to see there, plus antiques on the streets around it,  and where the Pantheon is - my favourite place in Rome.  Then on the other side of the river, there are alot of places near the Vatican, go to Trastevere for nice pizza, little shops and just to get the flavour.  Just one thing - the shops assistants can be very snooty, they expect you to know what you want when you come inside, that's why alot of the items are in the windows, but don't be intimidated and don't take it personally if they treat you like you are "just a tourist". Also - in a bar (cafe) it is more expensive to sit down - if you look around, you'll see that the italians prop themselves up against the counter, having said that -it's well worth sitting in one of the outdoor cafes at P Navona and you can take in the sights and sounds.  Oh I could go on and on and I'm sure there are loads of other things but I'm sure other people will let you know!!!

[mystress]

Hi Ladydi,

This link will take you THE ONLY place to stay in Rome

The Hotel Hassler~Villa Medici.

http://www.hotelhasslerroma.com/uk-home.htm

 

It stands at the top of the Spanish Steps,and is superb.I stayed the some years ago (for a week,free) The lady who owned and ran it stayed at our Hotel in London so she was treating me!

It is RATHER expensive,but it is one of the best hotels in the world,so do try!

Let me know what you think.

Ciao Bambina.

[Beth1989]

please please please go to Venice! the most beautiful place on earth... absolutely breathtaking! sorry i am of no help to your question ^o)

[spaced]

Try the Palazzo Sasso in my parents home town of Ravello on the Amalfi Coast (Southern Italy)

Click here: -

http://www.palazzosasso.com/en/index.php

[Lucy288]

Hi There,
When we were planning our trip to Cinque Terre we found this website www.cinqueterreitaly.co.uk. The site offers all the information needed to plan a trip in Cinque Terre and also cooking lessons and wine tasting, hiking etc etc in Cinque Terre. We also booked our accomadation through this site and we were really pleased with it. The whole trip was wonderful and we were greeted a warm welcome good food, amazing hospitality and the most stunning place in the world... The cooking lessons were brilliant with fresh organic local produce which we sat down to eat after preperation..The lesson cost a mere 20 euro and was in probably the best restaurant in Cinque Terre.. I would thoroughly recommend using this site when planning a trip to the Cinque Terre...