Overnight in Livorno on the JOURNEY...need suggestions

Hi all..

My wife and I are going to be on Azamara Jjourney in a couple of weeks and we have two full days in Livorno..

I have rented a car and we are planning to drive to Portofino the first day..It is supposed to be about two hours drive using the Autostrada which is OK, but I am wondering if a more leisurely drive up the coast might be more fun...am wondering how many hours that might take and what some of the "must sees" are along the way???

Day two...we have no interest in Florence or Pisa and would like some suggestions...I'm told Lucca is a pretty cool town...other ideas would be appreciated..

Thanks in advance..

Greg

Lucca is a lovely mediaeval walled town. It is very authentic, has a beautiful duomo and lots of interesting cobbled streets to explore. There are also some very fascinating shops some a couple of hundred years old and of course some very nice yet inexpensive restaurants. I am sure you would have a very enjoyable day there.

I am looking forward to a day there on my November Journey cruise.

Portofino is a gorgeous jewel of a town but it is very small. You may want to also visit the nearby towns of Santa Margarita and Rapallo. I am told that Camoglio is also worth a visit but I haven't yet been there.

Enjoy your cruise.

Genoa is approx. 2 hours from Livorno. This is the birth place of Christopher Columbus and there are some very interesting museums etc. enough to see to spend a good few hours.

I would second the recommendation for Lucca. Lovely walled city, we walked around the walls. Lots of good restaurants. We spent an enchanting few hours here and keep promising ourselves we will go back for a long weekend.

Portofino is beautiful but very small. It was 'full' in August......by this I mean even busier than Santorini, which up until then was our benchmark for 'full'. We went to Santa Margarita and took the waterbus over to Portofino. This gave us the best views. Exploring the 'town' and walking up to the castle with its many photo opportunities took just over an hour. All restaurants had cover charges which were quite steep so I would advice reading the menu carefully. We paid over €45 for 3 coffees and a coke, lunch in Santa Margarita was much better value.

Could I recommend you read the trip information on the Romeinlimo site. This would give you an idea of what is available in the area.

I agree with Hazel on Lucca. It's a jewel of a walled city and fascinates me. It's an easy 50 minute drive from Livorno and you can stop off at Pisa if you wish. We will be going to Lucca in November. Are we on the same cruise Greg? Nov 6th on Journey?

You might also want to consider San Gimignano or Siena. You can drive to Siena in about two hours and San Gimignano in about 1 hr 40. Both are lovely medieval cities, full of history and charm. Siena has the Palio Square of course but I do love San Gimignano best. Just wander the medieval streets, have a long lunch and gelato in the little square and maybe a bit of shopping in the lovely little shops. My idea of Tuscan heaven! :)

Hi all..

My wife and I are going to be on Azamara Jjourney in a couple of weeks and we have two full days in Livorno..

I have rented a car and we are planning to drive to Portofino the first day..It is supposed to be about two hours drive using the Autostrada which is OK, but I am wondering if a more leisurely drive up the coast might be more fun...am wondering how many hours that might take and what some of the "must sees" are along the way???

Day two...we have no interest in Florence or Pisa and would like some suggestions...I'm told Lucca is a pretty cool town...other ideas would be appreciated..

Thanks in advance..

Greg

I agree with Hazel on Lucca. It's a jewel of a walled city and fascinates me. It's an easy 50 minute drive from Livorno and you can stop off at Pisa if you wish. We will be going to Lucca in November. Are we on the same cruise Greg? Nov 6th on Journey?

 

You might also want to consider San Gimignano or Siena. You can drive to Siena in about two hours and San Gimignano in about 1 hr 40. Both are lovely medieval cities, full of history and charm. Siena has the Palio Square of course but I do love San Gimignano best. Just wander the medieval streets, have a long lunch and gelato in the little square and maybe a bit of shopping in the lovely little shops. My idea of Tuscan heaven! :)

Ditto to Lottie's post. You may also consider getting a driver and going to Chianti wine region to Antinori Estates or many of the other vineyards in the area. If time is an issue, I would say Lucca. It is a must see and about a $20 Euro taxi ride.

Lucca, San Gimignano and Siena all would be wonderful destinations. On our port day in Livorno this past May, we drove to Volterra for the day. It has lovely Etruscan associations and the drive is beautiful.

We took the train to Lucca and stopped off at Pisa on our return journey. We had a more relaxing second day in Livorno - the indoor market is amazing. Enjoy!

We took the train to Lucca and stopped off at Pisa on our return journey. We had a more relaxing second day in Livorno - the indoor market is amazing. Enjoy!

Nuneham, where is the indoor market in Livorno? I have been there many times but have only been to the outdoor market

http://www.livornonow.com gives a better idea of location than I could from memory but we just drifted into it from the outdoor stalls. I have better photos - somewhere - the displays were fabulous.

Thank you Nuneham