Brescia Travel Guide

Brescia is the second largest city in Italy's Lombardy region (after Milan). Often overlooked by tourists, Brescia has a castle, Roman ruins, Renaissance squares, and a medieval city center. The annual Mille Miglia car race starts and finishes in Brescia. Brescia is east of Milan in the Lombardy region of northern Italy (see Lombardy Map). It's between Lakes Garda and Iseo and is a gateway to the Valcamonica (a UNESCO site with the largest collection of prehistoric rock art in Europe) to the north. Brescia is on several train lines and is easily reached by train from Milan, Desenzano del Garda (on Lake Garda), Cremona (to the south), Lake Iseo, and Val Camonica (to the north). The city is on our suggested Milan to Venice train itinerary. A local bus connects the station to the city center. Buses also connect to other nearby cities and towns.

Brescia has a small airport serving flights within Italy and Europe. The closest large airport (with flights from the US) is in Milan. The small airports of Verona and Bergamo are also close. (see Italy airports map).

Tourist Information can be found at Piazza Loggia, 6. Brescia is famous for the Mille Migle historic car race held in spring. It starts and ends in the city. The Fair of San Faustino and Giovita in February is one of the biggest festivlas. The festival of Franciacorta celebrates the sparkling wine produced in the hills outside the city. Music performances are held in the Teatro Grande, a theater built in the 1700's. Piazza della Loggia - The city's prettiest square was built in the 15th century. Torre dell'Orologio or the clock tower, was modelled on the campanile in Venice's Piazza San Marco. Porta Bruciata, in one corner, is a medieval tower and gate. Cathedrals - The two cathedrals are found on Piazza Paolo VI. The Rotondo is the old 12th century cathedral. Inside you can see Roman remains and the apse of an 8th century basilica. The new cathedral is late Baroque style and took over 200 years to complete. Via dei Musei - The old Roman road is lined with Roman ruins including the Roman forum, a theater and a temple built in 73AD. Monsateries - Monastery of Santa Julia was founded in 753 and has three churches. It now houses the city museum with artifacts from prehistory to the 20th century. San Pietro in Lamosa was founded in the 11th century and is Romanesque in style. Piazza della Vittoria - This large square was built in 1932 in what was once a medieval center. On one side of the square is a 60 meter tall tower. The Mille Migle race starts from Piazza della Vittoria and on the third Sunday of the month there's an antiques market. Castle - The medieval castle complex on the hill includes towers, ramparts, gardens, courtyards, drawbridges and several underground tunnels. It houses the Ancient Arms Museum, Risorgimento Museum, and a model railway exhibit. From the highest point there are good views of the city below.

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Top San Marco Hotels

Venice is one of Italy's top travel cities and San Marco is the favorite neighborhood or sestiere for visitors (see Venice sestiere map). These hotels are the top Venice recommended hotels in San Marco sestiere, in all star categories, based on guest ratings on Venere for Venice, Italy. All hotels have air conditioning and private baths. By clicking the hotel link, you can see guest ratings and reviews, hotel photos and descriptions, and location on a map. You can also book direct on Venere, a booking site I often use myself.

Find hotels in other Venice neighborhoods with Top Venice Hotels.

Hotel Bauer Il Palazzo is a luxury 5-star boutique hotel overlooking the Grand Canal near Saint Mark's Square. The hotel has a private boat landing. Each of the 35 rooms and suites is individually decorated and many have views over the canal and a balcony or terrace. Bathrooms are decorated in Italian marble and some have whirlpool baths. There's a roof garden, restaurant, bar, and spa and wellness center.

Violino d'Oro is the top rated 3-star hotel in San Marco sestiere. The hotel is in an 18th century palace on a canal near the Grand Canal. It has 26 single, double classic and superior, triple and quadruple rooms and two are equipped for disabled guests.

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Amalfi Coast Tours

The scenic Amalfi Coast is one of southern Italy's top destinations. A good way to experience this picturesque area is on a tour. Here are guided day tours, boat excursions, and cooking classes on the Amalfi Coast. Some of these tours are also available from Naples so if you're arriving on a cruise ship, you could consider these for port excursions.

© Martha Bakerjian

The island of Capri has long been a top romantic destination. This boat tour takes you from the town of Positano to the island where you'll enjoy a four hour independent visit. Back on board, you'll take a scenic boat ride around the island to see the cliffs, beaches, and hidden grottoes along its coast from the sea as well as stopping in a cove for a swim. Cold drinks and towels are provided on board the boat. There's also an optional visit to the famous Blue Grotto.

Many of the Amalfi Coast's top sights can be seen only from the water. This full-day boat excursion takes you by the grottoes, bays, and rugged cliffs of the coast by sea. The boat tour departs from Positano and passes several picturesque villages with stops for swimming (towels provided on board) and you'll have a 3-course lunch at a small beach restaurant built on stilts. You can also add an optional visit to the Emerald Grotto, weather permitting.

Taste limoncello and tour three Amalfi Coast towns in this full-day tour. Participants ride in an air-conditioned luxury vehicle to visit the towns of Ravello, Amalfi (including limoncello tasting and a museum), and Positano with an English-speaking guide. There's a lunch stop at the Trattoria da Rispoli (cost of lunch not included). Pick up is available from anywhere on the Amalfi peninsula or even in Naples.

Driving along the Amafli Coast can be a stressful experience so it's nice to leave the driving to someone else. On this luxurious private chauffeured road trip you'll be driven along the scenic coast with stops in villages, beaches, or scenic view spots of your choosing. Since the tour is private, you and your group can stop wherever you wish and the driver can recommend places to stop for shopping, swimming, taking a walk in the hills, or a good restaurant for lunch. Pick up is available anywhere on the Amalfi peninsula or Naples.

Mama Agata's cooking classes take place in her cliff-top Ravello home overlooking the Amalfi Coast. The program includes breakfast cake and coffee, a demonstration cooking class, garden tour, and lunch on the terrace with homemade wine. Transportation is not included but can be arranged for an additional fee.

If you prefer to get to Pompeii on your own either with your own car or by taking the train from Sorrento, this guided walking tour is a more economical option. An English-speaking guide will lead you through the highlights of the archeological site on this tour that lasts approximately 3 to 3.5 hours.

This tour departs from any place on Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Salerno, or Naples with transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver and guide. The tour includes a guided tour of the well-preserved Greek temples and museum at Paestum and visits to Tenuta Vannulo with cheese tasting and Marino Winery with wine tasting.

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Views of Italy from Above

For picturesque views of Venice from above, head to Venice's bell tower, or campanile, in Piazza San Marco. An elevator takes visitors to the viewing platform inside the bell tower for spectacular views of Venice. Take a look at Venice spread out below the bell tower.

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Veneto Top Picks

Venice, one of Italy's top travel cities, is the jewel of the Veneto region but there's much more to see in the Veneto. From the city of Verona with its Roman arena to Paladian villas, lakes, and mountain towns, here are the best places to go in the Veneto. You'll find most of them on our Veneto Region Map.

Click on a city or town link to see the travel guide with information about what to see, where to stay, and how to get there.

Venice Photo © by Martha Bakerjian

Venice is the top destination in the Veneto and one of Italy's most-visited cities. It's a unique car-free city built on the water with narrow lanes meandering alongside canals. Saint Mark's Square and Cathedral and the Grand Canal are the top sights in Venice but there are many picturesque squares, beautiful churches, museums, and shops, too.

Venice Photos

Belluno, one of the largest towns in the northern part of the Veneto, is the gateway to the Dolomite Mountains. Belluno makes a good base for visiting the Dolomites where you'll find winter skiing and summer hiking or biking. Belluno has fortress towers, a historic center with a 16th century cathedral, restaurants, and squares with outdoor cafes.

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Buying Medications in Italy

If you take prescription drugs, be sure to carry them with you in your carry-on luggage when flying to Italy. You should also carry a copy of your prescriptions or list of the medicines you take (the actual drug names, not the generic names) in case you need to buy them in Italy. If you need medication while traveling in Italy, head to the Farmacia, pharmacy, (not the drogheria).

While you're likely to find that your prescription drugs cost less than in the US, some over the counter medications may cost more. Recently a friend needed allergy medicine in Italy and paid about $1 per pill for the equivalent of sudafed. Another friend paid about $1 per pill for ibuprofen. So you might want to bring these with you, too, if you use them. Other medications, like aspirin, will be about the same cost as in the US.

By the way, you'll have to go to the farmacia for these medications, too. All medicines are sold only in pharmacies, although that may change soon. If you're feeling a little ill, the pharmacist may be able to give you advice, too. There are English-speaking pharmacists in most major Italian cities.

Find out more about the Italian pharmacy in the Pharmacy in Italy.

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Italy in North America

Wishing you were on vacation in Italy? Maybe you can't take that Italian vacation this year, but you can still enjoy the culture of Italy and maybe even practice a little Italian.

When I'm not in Italy, I enjoy going to my favorite Italian places in San Francisco. With more than 26 million people of Italian descent in the United States, it's easy to find Italian spots. While not every city has a Little Italy, many North American cities do have places with Italian heritage. You'll also find Italian festivals and Italian film festivals in the United States and Canada.

San Francisco's Italian neighborhood is North Beach. In North Beach, you'll find Italian cafes, restaurants, and shops. It's home to Saints. Peter and Paul Church and Saint Francis of Assisi Shrine. You'll still hear lots of Italian spoken in North Beach. There are good Italian places outside North Beach, too.
• Italy in San Francisco
• San Francisco Neighborhoods: North Beach New York City's Little Italy is a small area that still reflects its Italian heritage. Walk along its cobblestone streets, buy imported Italian groceries, and take a look at Old St. Patrick's Cathedral.
• Little Italy
• Mulberry Street Food

There's also a Little Italy in the Bronx. Joe Palisi says, "I grew up close to Little Italy in the Bronx, NY and would go there with my grandfather to purchase grapes for our wine press. We are talking circa 1940. Really Italian!"

The Hill is the St. Louis Italian neighborhood. The Hill's Italian heritage starts from the late nineteenth century and it still has Italian shops, bakeries, and restaurants.
• The Hill Overview and History
• Walking Tour of The Hill Cleveland's Little Italy originates from the late 19th century when Italian immigrants came to the area. It has art galleries, Italian restaurants, and the Holy Rosary Church, dating from 1892.
• Little Italy Profile
• A Walk Around Cleveland's Little Italy
• Little Italy Historic Photos
• Cleveland's Little Italy (compare prices) has more about this area Italian Village in Columbus is the area around St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church. Italian Village still retains some historic buildings and improvements to the area are still being made. Philadelphia, with its popular Italian Market, has one of the oldest Italian American communities in the United States and has many Italian restaurants.
• Top Philadelphia Italian Restaurants Boston's Italian neighborhood is called the North End. It has a strong Italian flair and several Italian restaurants. The North End is also Boston's oldest neighborhood.
• North End Neighborhood Profile Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood has many Italian restaurants, mostly family-owned places, in this area of narrow streets.
• Dining in Baltimore's Little Italy Federal Hill is the Italian neighborhood of Providence with many restaurants, bakeries, cafes, art galleries, cigar shops, and markets. DePasquale Square is the center of the neighborhood. A good time to visit is during June's Federal Hill Stroll.
• Italian Restaurants and Food in Provicence While New Orleans doesn't have a Little Italy they do have an unusual tradition of making St. Joseph altars, started by Sicilian immigrants who came to New Orleans in the nineteenth century. There's also a parade and celebrations for St. Joseph's Feast Day.
• St. Joseph Altars in New Orleans Montreal's Little Italy is part of the Petite Patrie neighborhood. Joe Palisi says, "the Catholic Church, Madonna della Difesa, built in 1919 is a huge, beautiful church in this part of Montreal. This is probably the only Catholic Church anywhere with a fresco of Pius IX and Mussolini side by side. The fresco commemorates the Lateran Accord and was completed prior to WWII before Musolini's downfall."
• Italian Spots in Petite Patrie Italian heritage is celebrated in many parts of the United States, especially in October around Columbus Day. Here are top US Italian Festivals from March through October. Annual film festivals are held in North America and other parts of the world. Here are Italian Film Festivals Outside Italy.

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