Italy - Florence to Venice
In 2022 my girlfriend and I traveled to Italy to watch the MotoGP San Marino race. We planned a two week vacation around that event that started in Florence and ended in Venice. In between we stopped in San Marino, Rimini, Medona, and Ortisei in the Dolomites.
Below is part of an email I shared with my brother-in-law about our trip.
Here's some things we did, where we stayed, and ate.
Hotel Genziana in Ortisei - It's honestly one of my favorite hotels I've ever stayed at. The room was exceptional, as was the huge breakfast buffet, and 4 - 5 course dinner tasting menu each night. You might have to elect to include the meals but they are definitely worth it. There's also a spa in the basement with steam, sauna, pool, and hot tubs. They also have underground parking if you have a car.
I don't know what your itinerary looks like but in the event your driving from Florence like we did then here are three great restaurants to stop at on the way.
Florence heading towards San Marino: Il Capanno - we randomly stumbled upon this place and it was one of our favorite meals of the whole trip. It was absolutely, positively, 100% authentic Italian in the middle of nowhere. The place was packed with locals, everyone knew each other, and then there was Jen and I. An awesome experience.
Leaving San Marino heading north: Ristorante Cavallino - former Ferrari employee cafeteria turned fine dining restaurant, managed by Massimo Bottura, owner of Osteria Francescana (one of the best restaurants in the world, located nearby in Modena). We had a fine dining tasting menu lunch here. The restaurant is filled with Ferrari memorabilia and the Ferrari museum is the next building over. A fun stop on the way north.
Entering the Dolomites in a town called Trento: Al Gusto la cucina di Corrado - I said that Il Capanno was one of our favorite meals, well we had many favorites, and this was right up there. Another place we randomly stumbled upon as it was getting late and we needed dinner. A small restaurant with maybe 8 - 10 tables. Corrado is the owner/chef who you'll watch whipping up all the dishes, and when we were there his daughter was the only waitress. It's about as close as you can come to sitting down in a locals house for dinner. It was excellent.
More food, but in the Dolomites -
Pfoshof - A family owned and operated farm for close to 200 years (if my memory is correct). They recently opened a restaurant on the property where they only serve the food they grow and raise. We had insane homemade salami, jam, and bread, as well as awesome pasta dishes. It's also a beautiful setting looking out over the mountains. Here too it was mom, dad, daughters doing everything. Highly recommend it.
Ristorante Laurinhütte - If you stay at Hotel Genziana then you can walk to the cable car that will take you up to Alpe di Siusi, which is this amazing high altitude plateau and alpine meadow where you can hike in the warm months (like we did) or ski in the cold months. There are a number of hikes and beautiful paths to get lost on. While you're walking you're just surrounded by the most insane beauty and the sound of dairy cow bells. We did a hike that took us to Ristortante Laurinhütte for lunch. The food was homemade and exceptional and the views were even better. Such an ideal and picturesque way to have a meal.
I know I just mentioned Alpe di Siusi but I just wanted to emphasize that it's not something to be missed. It was a major highlight in an amazing trip.
Pisciadù Hütte - We did a via ferrata that took us to this refugio for lunch before descending the opposite side of the mountain on foot. Again, homemade delicious food in the most beautiful setting on top of a mountain. The via ferrata was called Furcela de Saslonch and we did the Tridentia route (a longer one), but for some reason I can't find it on Google map. Ferrata Pisciadu Klettersteig is what comes up when I search. But you can email info@catores.com to find out more. Our guide, Enrico, was superb, and their office is a 5 minute walk from Hotel Genziana in Ortisei. He picked us up and drove us to and from. Jen's favorite day of the trip.
Sightseeing -
Lago di Carezza Karersee - A really beautiful lake that requires a beautiful drive through the winding roads of the mountains to get to. If you're in the area or want to go for a nice drive, this is a nice spot to stop at and walk around. Gorgeous.
I think that's all of the highlights I can remember and have saved. I have other places saved in my maps that looked cool but that we just didn't have time to do. Whatever you choose you won't go wrong. It was an exceptional 4 days in the mountains.
Let me know if you have any questions.