Best Italy holiday for wine and culture?

[pat p]

A couple of late 30's females want to go to Italy last week in June where we can visit historical buildings, experience the cafe culture (not overpriced please), find good conversation, good wine and good food.

We do not necessarily need a beach - nor do we want night clubs. We love people watching and my single friend would like to meet some eligible single men!

Any ideas?

[rosie]

are you fluent in italian? if not then only major cities will provide you with good converstion. i would recommend landing in rome then getting the train to one of the smaller cities eg frosinone then getting the bus to one of the villages outside that - check map and pick one, they are all beautiful. that way you can experience the real country and be not too far away from shops and if you dont like it you can always go back to rome.

[bret]

roma, milano or triest

[Puppy]

Puglia you can find lots of good wines, mediterranean food, thousands of olives trees and is still quite cheap the expresso coffee costs half than in milan and is very scenty plus people are very friendly and both women and men are attractive, there are a nice coasts line too but you are not interested in that so you can stay in the countryside and visit caratteristic places like Alberobello, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Castellana grottos etc....it fit you?
http://www.laterradipuglia.it/italiano/fotopuglia.htm

[Pinguino]

You may like Piedmont, Tuscany or Veneto, although they're all beautiful place for both living and toursim, I suppose Piedmont meet the most your request. You may like Turin for "cafe culture and conversation": I put all in the same sentence because cafe in Turin were, especially in 1800, very important place for meeting between people who "made Italy" (or even Europe), like Giuseppe Mazzini.
Those three regions are the most important for wine; personally, I'd say Piedmont for wine as a culture, Tuscany for wine as an industry, Veneto for wine as a... drinker (sayed in fond way!)
In Piedmont, the surrounding of Turin are better than Turin itself: Langhe, Monferrato, Alba, Gattinara, Ghemme are some of the cities/town/land you should looking for (all one hour from Turin or less).
Turin is also one of the most underestimated Italian city by touristic value, so you're going to avoid the "holyday crowd".

[andrea b]

Tuscany, is main place to meet people and single mens

[whiskeyman510]

I would start in Rome, as the best "culture" in terms of ancient ruins is there, as probably single men. Then take the train to Sienna and rent a car.

Take the car up route 222, the chianti wine route. Stay in little towns like San Gimignano and Greve, go to all the wine tastings you see along the way, as you make your way to Florence.

Once in Florence, get setup with a tour from The Accidental Tourist (http://www.accidentaltourist.com/ ). They have great tours of wine & oil tastings, bike & walking tours and cooking classes in people's homes. I have taken their tours before and they are very unique and worthwhile.

[Margottina]

I would suggest Verona and Garda's lake. There are a lot of wonderful small towns like Lazise, Bardolino, Sirmione. They're breathtaking. The wine is the best in Italy.

[love2travel]

Although Rome is fabulous (historically-speaking), I'd suggest Firenze (Florence) for your particular 'mission'.

Read our Italy travelogues for insights into what the various cities have to offer: http://www.thetravelzine.com

Hope that helps!

[gazhumphrey]

Florence.I just returned from there with my girlfiend and the two of us loved it.There is an abundance of culture to soak up and the food and wine were fantastic.My tip and its probably obvious is not to eat in restaurants too close to the tourist areas.We found some near our hotel which was close to central station that were great and very cheap.Only 8 euro for a lltre of white wine and it was lovely too.

Another tip if you fancy a tour is to take a Segway tour.I believe the website is www.segway.it.It was brillant fun.you do about a three hour tour of all the sites using an upright mobility scooter.They dont go very fast but they are great fun and a highlight of the holiday.It was about 75 euro and took all of one morning.Was great for getting your bearings too.

All in all Florence is a great spot.Enjoy.