Tripologist: What are the must-visit towns near Florence, Italy?

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Tripologist: What are the must-visit towns near Florence, Italy?

Michael Gebicki is Traveller’s expert Tripologist. Each week he tackles the thorny issues in travel as well as answering your questions. Got a question for the Tripologist? Email tripologist@traveller.com.au

By Michael Gebicki

My husband and I will stay for a few weeks next year before Christmas with family living in Florence, Italy. We intend to do day trips by train from Florence and maybe a longer trip to Bologna and Rome. Can you recommend some other must visit towns? We are in our mid 70s and fit.
B. Cathro Port Macquarie, NSW

Modena, one of Italy’s gastronomic capitals.

Modena, one of Italy’s gastronomic capitals.Credit: Getty Images

Venice, definitely. It’s cold, but winter is a terrific time to visit this most alluring and seductive of cities. The crowds are mostly gone, hotel prices are less painful and you can probably score a restaurant table without booking. A train from Florence will have you standing on the banks of Venice’s Grand Canal in just over two hours.

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When you visit Bologna you might also include some other nearby cities. Modena is a glamorous mid-sized city in Emilia-Romagna and one of Italy’s gastronomic capitals. Ferrara is a Renaissance city with several wonderful palaces with great art collections and archaeological treasures while Ravenna’s Byzantine churches are known for their mosaics dating from the time when this was the capital of the Western Roman Empire.

Over the years I’ve saved hard copies of travel articles and links to travel websites for destinations all over the world. Ideally I would like to digitally store articles linked to a map so I can click on the link on the map to bring up the article. Are there any websites or apps with this capability?
D. Smith, North Sydney NSW

That’s a super idea and the solution is more likely to exist as an app, but among the many hundreds of travel apps out there I’m not finding anything that will do it easily and without cost. At a price of $US32.99 ($50) per year, Avenza Maps “Plus” version lets you add PDF files to a map and that might be your best option. I’m throwing this one open to reader feedback. If anyone has an answer that will solve D. Smith’s problem, please email the Tripologist, via the box at the bottom of this page.

We are planning a trip to Alberta, Canada, flying into Calgary, in late May or early June for two weeks. With the size of the province, we are finding route planning daunting. Ideally, we would like to stay in four places and limit driving to less than three hours between each. Scenery and viewing wildlife are a priority.
M. Connolly, Daylesford VIC

Banff National Park.

Banff National Park.Credit: iStock

Make Banff your first stop. Located toward the southern end of Canada’s Rocky Mountains, Banff is the adventure and activities base for Banff National Park, 6641 square kilometres of mountain wilderness, moose marshes, bear woods, elk meadows, glaciers, emerald lakes and rivers.

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In summer Banff’s peaks, ice-carved valleys, mirror-smooth lakes, foaming rivers, waterfalls and alpine meadows become the ideal backdrop for hiking, mountain biking, canoeing and just about every other cool-climate adventure you can name. An hour’s drive north-west of Banff, Lake Louise is nature’s gift to Canada’s postcard industry, a milky-blue jewel cradled in a deep valley lavishly carpeted with spruce forests rising to thrusting mountain peaks capped with glaciers. Together with Moraine Lake, its southern neighbour, this is one of the photogenic highlights of the Rocky Mountains. Put on your walking boots and take a hike along the lakeside trails.

The drive along the Icefield Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper is a scenic cavalcade punctuated by dribbling glaciers, flinty mountain peaks, milk-blue glacial lakes and spruce forests where bears frequently appear by the roadside. One of the highlights is a drive in a multi-terrain vehicle across the Athabasca Glacier, part of a 300 square kilometre icefield. Stop at Athabasca Falls, where the Athabasca River roars over a cataract and funnels through a narrow chasm.

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Plan to stay a few days at Jasper and don’t miss Maligne Lake. The lake squeezes itself between steep slopes thickly covered with spruce forests, rising to snow-capped peaks that tower 1000 metres above the lake. Cruise boats depart about every half hour from the jetty where the road ends at the north end of the lake. The boats make a brief stop at Spirit Island, one of the icons of Canadian tourism.

Be aware that Jasper has recently suffered from devastating bushfires. While the recovery will hopefully be well underway by the time of your visit, you should check to see what’s open as many buildings in the small community have been destroyed.

I would like to experience the splendours of Egypt and the Nile, over 12-14 days, including a river cruise between Luxor and Aswan plus Alexandria. Can you suggest a four-star tour? B. Teneriffe, QLD

The Karnak Temple Complex at Luxor.

The Karnak Temple Complex at Luxor.Credit: iStock

Adelaide-based Bunnik Tours has several Egyptian itineraries and the one that might work best for you is the 12-day highlights of Egypt Tour which includes Cairo, Abu Simbel, the Valley of the Kings and a Nile River cruise from Aswan to Luxor. The price also includes airfares from Australia to Egypt. It does not include Alexandria however Bunnik’s 16-day Egyptian discovery tour does visit Alexandria and El Alamain. The additional cost is $1600. APT has a similar 12-day tour of Egypt with Alexandria available as a four-day extension but the price is higher and does not include air travel between Australia and Cairo.

Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances.

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