Two Belgians on a two weeks road trip across northern Italy

Departing from Belgium by car, we've decided not to hurry on our way to Italy. We first stopped for a memorable evening in Colmar (Alsace region in France, famous for its wines).

We crossed Switzerland (with a breakfast stop at Bern, the Swiss capital, watching their very famous bears) before moving to Italy by the Grand-Saint-Bernard pass, a mythic spot for dog lovers and bikers. We spent 2 days hiking around Aosta, sleeping in our tent.

We finally went down to Tuscany, our first stop being Lucca. After 24 hours, we moved to an nice apartment in the center of Firenze, where we slept two nights. We enjoyed Firenze, its museums, its churches, its piazzas and its beautiful Boboli gardens, a true heaven of peace in this always-moving city. In the end of this very month of may, the amount of turistic activities is already impressive.

After those two days in a dense city, we felt the need for something quieter. For this reason, we rented a room for two nights in an agriturismo located in the Valle D'Elsa. Cooking & enjoying dinners with an amazing views on the Italian countryside were nice experiences. During the day, we visited Siena.

Two days later, we moved to the Maremma area, at the south-west of Tuscany. Sleeping again in our tent, we enjoyed biking in the national parks, reading on the beach and swimming in the still cold water. We visited a lot of remote villages where time seems to have stopped.

We moved back to Firenze area, with a 4 hours stopover to discover San Giminiano, and slept in Fiesole, a village above Firenze. Finally, we drove to Venice where we rented a small apartment for two nights. We walked 15 km a day in the narrow street of Venice, always wondering what we would discover at the next corner.

We drove home through Simplon Pass and Switzerland, and stop for two nigths at friends in the Canton du Valais, where we hiked a bit again.

We drove home the next day after 17 days of traveling, exhausted and welcomed back by the typical rain in Belgium. A summary of all the amazing things we've seen and crossed is given in the below activities. Don't hesitate to share your fav places in Italy!