Links

Some interesting links for Italy and France as well as a few other regions –

Please contact Classicvacationrental.com  for accommodation recommendations – whether for villas, apartments, hotels or special little places;

We also provide detailed assistance with itinerary planning, booking of hotels, car rentals, wine tours, cooking classes and so much more… we have spent years and many travels collecting this information – we would be delighted to share this with you.

The links and  information below is just for extra back ground;

Italy:

Italian government sites

Italian Government Tourist Board  http://www.italiantourism.com/index.htm - useful site for information on regions of Italy, travel information, etc.

Italian Embassy - Tips for Travellers  http://www.italyemb.org/tips for travellers.htm

US Department of State This webpage is the US Department of State Department official webpage with Country Specific Information about Italy. Check this page for Visa information, Safety concerns and more pertaining to US citizens.

Marriage of American Citizens in Italy - This page provides information about Getting Married in Italy - for American Citizens in Italy

Italian Embassy Washington DC, includes hundreds of Italian links

Italian Embassy Ottawa Canada,

Italian Tourism -Money matters in Italy - useful information about use of credit and debit cards, Tax (VAT) refunds, currency etc.  

Italian Cultural Institute

In Vancouver
500 - 510 West Hastings Street
Vancouver BC V6B 1L8
Canada
Tel.: (++)1-604-688-0809
Fax: (++)1-604-688-2147
E-mail: iicvancouver@esteri.it
Web: www.iicvancouver.esteri.it

In Toronto -496 Huron Street - Toronto, ON M5R 2R3 CANADA
Tel.: +1 416.921.3802 Fax: +1 416.962.2503
E-mail: iicToronto@esteri.it; website:www.iictoronto.esteri.it/IIC_Toronto

In San Francisco - Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco
425 Washington Street, Suite 200
San Francisco, California 94111 - USA
Tel. (415) 788 7142 | Fax.(415) 788-6389
web:www.iicbelgrado.esteri.it/IIC_Sanfrancisco Email: contact.sanfrancisco@esteri.it

Italian Chamber of Commerce
Vancouver - Toronto - Los Angeles - New York

Italy - general information

Leaning Tower of Pisa – information about Tower of Pisa

Pisa - virtual tour

The Val d'orcia is the beautiful area south of Siena - cypress line winding roads and rolling hills, the setting for the film "The English Patient" - now a UNESCO heritage site - click here for their webpage UNESCO - Val d'Orcia.

Ideas and passions:

Terre di Siena  Suggested Scenic Routes south of Siena

Walled towns of Italy - a good article from About.com

Paradoxplace - - Italian Food and restaurants - an interesting blog/website with a good list of restaurants throughout Italy - worth a quick look .

Ceramics in Italy:

The following are well known often requested locations for those who love Italian hand painted ceramics

Tuscany - Rampini Ceramics

Umbria - Deruta, near Perugia and Assisi in Umbria - is a great place to buy Cermaics, well known for its nand painted dishes, platters and more - Deruta Ceramicshttp://www.lifeinitaly.com/tourism/tuscany/default.asp

Venice

Send postcards from Venice -

Florence 

Uffizi Gallery

  • Florence art guide - Choose your language and explore the monuments, historic periods, artists and art works that have made Florence such a wonderful city. Just click on the map to start or look up the Index.  

Milan

 Rome :
Tours in Rome – www.planningitaly.com - read through and contact us for bookings

Transportation and driving in Italy

Maps - try Google Map or via Michelin - which is great for driving times and directions.

Touring Club Italia - for maps and driving information in Italy

Tips for Driving in Italy the well known Slowtrav website provides great information for driving in Italy

 

Italian Train Information

To buy train tickets go to http://www.raileurope.ca/index.html

Art, Culture & History.....

Wines.....

  • The Italian Wine Review - produced by Kyle Phillips in Florence, very knowledgable  on Italian wines.
  • Chianti Classico Consortium - founded in 1924.
  • Tuscan Wineries -
  • Calabrian Wineries
    • Librandi - from their web site.... "The Librandi wine company is headquartered at Ciró Marina, an attractive small town on the Ionian coast of Calabria near Punta Alice, a southern promontory on the Gulf of Taranto. This area is ideally suited for grape growing due to its excellent clay soil and its location between the sea and the Sila Mountains which creates extreme differences in day and night-time temperatures. The Librandi family has grown grapes in this area for four generations."

Cybercafés -

Rail passes and tickets

Links About Paris:

Links about France

Guide to France

Burgundy Tourism   for information about Burgundy region -- a good site for great photos and ideas for this region

Aquitaine Tourism ( incl. Bordeaux region, Dordogne, ( Sarlat) Perigueux,etc) a good site for great photos and ideas for this region

Wine map of France

  • Vive La France! - Programmes in French on UK TV and French cultural events in London.