Venice.  Rome.  Florence.  Milan.  Sorrento.   If you've checked these top spots off your bucket list and now want to see the REAL Italy, Padua might be the place to visit.

Noticeably different about Padua is the lack of touristy trinket shops, hawkers, speeding vespas, and pushy crowds.   The piazzas hum with markets during the day and are replaced by relaxed locals at night.   It helps to know your Italian because the locals aren't as fluent in Italian (thank goodness) as other places in Italy.  

The cultural sites are some of the best.   The Scrovegni Chapel, for me, has more history and significance than Michelangelo's chapel in Rome.   Our private University of Padua tour showed us Galileo's lectern and the Teatro Anatomico where some of the first medical autopsies took place - fascinating.   Our travelers loved the botanical gardens, architecture, and the Basilica of St. Anthony - yes, that St. Anthony.   

Let's not forget about the food.  Great friendly service with dishes prepared straight from the morning's market.  Don't miss Osteria Fabbri when you are there.

Another great advantage of Padua is it's location in terms of getting to Shakespeare's Verona, Palladio's Vicenza, and beautiful Lake Garda.   

Another advantage to Padua, depending upon how you look at it, is the lack of hotels in the historical center.   I would estimate that there are no more than 250 rooms, compared to over 1,000 HOTELS listed in Venice on Booking.Com.    It does make it hard to find good quality luxury accommodations, but it does keep the tourists away.

The Traveling Professor will be running tours to The Veneto region next Spring and Fall, get on our mailing list to be the first to know about them.