Where should a group of mature ladies go?

How rude!

flappergirl I think it probably is still a bit like that.. Be careful with your wallet if you use public transport! More brazen even than Las Ramblas!

I haven't been since the pandemic but my youngest daughter went last year on her own and loved it too. I had no idea it was trendy! And don't think she had either.
We went - the first time - for the art galleries. Not sure how she selected it.
Give me Naples over Florence though!

I also love rural Basilicata and Puglia - but the last time I went there were other people from the UK in places that once were "off the beaten track".

NotSpaghetti

flappergirl I think it probably is still a bit like that.. Be careful with your wallet if you use public transport! More brazen even than Las Ramblas!

I haven't been since the pandemic but my youngest daughter went last year on her own and loved it too. I had no idea it was trendy! And don't think she had either.
We went - the first time - for the art galleries. Not sure how she selected it.
Give me Naples over Florence though!

I also love rural Basilicata and Puglia - but the last time I went there were other people from the UK in places that once were "off the beaten track".

I know you have to be careful in Naples but it used to have a ridiculously bad reputation. I think tourists thought the Mafia would "get" them. I too would rather go to Naples than Florence. They say that Rome is the beating heart of Italy but Naples is its soul and I find that so true.

I've travelled through Basilicata but never to Puglia. I believe that's the only Italian state I've not visited.

Another favourite of mine is the Cilento. It is wild and rugged and very unspoilt with wonderful beaches. In the north of Italy I love the Lunigiana. Take a look on Google, it is incredibly beautiful with the most stunning hill top towns, even by Italian standards.

I could talk about Italy all night!

I don't think I've been to Cilento - but we have stayed just north of Maratea for a week on a trip south from Paestum so would have travelled through the national park.

Calabria I don't know at all. Have only dipped into the beaches on the N.West coast and some fairly obscure archaeological sites on the N.East

I'm personally drawn to the "Badlands" of SE Basilicata- and feel (suprisingly) very at home there.
We first visited Aliano, staying the other side of the Duro, following the journey of Carlo Levi. The drama of the landscape- and small towns and villages was, and is, intense.

Puglia has got busier over the last 15 years or so. 15 years ago there seemed to be no UK tourists south of Brindisi and almost nobody spoke English.
Puglia is very poor and the land really flat. Lecce is, of course , lovely but it's not a "beautiful " region in the traditional sense. To me, the feeling of generations of others having "walked the land before me" is very strong here.

I will look up Lunigiana. I haven't been north of the line from roughly Pisa to Ravenna.

How nice to have a little chat about Italy!

The world is your oyster - finances and health permitting. I am 74 and this year will have visited Italy twice, also Greece and the Norwegian fjords. Why not ? Went to China, Egypt and India recently too. Shrouds don't have pockets

Valencia. Beautiful city, with beach option. Cycle friendly.

I took my mother to Andalucia, we went on an organised tour and loved every moment (Jules Verne Travel). There were some organised trips in the cities and to the Alhambra but plenty of free time and most evenings free to do your own thing. The hotels were all good quality and either in the centre or walkable to the centre.

Grannmarie

Hello 👋 Cambsnan!

My sisters and I went to Nice last year. We stayed in the Hotel Splendide just off the promenade and had a super suite for the three of us. We used the open top bus to get around the landmarks and the Old Town. We took the train to Monaco for a great day out. You can also go to Cannes and St Tropez. We had wonderful weather in early October. I'd certainly recommend it.

This year we are going to Copenhagen and we're hoping to take a train, or possibly ferry, to Sweden.

Have a wonderful time whatever you decide.

If you are considering going abroad do Copenhagen, you will just love the food, the culture the history and scenery, Copenhagen has so much to offer. It is not cheap, but well worth the expenditure. The transport is next to none, both trains, metro and busses, they constantly run, so hardly ever any waiting. Enjoy

Norah

Norway, the fjords?

Another wonderful idea, the scenery is incredible in Norway.

Another vote for Shrewsbury. Church Stretton is 1/2 way between Shrewsbury and Ludlow. Explore the Shropshire Hills.

Thank you, win, we're looking forward to it.

Venice is always an experience if you haven't been before or maybe Verona and take in one of the operas in the amphitheatre, always amazing. New York if the budget allows, so much to do there. So many places but so little info as to what or where you all want.

She’s not reading 🤷‍♀️

Why did she bother to post?

Indeed GSM.

Actually ‘a group of mature ladies’ gives me a vision of a rather past its sell by date hen party.

Only just found this on the GN email, and the OP still hasn't responded - weird?!

As was mentioned, it's a guess where they're starting, also budget, and how much time to fill, but assuming Cambridge area, well, London has more to do than most (but it's often packed with tourists!). Edinburgh had a mention, and that's a good choice, Glasgow too (more to do than many realise).

And for a short break, Ludlow & Shrewsbury are good, as per a couple of comments, but my personal favourite is York, just gorgeous).

IF they can go abroad, then the Eurostar (St Pancras) is a good start, with Paris, Lille, Lyon, even Bordeaux all within reach (but beware the summer heat in Paris?).

Italy is reachable by train, the excellent Seat61 website has masses of info about loads of places, one idea is to route through Switzerland for that lovely scenery en route to perhaps Milan? Milan and/or Turin are both great, and from Milan a day trip to (Lake) Como is simple.

If they have a week (& the money!), a Rhine cruise ticks a lot of boxes!

Oh, and for those suggesting Barcelona, or Naples, both have long come with severe warnings on assorted cruise blogs and forums, despite both being otherwise good to visit, the street crime levels are highers than in many places. You can certainly go, just keep valuables out of sight, and beware distractions.

Barcelona is the only place (from a long list) that we've had to avoid a mugging (daytime, in the Metro station by the Sagrada Familia), and Naples still has warnings about lads on scooters grabbing bags, cameras, etc. Barcelona apparently has thieves brazen enough to grab cases from coaches and hotel lobbies!

Great suggestions! I recently went to York with 4 pals, we are all 68, had a great time. Last year we did Chester, also great. Future choices might be Bath/Shrewsbury/Dublin.

Bologna in Italy is lovely. Fantastic food, history and culture. You can get a Eurostar late afternoon to Paris then change onto the overnight Thello which makes very few stops until it gets to Milan. Sleeper compartment or couchette. Fast trains from Milan to Bologna, or to avoid the early morning rise for Milan you can stay on the train to Verona and get a connection there. Its about 40 minutes on the train to Florence for a day trip with loads of trains every day. About an hour and a half to Venice by train.

NotSpaghetti, our chat has made me long for Italy, especially in this sorry excuse for a summer. The feeling of others having "walked the land before" is so strong in Italy it is almost electrifying.

Germanshepherdsmum

Actually ‘a group of mature ladies’ gives me a vision of a rather past its sell by date hen party.

😁
Behaving immaturely!

Well that's a good question! Can one lonely male come along?

The OP and her young-at-heart gang have obviously nipped off somewhere after all these suggestions.

As threads go, this is a bit pointless due to the lack of input from the OP, but I’ve enjoyed the Naples chat.

I think it was my favourite of all the places we’ve been to in Italy. Unusually for me, I booked a hotel across the square from the main station for a last minute break, before reading all the doom-laden Tripadvisor warnings about the area. Including the one from a young American couple who were so very traumatised by their 3 minute scuttle from station to hotel they didn’t leave it for two days till it was time to move on. They’d seen litter and homeless people, one of whom was weeing against a tree - the horror! We had a great time.