May in Rome means short sleeves, outdoor lunches and packed squares. It is a very pleasant time of year, but the sheer volume of people between the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain starts getting intense. If you are staying in the city for more than a week, or if you just want a change of scenery, planning a weekend away is the right move.
Italy is a long country, but the high-speed rail network makes it much shorter. Trains leave from Roma Termini or Roma Tiburtina and drop you right in the center of Naples, Florence or Bologna in the time it would take to drive across the GRA ring road during rush hour. No airport check-ins, no liquid limits in your luggage. You buy a ticket, get on board, order an espresso at the bar car and watch the scenery change. I put together the three easiest options for a two-day trip, along with a few tips to avoid tourist traps.
Naples: sea, coffee and calculated chaos
You get there in an hour and fifteen minutes from Termini on a direct train. You walk out of Napoli Centrale station into Piazza Garibaldi and the impact is always intense. There is noise, there is traffic, people are in a rush. Before doing anything else, stop at Attanasio, a historic bakery right by the station, and grab a warm sfogliatella riccia. Then head down to the subway, take Line 1 and go toward the center.
In May the weather is perfect for walking along the Via Caracciolo seafront, from Castel dell'Ovo all the way to Mergellina. The air smells like the sea and there is almost always a breeze that makes the sun bearable. For lunch, the temptation to squeeze into one of the historic pizzerias on Via dei Tribunali is strong, but get ready to wait a long time on the sidewalk. If you want to eat excellent pizza without wasting half your day on the street, head over to the Materdei neighborhood. Check the pizzeria's official website for current opening hours. Show up ten minutes before they open, grab your number and sit down quickly.
In the afternoon, avoid the really narrow alleys if you hate crowds. Go to Piazzetta Augusteo, take the Funicolare Centrale and ride up to the Vomero district. From up there, if you walk a few steps toward Castel Sant'Elmo, you have the entire Gulf of Naples and Mount Vesuvius right in front of you. It is a residential area, much quieter than the center, perfect for grabbing an iced coffee mid-afternoon before taking the funicular back down.
Florence: the renaissance on foot
An hour and a half by train from Rome and you get off at Santa Maria Novella. The big advantage of Florence is that the center is compact. You do not need buses or subways, you can do everything on foot. The downside is that in May the streets between the Duomo and Piazza della Signoria are an endless river of people.
If you only have forty-eight hours, my advice is to ignore the major museums. Spending half a day in line at the Uffizi or the Accademia Gallery ruins your weekend. Pick a smaller museum. The Museo di San Marco, for example, holds Fra Angelico's frescoes right inside the old monks' cells. There are far fewer people, the ticket is cheap and the atmosphere is completely silent.
Around sunset, cross the Arno river. Ponte Vecchio is beautiful but often impassable, so use Ponte alle Grazie which actually gives you a better view of the old goldsmith shops. Head into the Oltrarno. The Santo Spirito neighborhood is the right place for the evening. The church steps fill up with young people, there are dozens of wine bars where you can drink a glass of Chianti on the street and the vibe is relaxed. For dinner, look for a trattoria in the San Frediano area. The restaurants here are small, so book your table at least three days in advance to secure a Florentine steak or a plate of pici pasta without having to fall back on the tourist menus near the station.
Bologna: tortellini and porticoes
It takes about two hours and fifteen minutes by train from Rome to reach Bologna Centrale. It is a massive railway hub, but you only need to walk out of the station and head down Via dell'Indipendenza to be in the center in a fifteen-minute walk. Bologna has a feature that proves essential in May: the porticoes. If the sun is beating down hard or a spring thunderstorm hits, you are always walking under cover.
It is a university city, you eat well everywhere and the pace is definitely slower compared to Rome. Instead of heading straight into Piazza Maggiore, take a detour toward the Mercato delle Erbe on Via Ugo Bassi. Inside you will find fruit and vegetable stalls, but also small kiosks where you can have lunch with a board of mortadella and crescentine at fair prices.
If you want to walk off your lunch, there is the hike up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. It is almost four kilometers of continuous uphill portico starting from Porta Saragozza. It is tiring, but the view over the Bologna hills makes up for the effort. In the evening, the best area for an aperitivo is Via del Pratello. It is a long street full of bars; check the local authority's official website for details on the pedestrian zone. Sit down, order a glass of Pignoletto and watch people walk by. For dinner, look for balanzoni, a stuffed pasta similar to tortellini but green and larger, which is almost never missing from Bolognese restaurant menus.
How to handle high-speed trains
Getting around by train is easy, but there are a couple of rules to follow so you do not spend a fortune or ruin your plans.
- Book in advance: Check the official website of Trenitalia and other operators for updated fares. If you buy your ticket on Thursday to leave on Saturday, you risk paying double. Act at least three weeks in advance to find the cheapest fares.
- Check your departure station: In Rome, high-speed trains stop at both Roma Termini and Roma Tiburtina. Some trains, especially those that do not terminate in the capital, only stop at Tiburtina. Read your ticket carefully before leaving the house. Tiburtina is easy to reach on the B line of the subway and is less confusing to navigate.
- Manage your luggage: Space for large suitcases on fast trains is limited and runs out in the first few minutes of boarding. For a weekend, a backpack or a small cabin bag is enough. You can slide them into the overhead bins above your seat and they save you the hassle of dragging wheels over cobblestones.
- Check return times: On Sunday evenings, trains heading to Rome are always full, because both tourists and commuters are traveling. Book a train that leaves in the late afternoon, around six o'clock. This way you arrive in Rome in time to have a relaxed dinner and get ready for Monday.