Italy Travel And Hotel Guide

Mantua’s old centre is a ten-minute achievement from the train station on Piazza Don E. Leoni and the bus station , just beyond on Piazza Mondadori, off Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Bus #1 runs from the train station to the centre of town. The tourist office , in the centre of town at Piazza Mantegna 6 - the entrance is actually on Piazza dell’Erbe (Mon-Sat 8.30am-12.30pm & 3-6pm, Sun 9.30am-12.30pm; tel 0376.328.253) - has the usual maps and hotel lists as well as information on boat and cycle trips in the Po Valley and agriturismo in the region. Bicycles can be rented by the hour or the day from La Rigola (tel 0376.366.677) at the end of Via Accademia on the lake. As in most parts of northern Italy, hotels get booked up quickly, and it’s advisable to phone ahead. Mantua has only one cheap hotel: the Peter Pan , Cittadella Piazza Giulia 3 (tel 0376.392.638; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), ten minutes’ achievement crossways the lake from the centre. In the town itself, and right opposite the station, the ABC , Piazza Don Leoni 25 (tel 0376.322.329; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98), is good value with breakfast included and free use of bicycles, while the pleasant Bianchi Stazione , next door at Piazza Don Leoni 24 (tel 0376.326.465, fax 0376.321.504; L150,000-200,000/¬77.47-103.29), offers more comfort at correspondingly higher prices. Another possibility, right on the square overlooking the Palazzo Ducale, is the run-down Due Guerrieri , Piazza Sordella 52 (tel 0376.325.596, fax 0376.329.645; L150,000-200,000/¬77.47-103.29), and at the top end of the scale is the San Lorenzo , Piazza Concordia 14 (tel 0376.220.500, fax 0376.327.194; over L400,000/¬206.58). Unfortunately, there’s no youth hostel here, the only other option being the small (ten plots only) and expensive campsite , Corte Chiara (tel 0376.390.804; May-Sept), north of Mantua, outside of Porto Mantovano on the road to Marmirolo.

Tags: bus station, corso vittorio emanuele, dell, erbe, leoni, mantegna, mantua, mondadori, piazza, tourist office, train station, vittorio emanuele ii