Trevisoooo good! (Treviso)

Member Name: treemite

Product:	Treviso
Date:	06/12/08 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic food, cost effective place to use as a base for Venice

Disadvantages: Not much in the way of nightlife

Treviso in Northern Italy is one of those magical little places that makes you want to go there again and again. In fact, I want to go there every year. In fact, no, I want to live there!

I first discovered Treviso just over two years ago when planning a mini-break with my partner to Venice. At the time, romanticism had to take a back seat to sensible economics. A hotel stay in Venice itself is generally very expensive, so on our limited budget, we had to look at using a place on the outskirts of Venice as a base.

Treviso has many advantages for this purpose. Firstly, the hotels in Treviso (as you would expect) are significantly cheaper than the equivalent in Venice. Also, there are many cheap Ryanair flights available throughout the year that fly directly to Treviso airport, which is just a few kilometres from the city centre.
If you add to this the fact that Venice is only a 40 minute train journey from Treviso Centrale station you've got the makings of a great place to stay.

Upon arrival at Treviso airport, we quickly reclaimed our luggage and went about making tracks for the hotel. Since we had no real idea about its geographical position in relation to the airport, we opted to jump in a taxi. The driver instantly recognised the name of our hotel and promptly took us there in about 5 minutes. Unfortunately, there is a set minimum fee of 14 Euros for a taxi from the airport so this was a foolproof but rather expensive way of getting to the nearby hotel.
We later found out that there is a regular bus (No. 6) which runs from the airport to central Treviso for just 1 Euro. A missed cost-saving opportunity but we were to use this information for our return to the airport.

We were immediately impressed with our hotel - the 4* Maggior Consiglio (part of the Boscolo range of hotels), which had set us back about £60 per night. This picturesque building was set just off the main road and was everything you could wish for in terms of an enjoyable stay. The room was spacious and comfortable. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The hotel also boasts an impressive indoor swimming pool and spa centre but we just couldn't find the time to utilise these facilities. We had also heard good things about the hotel restaurant - The Tazio restaurant - but again we never quite got round to dining there.
One downside to the hotel was that breakfast was included in the price, but this was not a major problem - we enjoyed some great breakfasts in several cafes on the way into the city centre.

Treviso city centre was very easy to find from the hotel. It is about a 15 minute walk straight down the main road until you reach Treviso Centrale train station and the city centre. On this main road, you'll pass several establishments of interest. Immediately adjacent to the hotel is a 'Billa' supermarket - very useful for cheap stocks of food and drink. Also along the way are several cafes, takeaways and restaurants. There are also a few cash points - very handy if you're running low on funds. If it's a hot day, you'll be grateful for the presence of several excellent gelatarias (ice cream shops).

The first thing I noticed upon reaching the city centre is how picturesque the place is. Treviso is dominated by the presence of the River Sile, which flows steadily around the ancient city walls. The river has a rather strange turquoise colour which gives it an eerie but mesmerising quality.
There's a wonderful historic feel to the city centre with its cobbled streets, ancient bridges and impressive stone buildings.
At the heart of the city is the Piazza Del Signori, the main square which is home to several cafes and restaurants. This is an excellent place to sit back, relax and enjoy the sun (or the shade). It's great to slurp on a cappuccino here or savour a chilled glass of prosecco wine, which is a local sparkling white wine - the closest thing you can get to champagne without the expense! You should also try some of the ice creams that are available in the city gelatarias. Of course, being in Italy, the ice cream is excellent - rich, creamy, flavoursome and great value for about 1 Euro.

We were looking to find a place to eat for the evening and the first place we came across was not exactly a traditional Italian trattoria - McDonalds! This fast food joint didn't seem to fit in with its surroundings but was nevertheless very busy. A Big Mac and fries was definitely not on the menu for me though!
A short stroll up the road brought us to a quaint restaurant with an outside sheltered area for diners. This was Da Roberto's and was also very busy. Fortunately though we got our timing just right and managed to secure an outside table upon arrival. It was immediately clear that a lot of the clientele were local - always a good sign. We were recognised as tourists and handed menus in English, which was handy because my understanding of Italian is rudimentary at best.
The range of pastas and pizzas in this place was mind-boggling and all at very reasonable prices. We wanted to sample as much as possible and so (rather greedily) ordered a pasta dish as a starter to be followed by pizza. My pasta dish was 'Spaghetti alla vongole' which was a wonderful concoction of pasta, fresh clams, garlic and parsley. The pizza that followed was bigger than the plate it was served on and wonderfully thin and crispy, topped with fresh salami, tomato and mozzarella.
A carafe of the local white wine was an excellent accompaniment to the meal. The local wine is incredibly cheap (typically 5 Euros for 1 litre) but also delicious and refreshing, so I'd recommend it as opposed to having a beer or two.
There was also an excellent array of desserts (including tiramisu - a sweet delight that was originally devised in Treviso), but by this time our bellies were close to rupturing so we politely declined. The bill - 35 Euros. For a couple of hours of quality time, consuming fantastic food and quaffing excellent wine, I considered it well worth the money!

One thing to be aware of - which caught us out - is the fact that a lot of the restaurants in Treviso do not open on a Thursday. I don't really know why - it seems like an odd day not to open - but we did find ourselves scouring the city for an alternative eatery. Luckily we stumbled across Pasqualino's which is located down a side street near the McDonalds. They only do pizzas and a few basic starters here but it's really cheap and the quality of the pizzas is second to none. This is an excellent place to go if you just fancy a simple well cooked pizza.
If you're a fan of Italian food, I can guarantee you'll love it in Treviso. Everything that crossed our lips (in liquid or solid form) was simply a delightful gastronomic experience.

As far as the rest of the nightlife in Treviso is concerned, well, there isn't any really. It's definitely not the right place to come if you want to boogie the night away until the early hours. In fact, you'll be hard pushed to find more than a couple of bars. Well, I wasn't too bothered about that since my clubbing years are well behind me and my pipe and slippers were waiting for me in the hotel room!

Our daytimes were mostly spent in the breathtaking city of Venice. The train service from Treviso is excellent - there are trains every 15-30mins which cost just over 2 Euros for a one way ticket with a journey time of about 40 minutes. Also accessible by train from Treviso are the interesting local cities of Padova and Verona. I'll have to put these places on my agenda for my next jaunt to the region.

Sadly, all good things come to an end and we had to head for the airport for our departure. There's a bus depot directly outside the train station and here we bought two bus tickets for the airport for just 2 Euros. A good tip here is that pre-buying the tickets at the depot costs half as much as buying them directly from the bus driver. There are many bus stops scattered around the city centre but we played it safe and caught the bus directly outside the train station. The journey takes about 20 minutes - so make sure you don't leave it right till the last minute (although I can perfectly understand if you do!)

Treviso is a wonderful city which is enchanting and picturesque. However, this is not a city which is geared towards English tourists - most of the people here hardly speak a word of English. In turn, I hardly speak a word of Italian but it is amazing how far you can get with a couple of words and the ability to point at things!
One thing to be said is that the locals are extremely friendly and welcoming. In fact, there is a lot that we could learn from their behaviours. They have great manners and there is an underlying level of trust which runs throughout the city and is evident in many forms. We found ourselves walking back to the hotel late at night on a couple of occasions but not once did we feel uneasy or threatened.
The city is impeccably clean - almost completely devoid of litter - and has a way of putting you at ease form the moment you arrive.

I'll be going back there just as soon as I can and I'd recommend anyone to do the same!

Summary: Treviso is great place to come and enjoy rustic Italy at its best