March is low season and the weather held. The Splendide Venice sits between the Rialto and St Mark's Square – an unbeatable position, with small, modern rooms that will disappoint anyone chasing the classic Venetian look. Three days of the Peggy Guggenheim, glass bought on Murano, and the smaller, quieter neighbourhoods.
A hire car from the station, then into the Dolomites – Lana, just outside Bolzano, at Villa Arnica. The building dates to the 1910s, light and airy, every room a good one, with an excellent food program. The valley is all orchards, with running and cycling in every direction; Merano, once an Austrian princess's summer address, is a bike ride away.
Then the train to Turin and the Hotel Victoria – old-school grandeur, a little dated. Turin sits on a river lined with running and cycling paths. The city rows seriously – boathouses, crews out on the water. It does café culture the Viennese way: ornate rooms that pour coffee in the afternoon and drinks in the evening. Dinner at Al Gatto Nero, where the format feels unchanged in decades.
