Suggested itineraries for a 10- 14 day trip flying in & out of Milan

Mid-to-late April is not a great time for the mountains. At least in the Dolomites, most of the lifts that take you to the high meadows are still closed down. The lifts are important if you want to do any hiking or really get into the mountains. Depends on where you want to go and what you want to do in Switzerland and Austria.

Certainly you can visit the Cinque Terre, Rome and Tuscany. That's more than enough for 10 nights. If you have 14 days/13 nights, you could add a stop in Como. I would suggest making the CT your last destination so it gets just that much later in April and maybe a little warmer. As to time in Milan, I would only spend the last night there before you fly out. With careful planning you can see the Last Supper even if you do not arrive until midday.

Perhaps your itinerary could be like this:

• Day 1 arrive Milan and transfer immediately to Lago di Como; Stay 2 nights
• Day 3 travel to Firenze or wherever you desire in Tuscany; Stay 3 nights giving you 2 full days of sightseeing
• Day 6 travel to Rome; Stay 4 nights for three days of sightseeing
• Day 10 travel to the Cinque Terre; Stay 3 nights for two days of activity
• Day 13 travel to Milan; Stay 1 night
• Day 14 fly home

Let's think about your alternative trip: You can see some smaller, charming cities and avoid the trek to the south if you'd like. If you think you will ever come back to Italy, then maybe you can focus on the north on this trip and go elsewhere the next time you're in the country.

From Milan, I'd suggest public transportation to:

Verona,
Padua,
Venice (if you like hoards of tourists and being asked for money every time you turn around) and Vienna, perhaps.
Salzburg,
Innsbruck,
Lucerne,
Aosta (or elsewhere in the border region)

and back to Milan. That's a big counterclockwise tour. For details on specific locations, check out TripAdvisor for sights and lodging. You will be doing lots of walking, and that might not be what you think of as "outdoors." You can probably also find little side trips to countryside locations if you'd like to get into the wild.

If you stick to the smaller cities, you can spend two nights in each one, which is highly recommended.

What is the constraint of flying in and out of Milan? It would be more efficient flying into Milan and home from Rome and probably cheaper. With about 12 days of actually on the ground traveling for us it makes far more sense to keep travel distances short and in one area. You could easily do Milan, Florence, CT, and Rome and perhaps even Venice although that is not the best time of year to visit Venice.

I'm planning a solo trip to Italy and France for the same time period you are with one extra week. This trip came from taking my wife and her mother to many of the same places you list and missing out on so much while trying to accommodate them. I'd like to echo, and even strongly encourage you to reconsider the round trip to Milan, but instead either fly into Milan and out of Rome or vice versa, the latter being more preferable because of weather. The amount of time you have allotted will comfortably get you three days of sightseeing in Rome, barely enough, three days in Florence with a possible bus tour side trip to San Gimignano and Siena, three nights in the Cinque Terre where you can fulfill all of your outdoors dreams (the water will be cold) and finish in Milan. Book your ticket to The Last Supper before you leave the US. In Rome, get a two day Hop On Hop Off bus pass at the Termini train station and take the entire 2 1/2 hour route first, giving you a chance to choose what you really want to see and limit or rule out the things/places you that are not as important if time becomes a problem. These buses, if you pay attention as you tour the city, can also be used a taxi to shopping and restaurants near the stops and save you money in the process. In the CT, sometimes there are trails that are closed, so check with their website to see which ones and when. In Florence, David is a necessity and if you're physically fit, and it sounds as though your are, climb to the top of the Duomo. What you see on the way up and down will amaze you and the view of Florence and Tuscany is incredible. I'm 69 and did that five years ago and it is a lasting memory for me. I know it will be for you too. Lastly, and to be redundant, use open jaw flights to save time, money and backtracking to the same place you arrived in. If you have already bought your RT tickets it is worth it to pay the change fee and get them changed. It's worth it to have a couple of extra days on the ground in Europe, which is what you lose by doing a round trip. Among my friends who travel, none of them flies RT anymore unless they are staying within a few miles of the city they are flying into. I plan to be in many of the same places you are during the same time, so if you run into an old gray haired guy traveling alone with a RS guide book and looking befuddled, it might be me. Good Luck.