I’ll be visiting my daughter who will be studying in Milan mid-March for 10 days. She’ll be with us the 2 weekends but has class T-Th. We’re flying into Milan then early next morning heading to La Spezia for 2 days (and Cinque Terre), leaving there for a couple days in Tuscany. We’re thinking of Florence for a base and renting a car to explore Sienna, San Gimignano, Montalcino. We’d like to head north to Venice, Verona, and end at either Lake Garda or Como then back to Milan for an early flight. Question is , should we keep the car for the last part or take trains from Florence to Venice then work our way west? Also Como or Garda? I’ve been to Como several times but only the southern part of the lake. I’d love to have base for the last few days and not have to hotel hop daily and would love any suggestions. Thanks!
Posted by
Boston
1820 posts
March is too early for the Cinque Terre. There will be no greenery, no ferry, some businesses will be closed, greater chance of rain and cold weather. Using Florence as a base for multiple trips into the rest of Tuscany will be quite tedious both due to congestion and parking. Better to use a smaller town. Definitely drop off the car in Florence, train service is excellent for and between all the cities you mention.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17603 posts
I am a little confused. You ask about a base for 4 days, then talk about 2 days in Cinque Terre and “a couple of days” exploring Tuscany. Then Venice, Verona and either Lago di Garda or Como.
Are the 4 days you are asking about just for Venice, Verona and the lake? I assume so, but it is not all that clear because Tuscany is also part of Northern Italy.
So, assuming you have 4 days for Venice, etc., after exploring Tuscany, I suggest you either drop the car and take the train to Verona, or keep the car to drive to Venice and drop it there. The use the 4 days for Venice and Verona.
I believe March is too early for Garda. We were there in mid-April and even that was too early. Lake Como is even further north, especially the RS-favored area of Varenna and Bellagio, so I would expect March to be early there too. If a lake experience is a must, you could take a daytrip to the southern end of Garda by train to Desenzano and ferry to Sirmione ( if it is running in March—I will try to check on that after I finish writing this). Or take the shorter train ride to Peschiera (14 minutes from Verona) and stroll around. I mentioned Sirmione first because we have been there and really enjoyed exploring the Roman Villa there, and the ferry ride. It would be nice to see it in the off-season because it was packed with tourists in September.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you for the responses. To clarify I was thinking about a base for visiting the area north of Florence. Unfortunately we’re tied to mid March due to our availability so we’ll have to make the most of areas, understanding it won’t be ideal. My other daughter really wants to see Cinque Terre but I’m open to itinerary suggestions. We just have t9 start and end in Milan. Thx!
Posted by
Raleigh, NC
75 posts
The RS Village Italy tour (which I took in June) stays in Levanto, which is an easy quick train ride to the Cinque Terre villages, so that’s an option. As for Tuscany, I’m a big fan of Lucca, which is a charming small city with excellent restaurants. From there, you can take a regionale train to the hub in Florence, then a fast train to Milan or Venice, etc. A smaller city is easier to get in and out of than Florence, in my experience.