Planning my first trip to Italy for february and would love some advice.
Current plan is as follows:
Fly into venice - 2 nights
Milan or Cinque Terre - 2 nights
Florence - 2 nights
Rome - 4 nights
I can't decide if it is worth the extra hassle to get from venice to cinque terre. obviously milan and cinque terre are very different, so i'm basically questioning is it worth the extra train time vs. just going to milan.
also open to other suggestions... thanks!
My understanding is that Cinque Terre tourist infrastructure is pretty much, if not entirely, closed down in February. I would skip CT and give Venice and Florence three nights each.
Not sure the Cinque Terre is going to be a great place to visit in February anyway - might not be so bad (probably not crowded like the rest of the year!), but you really don't have the time - I would not waste it training all the way across Italy and back on this trip.
I too would add a night to Venice and Florence instead. Unless you can tell me what you are dying to see in Milan (Last Supper?), I wouldn't bother detouring there either. You could also stop at another town heading south like Bologna or a smaller town like Ferrara. You can day trip from Florence and Venice to various places too.
For the limited time you have and the time of year, I concur with the prior posts, CT is not worth the bother.
Unless you already have tickets for the Last Supper, you would be better off, as already noted, to add time to you other stops.
Does your visit coincide with Carnevale events in Venice? Or in the town of Ivrea, north of Torino? See https://www.storicocarnevaleivrea.it/edition-2020/official-calendar/?lang=en.
If not Ivrea, then I'd give the time either to Venice and Florence or to smaller towns closer to them, like Padua/Padova and Siena, which could be either day trips or overnight stops. I prefer these to Milan, especially on such a short trip.
michael,
I wouldn't recommend the Cinque Terre in February. The tourist season doesn't "officially" start unit 1 April, so many hotels and other tourist businesses will be closed. Also, the weather may be an issue at that time-of-year. Finally it will take the better part of a full day and several train changes to travel from Venice to the Cinque Terre, which is not the most efficient arrangement for such a short trip.
I'd suggest adding that time to Florence and taking day trips to places like Padova, Lucca, Siena or Pisa. If the weather is miserable, you'll have more indoor activities to choose from in Florence.
For February...No for a 7 hour train ride...No
Add a night each to Venice and Florence.
