Found great tickets to Milan at Christmas

Where are you flying home from?

I’m also a Floridian and I’ve been to Italy over Christmas 3 times and have never been “brutally cold.” A medium weight jacket, sweater, fleece, gloves and scarf were fine for keeping comfortable. Train travel in Italy is great. Go to the TrenItalia website and you can see the travel times between cities. Note that December schedules will not be published until September. Purchasing tickets early can save a lot of money even though the tickets are not changeable or refundable. Don’t bother with 1st class seating. It takes about an hour to travel from Malpensa to Milano Centrale. Travel between Milan, Venice and Florence takes 2 - 2:30 hours. The stations you would use are Milano Centrale, Firenze S M Novella and Venezia S Lucia.

It seems that you'll have 8 full days but because of Christmas and shortened holiday hours, you must carefully research what is open and when. Because of the holiday, I would only visit 2 cities and make some day trips by train. As much as you would like to visit Rome, the trip from the Milan airport will take about 5 to 5 1/2 hours. The two cities I would choose are Venice and Florence. I would not bother wasting a night in Milan. From Venice, day trips can easily be made to Padua, Vicenza and Verona. From Florence, Pisa, Lucca and San Gimignano are great options.

Can you fly open jaw? Into Milan, out of Rome?
That will save you lots of travel time once there

I agree with above that just 8 nights over holidays is very limited
Pick 2 places
If you must fly out of Milan leave that 1 night for last
Go directly to Venice 3 or 4 nights
Florence 3or 4 nights
Milan 1 night

If Rome is a must then go straight there for 4 nights
Then Florence then back to Milan
You’ll need to stay in Milan the night before departure

You’ll likely need to get tested before flying home so make plans for that as well

Do the dates you give include travel days from the US; if so you only have 7 nights in Italy. Train is the best way to get to Florence and Rome. Consider taking a train from Milan as soon as you arrive, it’s just over an hour by direct fast train to Florence. How long do you want to spend in Florence - you are spending Christmas in Florence - and then on to Rome. Or Maybe train to Rome as soon as you arrive - it’s about 2 hours, and then Florence after Christmas and be in Milan on the 30th for the trip home on the 31st. Venice is not doable in the time you have.

Check the website www.themaninseat61 for information on train travel in Italy, access to timetables etc. Just remember that the December train schedules will not be posted until probably September.

Train from Milano Centrale to Rome is 3 hr 39 min
Plus the hour or so to get from Malpensa to Centrale

Thank you for your responses. I realize it will be smarter to book travel home from somewhere else to prevent wasted travel. Thank you for that input. Our jobs are so demanding right now and its hard to take the time to plan, which I love doing. Anyone have a fabulous travel agent very knowledgeable with Europe? We are open to location, whoever we find good flight prices/times.

Thinking to fly into somewhere (possibly milan from miami) and out of different location (possibly rome or even another country).

Our dates are flexible between December 20th and Jan 1st. Hoping to stay 8-10 night total during those dates.

Chicago can be brutally cold; having been to Italy in December and February no where except maybe the top of mountain in the Italian alps would it be brutally cold in Italy that time of year. The days are short on daylight in Europe in December but the Xmas decorations and lights make up for that

Hi,

Have you considered looking at trip itineraries of major tour companies going to Italy?

They are logistically planned out and would help you in your own travels.

Also, there are local tour companies who can give you a half day or a full day tour of Rome and Florence.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/

https://theromanguy.com/tours/italy/rome

If you will be staying in Milan for a day or so, the major attractions are the Duomo, the Last Supper, and a visit to the galleria.

Rome is my favorite. Around every corner is an architectural surprise. The city is an outside walking museum.

If you are planning to go to the Vatican on your own, here is the ticketing website:

https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en.html

At St. Peter's Basilica, you do not need tickets whether you visit the Vatican or just St. Peter's Basilica alone.

If you want to climb the dome or take a Scavi tour, there is a fee.

If you are interested in visiting Castel Sant'Angelo, it is a short distance from Vatican City. There is a fee for tickets.

The Pantheon is a beautiful church. No entry fee is required or at least the times I was there. Not really a security check but there are guards outside just observing everyone.

Inside The Pantheon is really beautiful. If there is a service going on, visitors will not be allowed to "tour in" unless they are participating in the service. The surrounding plaza - Piazza della Rotonda is quite charming. Surrounding it are little shops and cafes.

Many churches, small and large, are free and usually open to visitors. The churches can be a museum of sorts.

At the Vatican, St. Peter's, The Colosseum, and The Borghese Gallery, there are bag restrictions and security checks.

A day bag/small backpack of about 14" is usually allowed at these attractions after the security check.

One exception is The Borghese Gallery - they do not allow larger bags at all. If you visit the BG, just wear a very small crossbody under your coat for valuables.

Restaurants will be open on Christmas but reservations are strongly encouraged or needed in some restaurants.

If you want a quick espresso, panino, or gelato, there are many cafes everywhere. Be mindful if you want to sit down, even outside, the eatery will or may charge extra for sitting.

There are or were two grocery stores under Roma Termini. There is also a food court. At the market, you can grab a panino, water, etc.

Besides the majestic Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Trinità dei Monti Church, the beautiful Piazza Navona, a visit to Campo de Fiori is a delight. During the day is the street market, pricing can be a little high for obvious reasons. By late afternoon, the tents are dismantled and the nightlife begins - restaurants around the Piazza will be more expensive. If you want to eat in that area, stroll the little side streets for restaurants with decent pricing and good food.

My trips to Rome have been in December.

Average weather will be in the 40 - to 50 degree range during the day and in the 30's at night.

One year, the day temps reached 70° for a day or two.

Another year, day temps barely hovered at 40° with strong winds for a couple of days.

Layering with fleece or sweaters under a coat or jacket is your best bet. A hat, a scarf, and gloves are what I would recommend too.

There may be rainfall as I experienced once or twice. So that will obviously make it seem colder. Most people carried umbrellas. If you do not want to take an umbrella with you; no worries. Vendors magically appear to sell umbrellas for 5 Euro at the first drop of rain.

https://www.romewise.com/ < Check out this website for ideas, suggestions, etc. The author is "boots on the ground" - married to a Roman.

It is always best to double-check on direct websites of any attraction or restaurant for policies, changes, timing, and pricing.

Have fun.

If I were traveling to Europe at that time of year, I'd monitor weather forecasts very carefully and either take a sturdy umbrella with me or buy one after arrival a day before I expected to need it. I would not count on a cheapo umbrella purchased from a street vendor to do the job for more than a few minutes. Been there, done that after I left a good umbrella in a Bulgarian restaurant. The handle snapped off within an hour and the umbrella stopped opening properly before the end of the day.

For a winter trip I'd probably spring for a full-size (not folding) umbrella purchased in Europe and just plan to abandon it there at the end of the trip if it was too awkward to bring back home. I have what I call a "gum-drop-shaped" umbrella I love. I received it as a gift. It is wonderful because it protects your head from wind-driven rain. It's a joy to use on a rainy day. I don't take it to Europe because I'm a summer traveler and my trips are too long to deal with a full-size umbrella when it's only needed (with luck) a few times.

My umbrella is a different brand but is shaped a lot like this. In addition to its great coverage, the shape makes it very unlikely you'll poke someone in the eye. https://www.amazon.com/totes-Womens-Clear-Bubble-Umbrella/dp/B07ZHYKZ74/ref=ascdfB01L9DKZ1A/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198095819965&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13918909564020531959&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061286&hvtargid=pla-365069401653&th=1

So you booked only the one way flight to Milan?

Yes, sure, getting caught in the rain in a Piazza almost determines a person buying one of those "disposable" umbrellas.

For me, I was stationary in Rome for a couple of weeks on each trip. The hotel I stay at offers the big, clear, bubble-like umbrellas - offering a lot of protection. No poking anyone or fear of it flipping inside out with any wind gust.

Those big umbrellas are not allowed inside main attractions.

My first time to Rome when I went to visit Vatican museums, a few of those big umbrellas were left on the side to be checked or picked up later.

Since you will be on the move to different cities, a detachable hood or whatever on your jacket/coat may be best.

If it's a torrential rain, you could always duck into a cafe and have a little snack.

Look for online videos of Milan in wintertime, you can tell by their date stamps. Check out how the locals are dressed. Do the same for other intended destinations.

I traveled to Italy three years in a row with a friend over Christmas/New Years. First year was Rome/Florence/Venice. Next year skipped Rome and did Lucca/Florence/Assisi/Venice. Last year was Sicily/Rome. Then pandemic..... My trips were a few days longer than yours will be, however. With your young adults, you'll need to think through how early in the morning they can hit the streets, and be aware that there are only about 8-9 hours of daylight in much of Italy at that time of year, so my penchant is to try to be out and about soon after daylight. Yes, weather can generally be in the 30's-50's, but instead of just doing a brisk walk in your home neighborhood, or going house-car-workplace-car-house, you will likely be on the streets, mostly outside, for quite a few hours every day. Thus, my clothing in Italy at that time of year is: wool coat (almost to knees), warm scarf, knitted hat, warm gloves, wool socks, and all-weather hiking shoes. Umbrella is a must, as others have discussed. If you actually arrive on Dec. 23 and depart on Jan 1, you might all be happier to limit your time to two cities, either Venice and Rome, or Florence and Rome, going first to either Venice or Florence upon arrival, then Rome, and then hopefully depart from Rome. You could do a day trip to Orvieto or even Pompeii from Rome, and to Pisa/Lucca or Siena from Florence. Having taken (at three different times) three young adults of approx. same age range as yours, I suggest you make some itinerary decisions based on how much they like art, architecture, history, vs. experiences like climbing things (ie: bell tower or Duomo in Florence, Leaning Tower in Pisa, etc), or a cooking class, etc. If you really have 9 nights on the ground, you COULD do 3 nights Venice, 3 nights Florence, 3 nights Rome - or 3, 2, 4. If you do that, though, you'll need real buy-in from your group that they are willing to pack up and move 3 times. In the winter, I prefer to do the moving from city to city at the end of the day, when it's already dark. It's easy to buy sandwiches, etc., from cafes in the train stations and take those to eat dinner on the train. Saves daylight for more exploring.