Hi, We will be traveling in Italy in May 2009. Milan is not in our itinerary. But my wife absolutely has to attend an opera in La Scala. Our trip starts in Venice, we will spend there ~ 3 days, then I plan to rent a car and spend 3-4 days in Toscany. And we will conclude our trip in Rome (4 days in Rome).
My wife is thinking to swing to La Scala from Venice and then go back after the show to Venice on the night train. But I could not find any night trains from Milan to Venice. Are there any night buses? What would be another city in our itinerary to do a day/night trip to Milan?
Thanks
Dan
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
The DB website shows trains leaving around midnight but they are local that take 5-6 hours.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?ld=212.119&rt=1&newrequest=yes&
Posted by
Carbondale, IL, USA
1201 posts
Assuming you cannot get her to compromise on La Fenice in Venice, (Rossini opera first weekend in May or Puccini Madame Butterfly last weekend in May)then I think you need to reconfigure.
Before you do make sure you can get tickets.
You could fly into Milan instead of Venice, take a nap in the afternoon then La Scala that evening and overnight in Milan. Train to Venice the next morning and just continue with your prior plans. Subtracting a day in Tuscany if needed. You might want to add an extra day to arrive in Milan the day before just in case there were any travel related delays in your arrival. that way you would not miss the opera.
If you are locked into a Venice arrival then I would suggest training to Milan after Venice for La Scala and overnight in Milan. You could either pick up the car in Milan or train to someplace closer in Tuscany for the rental.
Returning to Venice doesn't seem to make sense from a travel standpoint.
Posted by
dallas, tx, usa
1358 posts
I agree that your itinerary sounds like a tiring, expensive and time-consuming plan to an experienced independent traveler. I would discuss this with your wife to be sure she understands all the negatives.
Posted by
San Leandro, CA, USA
632 posts
I'm with Ron on this...3 nights in Venice (helps to recover from jet lag) take train to Milan...1 night in Milan (Hotel Star is about 3 or 4 blocks from La Scala and is a great value hotel)...pick up car and spend 3-4 days in Tuscany (maybe 2 nights in Lucca (the home of Puccini), or Siena and then 2 nights in Florence (turn in car at Airport so you don't inadvertantly drive in a no driving zone). Catch train to Rome.
Posted by
Rye, NH, USA
19 posts
An alternative for you may be to attend an opera in Verona.It is only a 90 minute train ride from Venice. Every summer there is a very well known opera festival, you can check out the dates at www.arena.it We think the city is a gem also! Have fun.
Posted by
OH, OH, USA
1158 posts
Trenitalia.com is the official site. Check times and fares.
Why don't
Posted by
sarasota, florida, usa
16 posts
Dimitry,
Instead of attending the opera at Scala, which is expensive and I'm not overly thrilled with their season this year. Try looking into going to the opera in Verona at the ancient roman collessium. It's one of the most incredible sites with not a bad seat in the house. We're planning to go to Aida, Carmen and Turandot in Mid July. Aida is will be an incredible production, includeing live animals in the production, elephants, horses camels etc.. The ticket prices are reasonable, and as I said before there is not a bad seat in the house. It is also a direct trip to Verona on the train, the Opera starts
at 9:15 pm every evening, theresa great hotel directly across from the arena. You could make it part of the trip by going from Venice to Verona spending the nite in Verona than catching the train the next morning to either Rome or Venice. Just a thought have a great trip.
Merilyn P., Sarasota