Italy - 8 days using Milan as a base

Do you mean that you are flying into and out of Milan? Or do you plan to sleep in Milan and do day trips to Florence/Tuscany/coast?

Milan is not a bad base city to make day trips from. The region has great train service to so many cities. And the mountains to the north are nothing short of incredible.
Lake Como is just about 50 miles and an easy train ride.
Turin (Torino) is 87 miles--just over an hour.
Lake Garda is 82 miles if you weren't going in December.
Bologna is just over 2 hours by train.

Personally, I’d use Turin as a base and explore the Piedmont wine towns and perhaps drive through Val d’Aosta to Courmayeur and take the Skyway Monte Bianco to the top of theItalian Alps. In December, coastal towns will be dead. I visited Positano just before Christmas and had trouble finding an open restaurant and the one I found was mediocre.

Hello all, thanks for the quick reply.
To clarify:
1. Milan - i use it as going in and out from the States. We dont have to stay here during the 8 days trip. We can book hotel whereever worth for staying overnight (we will nail down towns to stay overnight as we get closer to the trip and book hotel)

1. We will be there in the worst 2 weeks of December

2. As far as coastal towns, we want to enjoy the scenery with colorful buildings etc, so less crowded is better

Based on recommendation, I summarize as use Milan as a stay for nearby towns that can be reached out with up to 2 hr train ride

Our plan is to hit up to 7 towns with beautiful scenery. If you guys have been to several, pls list them so that we can do the research on how to get there and will ask the forum if there are more than one option.

I will look at some suggestion that you guys provided on the comment trails. Thank you! This is a great community for sharing.

Sorry,I meant first 2 weeks of December (not worst 2 wks of...) bad autocorrect.

We spent 8 days in Tuscany just before Christmas. It's a great time to visit. It was uncrowded and the weather was mild.

For me, I think you have two choices. If you want to use Milan as a base, there are wonderful towns to explore within an hour or so travel. If you want to explore Tuscany, then fly into Milan and choose somewhere in the heart of Tuscany as a base. We used an agriturismo and it was a great choice as a home base.

We did have a car in Tuscany, which I consider to be a necessity. There are small villages not served by train and not well serviced by buses. If you use Milan as a base, there are towns more easily reached by train, from Como in the north to coastal Genoa in the south to Cremona in the east.

I would suggest going directly to Florence and use that as a base. A rail hub, fairly close to the coast, and IN Tuscany. Maybe rent a car for a day or two to drive in the country side and visit smaller hill towns. Go back to Milan on the last day for the flight home the following morning.

You can take the train from Milan to Genoa and then on to Italian Riveria towns as well as the Cinque Terre. Lots of coastal town choices in that area. Back in March we drove from Malpensa to Camogli and Portofino before staying in Monterosso - and then took the train between the Cinque Terre towns. We drove from Milan rather than take the train because it was more efficient based on our schedule - which included a round trip to Budapest, Hungary from Bergamo airport and some time spent in suburban Milan (Legnano). Either a car or train or combination works in Italy. Build your itinerary of where you want to go and then research your transportation options - and then reevaluate based on your research. Based on my experience including time in Milan and Florence, I suggest after landing you take the train and make a big loop - Milan to Florence for 3 nights, Florence to the coast (find a town you like) via La Spezia for 3 nights, then the coast back to Milan for 2 nights. Have fun planning!

The coastal towns would be the Cinque Terre or nearby. They are scenic when it's sunny and there's not much to do except hike - in winter they are mostly closed down, the ferries don't run, and the hiking trails can easily be closed by rain.

Florence is a good base for day trips to Siena and San Gimingago by bus and a one-day trip by train to Pisa and Lucca. Bologna is a great base for day trips to other towns by train -Ferrara, Modena, Parma, Padua, even Ravenna (and its outstanding mosaics in 1500 year old churches).

Days are short. I wouldn't take a car and try to drive in the hills after dark - it's hard enough in daylight.

Thank you all for the suggestion. I will go through all suggestion and find the best way to cater to my husband and me. Thanks again.

Dear all,

Nailed down part of the trip,
Day 1 - arriving at Milan before noon (if plane is on schedule) - will travel to Florence and stay there for day 1, 2 and 3.

Day 2 - explore Florence
Day 3 - take a daytrip tour from Florence to Siena, Chianti and Tuscany country side

Day 4 - leave for Monterroso and stay in Monterroso for 2 nights

Day 5 - Monterosso to Varenna (stay in Varenna for 2 nights

Day 5 - suggestion is welcome what to do in Varenna after we arrived

Day 6 - daytrip Varenna Bergamo

Day 7 - back to Milan (we have 3 nights remaining here before flyingback)

I think it is too much for Milan as we don't care about big city in general. If we go back to Milan a day before our flight, then where could we spend for 2 days. Should we extend Cinque Terre one more night?

The day trip to Bergamo would be a bit faster, and in most cases wouldn't require a transfer, if you were starting from Milan rather than Varenna-Esino. It's not a big time difference, and it could well take longer to get to the train station in Milan (though there's service from a bunch of different stations there) than to the station in Varenna, but I thought I'd mention that you have two options.

The train will be a regional, so there's no reason to buy the ticket in advance. You can make a spur-of-the-moment decision based on how busy you are in Varenna, the weather, etc.

Thank u so much. Would u guys think staying in Varena for 2 nights worth it or one night is good. If one night is good, I may extend our stay at Cinco Terre by an additional day to 3 nights.

Thanks again

I would not want to spend 3 nights in the Cinque Terre in the middle of December. 2 nights is plenty. Therefore, I would stick with 2 nights in Varenna.

Spend two night in Varenna. If you only spend one night, you will not have a full day there. Perhaps only an afternoon and part of the next morning -- depending on arrival and departure times. While there, do take the ferry around to the other places on the lake. We didn't get there, but we understand there are some great gardens in Varenna, but not sure how they will be in Dec.

IMHO Monterosso and Varenna are mainly outdoor destinations; in a city, if weather is not good, you can always find something to do indoor, but spending four out of ten December days on outdoor destinations looks to me somewhat risky.

For coastal towns look at Santa Margherita or Camogli.

We were in Cinque terre early June just after lockdown. While it was great to have no people, few restaurants were open yet. December will be very dead, and without hiking, potential rainy, cold, and overcast, I think you’d be bored.

Why not pick a costal small city that does not solely rely on summer tourists.

Chiavari comes to mind as an idea.

Thank you again all. Now, I am very confused of what to do. My booking at Monterrosso for Dec. 11-13 is cancellable. I just checked Dec weather in the area, mostly cloudy until around Dec. 21. No wonder this place I booked are all sold out for Dec. 20 and up.
Maybe stay in Florence and do day tour to Cinco Terre and other area - use Florence as a base?

I checked Lake Como area as well and same kind of Cinco Terre weather. Initially thinking of staying in Varenna, but haven't booked anything since Hotel Du Lac is sold out and I am still looking for others. The weather makes me worry. Maybe for this part, we should stay in Milan and do day trip Lake Como, Varenna, Bellagio and others?

Suggestion would be welcome.

Thanks.

Ok, based on all commentary above as well as youtube video from couples who was in Cinque Terre area during the pouring rain in Dec month a few years ago, I think it is safer if we stay in Florence and just take a daytrip / tour to Cinque Terre area when the weather is good.

I see the following nearby towns - Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, Assisi, Orvieto and Civita are on the list "Try Hard to See". Plan is now:
Dec 7 - 11 Florence (Arriving in FLorence on Dec. 7 afternoon/eve - our flight is expected to arrive in MLX around 11AM. We plan to take the afternoon train to Florecne.
Dec 11 - 13 Flexible time - we see Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, Assisi, Orvieto and Civita are all on "Try Hard To See" list in Rick Steve travel book. Is is good to use Montepulciano as a base for 2 nights and travel to cover Montalcino, Pienza, Assisi, Orvieto and Civita? or is it too much
Dec 13 plan is to go to Milan, stay 4 nights and do daily daytrip to Varenna/Lake Como, Bergamo, Genoa and Portofino
Dec. 17 early morning - back to the States

Would appreciate advice.

Questions
1. For train ticket, did you guys use Trainline? Looks like better to book it ahead, cheaper.
2. Is it easy to change train? What we should be focusing on when we have to change train?
3. Shopping places for gifts in Milan?

Thank you all.

think I will have 1.5 days for traveling Montalcino, Montepulciano and Pienza. Assis

Hi,
Regarding Dec 11-13, with a car you could use Montepulciano as a base for the Val d'Orcia (incl Pienza) for day 1 and perhaps Assisi for day 2, but not Orvieto. Pack a swimsuit as there are thermal springs in that area. Without a car I would base myself in Siena and use tours.

Regarding Milan, I would not attempt day trips to Liguria - too much train time. There is plenty to do for 1-2 days in Milan itself, and lake Como, Bergamo, and the Certosa di Pavia make for good outings closer to Milan.