Italy for the first time

In answer to am I trying to do too much-yes! Slow down and narrow down or you will be spending your trip checking in and out of hotels and getting on and off trains. Since Switzerland is booked and I assume can't be changed, stick with Milan, Venice and Switzerland since they are all north. We are spending 2 1/2 weeks with 3-4 nights in each city, starting in Rome and flying out of Milan.

First, do less! You will be spending all of your time in Italy getting from point A to B, then getting to your hotel, unpacking etc, and before you know it is time for dinner. My recommendation: Arrive Milan, if you have already paid for the Switzerland tour do it, If not, I would cancel unless this is a bucket list item. Otherwise, two days in Milan to adjust to jet lag and being in a new county, culture, and language. You have 6 or so days left, spend them in either Florence or Rome, assuming one day/night to travel to Milan to get your flight home. You could alway do a day trip from either of those locations. You could spend weeks in each of those places and not see everything. You need some down time and time to get lost in the city and experience the back streets kick back and have a glass of wine or an espresso. Remember, travel days don’t meld well with days to experience the city you are visiting.

I totally agree with J that you are trying to do too much and you will not enjoy yourself with that pace and lack of time to enjoy your trip. Consider that every time you change hotels, you are using up 1/2 of a day, not including the time of the trip. There is a wealth of information in the Travel Tips section of this website. Review it!

In Italy there are two train operators - TrenItalia and Italo Train. It does not pay to get any sort of rail pass in Italy. If the train you are taking is a Regionale, the ticket prices are always the same and you can buy them on the day of travel. If you take the fast trains, purchasing them a good bit in advance can save a nice amount of money.

The best thing you can do right now is to get some good guidebooks and delve into them to narrow down what you might want to see. Rick’s books are very good and recommend sights, hotels and restaurants at different price points. I have visited Italy 12 times and always use his guides. Incidentally, I have never had a hotel room without a private bath.

After your trip to Switzerland, consider visiting Lake Como instead of returning to Milan. From there I’d recommend going to Venice. From Venice you could do day trips to Padua and Vicenza or go a little further to Verona. With the time you have, I doubt that I would go further south. Italy is a country to be savored, not rushed.

Hi Jane,

I recommend looking up your train schedules on www.trenitalia.com to get a very clear picture of how much time you have vs. want in each city, The city names are in Italian, so Milan is Milano, Florence is Firenze, Venice is Venezia, Rome is Roma. I’ve traveled in Italy a lot by train and never bought a pass. You can use the Trenitalia app.

Just an example: Milano Centrale to Venezia Santa Lucia could be the 8:45am train, arriving at Venice at 11:12am. Then you will need to buy a vaporetto (water bus) ticket and take it to the nearest stop near your hotel. Add at least 30 minutes to also get lost trying to actually find your hotel! It’s a fun maze but a confusing one! ; ). So,
the “whole day/night” has now become a day beginning at 12:30pm, and you need to have lunch. Lunches usually aren’t quick, so it’s now more like 2:00pm by the time you choose a restaurant and eat a fairly quick lunch.

If you haven’t purchased your flight, yet, fly into Milan and fly out of Rome on a multi-city airline ticket. And drop either Venice or Rome. Currently you barely have 24 hours in Rome.

If you were starting this planning, I would suggest flying into Venice, add Florence, add Rome, and fly home from Rome. The Switzerland blip is taking time out of an already very tight schedule.

For hotels, etc. look on Booking.com and you can filter to your price point and anything else like “private bathroom” or customer rating. I stay in the historic center and away from the train station areas, except for Hotel Berna at Milan. Your price is low for these higher-demand cities.

Jane, what are you wanting to do in Italy? What would be a perfect day there? Give us some ideas, and maybe we can come up with some alternatives that would cut down your transportation time and the $$ cities.

Thank you all for your replies. I love nature, however I want to see historical landmarks. The Switzerland day trip includes lake Como, Bellagio and Lugano, and it can be cancelled. I am arriving to Milan and departing from Milan. Not sure how costly will be to change the departure.

Basically, you are planning to sample all Italy best trains, but you have left little time for doing any other thing. I see only one full day without travel in Florence, and it is probably the only place you will see.

Most Americans on a one-week trip to Italy will try to jam in as much as they can and try to visit Venice, Florence and Rome on a first trip. It’s so common for first-time travelers to prioritize these 3 cities that they’ve come to be known as the “Holy Trinity.”
It’s questionable just how much one can see of the Holy Trinity cities in just 6 days. One thing is for sure— it makes for a very rushed trip.
You have all three Holy Trinity cities plus Milan and Lake Como and Lugano thrown in to boot ( no pun intended). From the 6 total days, only 4 are remaining for Rome. Florence and Venice!
Quite simply, it is unrealistic— particularly since Italy has become one of the most visited countries in Europe ( if not the most-visited) by international travelers since the pandemic ended. This means you need to buy timed-tickets online in advance for venues like the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, St.Mark’s Cathedral and the Doge’s Palace in Venice, and the Forum and Colosseum in Rome. Otherwise, you risk not being able to see them at all.
You didn’t say for which month your trip is planned. I would stick with visiting Venice and Florence after arriving in Milan. Visit Lake Como and Lugano if that’s what you really want to do, but the day trip to Bellagio and Lugano will require 6 hours on trains and ferries. There simply is not enough time for Rome with the 4 days you have remaining. You will need to save Rome for another trip, if you cannot add a few days.
You might enjoy visiting some places near Florence— Siena and Lucca come to mind— with a more realistic itinerary.

Listed below are the minimum amounts of time you would be on high-speed trains and ferries just to get from city to city. You can likely add one more hour to find your hotel- more if you get lost the first time trying to locate your accommodation. Milan to Bellagio 1.5 hrs Train/Ferry; Bellagio to Lugano 3hrs Train/Ferry; Lugano to Milan 1:15; Milan to Venice 2.5 hrs; Venice to Florence 2:15; Florence to Rome 1:45; Rome to Milan 3 hrs.
That is 15+ hours on trains and boats during a 6-day trip. You’ll actually be spending hours more to first get to the train stations, boarding trains and then waiting for the trains to depart.
Note that train strikes are a fact of life in Italy and may be another variable affecting your plans depending on how many strikes intersect with your itinerary.

When is this trip?

If you can change your flights- do that- IN to Milan, OUT of Rome or Venice or Florence. Depends which route you choose.

I think I am counting 7 nights. You have time for 3 locations at the most.

You will have to choose between Venice and Florence or Florence and Rome. You will need to be in Milan before departure so you might as well give it 1 night at the end. That leaves 6 nights.

I’d drop the day trip to Switzerland.

Rome needs minimum of 3 or 4.
Venice needs minimum of 3.
Florence needs minimum 2 or 3.
All could use more.
A 2 night stay is 1.5 days to see and do.

On arrival take train to your furthest destination
Spend 3 nights
Take train to your next destination - spend 3 nights.
Take train to Milan. Spend 1 night.
Fly home

Take this advice from a seasoned traveler:

The first and last days of any European trip are wasted days. Every time you move to another city is another wasted day.
Avoid flights that get you into Europe until mid day. You've got to check into your hotel, and they often have 3:00 pm check in times.
We most often fly into once city and then fly out of another. Backtracking is time consuming and expensive.
Italy can be almost overwhelming with history, art, foods and general culture. We travel slowly--and better as there's no way to take in all you want to see in 8 days.
Do not allow your airline to book you on a 6:00 am or 7:00 am flight departure for the U.S. You're going to just fly to a big city gateway airport where you sit around until mid-day's flight home. Most airports have a 9:00 or 10:00 am flight you can take.
Great European cities are worthy of more than 1-2 days visit. A city like Rome is too important not to visit for 4 days minimum.
With the time you have, you should fly into Milan and take in the cathedral. Then catch a train to Venice where you spend 2 days minimum. Then take a train to Florence where you spend the balance of your time. Take a train back to Milan the night before your flight out. You'll have to save Rome until you have more time.

Tongue-in-Cheek.

Rent a car and visit https://www.italiainminiatura.com/en.

You will be able to see most historic landmarks and take photos - but not enter any of them. But with your original schedule there won't be time for that either.

Thank you all for all your advice I truly appreciate!! Doing some re-planning and I will definitely keep you posted! Keep those recommendations coming please! Best places to see restaurant recommendation and hotels! Blessings!
Janet

1) arrive Milan early morning (day 1) - See Milan

Arriving from where? What does "See Milan" entail?

Am I trying t do too much?

Previous posts have addressed that and you acknowledge that you have 'returned to the drawing board', to devise an enjoyable visit, not just one you manage to survive.

"Less is more" should be your mantra.

Dear community I think it will best to take the fast train and travel early.
Here is the new itinerary.
Day 1- Saturday-Arrive Milan 7:00 am- see Milano
Day 2- Sunday Lace Cuomo and Bellagio
Day 3- Monday catch earliest train from Milan to Venecia - St Mark, Doge, night gondola Bridge of sight
Day 4- Tuesday Venecia
Day 5 Wednesday catch earliest possible am fast train to Rome from Venecia. Arrive to Rome
Day 6 - Thursday Rome
Day 7 -Friday Rome
Day 8- Saturday Rome take late in afternoon fast train to Milano
Day 9 depart from Milano to Home
Will be checking if I could change departure from Rome.
Shall I buy the Trenitalio pass? I want to ensure that I leave in the earliest and fastest train when moving from city to city. And that I can secure an early train. I am confused also with Eurail Italia. Which one is best and fastest. What do you recommend?which train stations

Thank you!!
Janet

I would add that sometimes I do exactly something like the proposed plan when traveling on a concert tour and we have a different concert every day in a different city. The standard day is:
6.30 waking up
7.30 breakfast
8.30 travel to next city
12.30 arriving in new city and setting up in the hotel
13.30 lunch
14.30 visit to the city
16.00 concert setup
18.30 short rehearsal
19.30 concert
22.00 instrument loading
22.30 light dinner
0.00 sleeping

After a week it is very exhausting. I understand it can be done for money, I can't understand how people can spend their own money for touring on one-city-a-day schedules.

There are two options for high speed trains, Italo and Trenitalia.

https://www.italotreno.com/en

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Check them both because prices and schedules vary.

I spent five weeks in Italy in 2023 on two different trips. Your first itinerary was nuts and I personally wouldn't do the second one, either. Our second trip last year was into and out of Milan, too, because we got a cheap(ish) flight. We only spent time in Milan because that was where we were flying from. Otherwise, I'd have spent that time in Rome. You don't have time for day trips to other places.
I think you have eight nights, right? I'd take the train immediately to Florence from Milan and spend four nights there, two in Venice, and two back in Milan at the end. From Venice, take an afternoon train to Milan, go to the top of the Duomo as the sun sets, then you have one full day in Milan to see the Last Supper and Ambrosiana and a great last meal. We did a private tour in Milan to make the most of our day there because we wanted to maximize time in Florence.

If you can change to depart from Rome, then I'd do Venice 2 nights, Florence 4 nights, Rome 2 nights. Always assume you'll return to Rome - that's an easy in/out for future trips. And you will go back. :)

Thank you all for all the replies!!!

@janetgck - Your new itinerary looks a lot better! In a perfect world, spending 3-4 days (the "minimum" many commenters listed) in each location would be nice, but we don't all have the ability to take a 2 week vacation where that is possible. Rome will be harder to see in 2 1/2 days than Venice in 1 1/2 because it's more spread out and crowds will be different, so book everything in advance so you can schedule your day out. It may feel rigid, but standing in lines will kill your day. Plan less than you think you can do in Rome so you still have time to relax, shop, stroll, linger, explore (you didn't list your top sights). What you have planned/listed for Venice is very easily done in one day and you sill still have a whole extra day to explore, which is perfect. Venice truly is beautiful, and early morning and evening you can have the city to yourself - it's magic. I think you will have a great trip!