Italy for the whole month of November starting in Milan!

Alexandra, if you are going to Italy during the rainiest month why not spend some time in an area that has a chance of having the least amount of rain?

Plan for some time in the Sorrento area. It is a great base for exploring the Amalfi coast, Pompeii, Herculanem, etc., and you could actually find some dry and sunny days there.

You will be guaranteed lots of rain if you spend all of your time in the North, but will have a much better weather the further south you go.

You can also fly out of Naples, or a quick train trip puts you back in Rome.

Check venere.com for hotels in all the cities you are visiting. The reviews are written by people who have completed a stay so you can believe them. Don't go by star ratings as they are only an indicator or amenities and not quality. You don't mention a budget but center of town hotels will be more expensive than hotels near the train stations.

For Rome I can suggest the Capo d'Afric, albergo del senato and the hotel grand del la minerve.

Donna

November is a low season in Italy so you could just concentrate on finding accommodation for your first few days in Milan and the last few days in Rome. You should be able to find places to stay a few days ahead of time and using a site like Booking.com, you are just shown hotels which have availability for the dates you are interested in. In Florence, I'd recommend looking into the Johanna residences (www.johanna.it) which are all located in the historical center close to all the main sites. You could stay in Florence the whole time and take day trips to Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Arezzo before you head down to Rome.

Hi Alexandra!

I'm so jealous.

We loved Casa Rezzonico in Venice, safe and quiet, big rooms, friendly owners, huge bathroom. Continental breakfast. Did I say friendly owners? I meant amazing hospitality.

And aromabb.it is fantastic in Rome. Close to Termini, safe and quiet. We loved it, especially having a small kitchen and private terrace!

Thank you all for the wonderful advice and recommendations. I realize it's a slow month November but still don't want to be caught of guard :).
Do you all still think I need to make reservations ahead of time for "the last supper" and the other sites RIck Steves recommends? or do you think that it being a slow month I can just walk in on any given day?

thanks again for the wonderful replies!!

For Milan, we stayed at the Best Western Major. We booked online the day before and got a rate of 107 euros. It's located right next to a metro station. Beautiful hotel, good location and a fantastic buffet breakfast. Have fun!

Hello Alexandra, Re: a hotel for Milan. I highly recommend Hotel Berna near Milano Centrale train station. We felt very safe there and the staff was very professional. We booked thru Venere.com Easy walk from train station, fabulous breakfast buffet. Although November is low season in Italy, Milan often hosts conventions then so check/reserve early for hotels that are affordable. When we booked the Berna for Sept.,the price was very reasonable, when we tried to book for 31 nights later Oct 18th, the rate had gone up 40 per cent. In Lake Como, we stayed in Varenna at the Orange House B&B. Only two rooms, nice hosts and reasonable price. Short walk from the train station and close to lakefront. Highly recommmend Varenna as a base for touring Lake Como. Small village, ferry terminal at town centre, good restaurants. For Venice we stayed at Locanda de Leon where RS tours stay. Very close to San Marco, small but lovely rooms, simple breakfast, very safe. I can't comment on the rest of your city choices but hope that this information helps. Ciao, Sherry

Milan has little to recomend it, so a day should suffice. This will give you more time to savor places like Verona,Venezia and Firenze (Florence).

As I'm sifting through our receipts, (just got home on Tuesday), I found a card for the hotel we stayed at outside of Venice. It might work for you in that it's located between Venice and Padua (Padova). It's a 1/2 hr. bus to Venice and a 1 hour bus ride to Padua). It's Villa Dolcetti--www.villadolcetti.com It's in the Rick Steves' guidebook. The host was extremely helpful, large buffet breakfast & bus stop across the street. The rooms were elaborately furnished--like I was in a palace. We paid 80 euros/night for two people. Hope this helps.

Here are my recommendations for a solo woman in Italy: First, single beds in Italy are generally quite narrow and single rooms are usually tiny and cramped. Second, all the places I recommend below were very clean, and safe and affordable. Verona - Hotel Milano, renovated this year. I got a great deal on a double room, because it was off-season (but so is Nov.). Verona is small, so anywhere in the center is a good location. My first choice, based on TripAdvisor reviews, was closed. Hotel Milano is right in the heart of everything, with the best breakfast I had in Italy. Venice - La Calcina. Great location in the Dorsoduro area, lovely historic building, very quiet at night, good breakfast. I had a very nice single room with a small balcony. Florence (Firenze) - The hostel - Archi Rossi is a great bargain and very comfortable. The single room I had (1st stay) was spacious, the bathrooms were down the hall but hardly ever in use. The 2nd time, I splurged on a double room en suite (€49.50). I wouldn't stay anywhere else in Florence. It's a 5 minute walk from the train station, and 10 minutes to the Academia or the Duomo. Rome - Friends sent me to Hotel Italia. I got a single room with a "french" bed - a single that is almost as wide as a double bed. The room was small, the bathroom cramped, but the price was great for Rome €60/night and a discount for paying cash. It's not far from the train station, close to the metro, easy walking distance to some of the major sights. If you have any questions, PM me. I'm happy to share my experiences.

Hi Alexandra! Without a doubt, for where to stay in Rome - Hotel Paba, Alberto the very nice older innkeeper, is the reason, affordable, clean rooms (but you wouldn't know it from the street outside) and walk out the door to the colisseum! We stayed there for 3 nights and took up 3 rooms with our family! and for the best Rome tour....www.througheternity.com.

We spent six weeks this summer following the same itinerary. Consider staying in apartments, using VRBO and other sites to find them. You'll save money and have a great time.