Italy Honeymoon Itinerary in August - Questions and Suggestions needed

themikewong - Congrats on your honeymoon in August. Upon first look at your itinerary, you have some good destinations on the list. I will give you my insight for the questions you've asked on this itinerary.

8/12 - Fly from SFO to MXP

8/13 - Land in Milan in the AM, spend all day there and sleep in Milan for one night

Any suggestions for where to stay and what to see for 1 day in Milan? Stay in Brera Neighborhood in Milan and tour Piazza del Duomo and Castello Sforzesco.

8/14 - Take the train to Cinque Terre - spend 3 night in Cinque Terre

What is the best train to take? Use Milano Centrale train station to Monterosso Al mare

Thinking of staying in either Monterosso or Manarola, which one does everyone prefer? Monterosso

8/17 - Take train from Cinque Terre to Florence - spend 4 nights in Florence

Where is the best area to stay if we plan on doing day-trips from Florence - Santa Maria Novella Neighborhood

any recommendations on hotels? (trying to stay on Marriott properties to use points) This Marriott hotel is in Santa Maria Novella neighborhood - https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/flrfi-ac-hotel-firenze/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

8/21 - take train from Florence to Rome - spend 3 nights in Rome

Where is the best area to stay in Rome? Trastevere and Ludovisi Neighborhood
any recommendations on hotels? (trying to stay on Marriott properties to use points)

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/romdt-rome-marriott-grand-hotel-flora/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

8/24 - Fly home

I'd love any feedback or suggestions on our plan before I finalize all the hotels and tours.

As for Florence, we particularly love Loggiata dei Serviti, which is a few blocks north of the Duomo. Not a Marriott, but .... It is a bit of a walk back to the station for day trips, but it is around the corner from the Accademia Museum with the David statue and just a few blocks from the Duomo Museum. On both of our visits they were super helpful in arranging tickets to the Accademia and the Uffizi, which will be a challenge in August.

http://www.galleriaaccademiafirenze.beniculturali.it

https://www.loggiatodeiservitihotel.it

Congratulations!

Congrats!
Anyway you'd consider Lake Como instead of the crowds and heat in the Cinque Terra? Lake Como is so easy to get to from Milan. In either case, have a great trip, and safe travels!

Thank you all for your replies and feedback so far, really appreciate it!

Pat, we haven't fully ruled out Lake Como yet. Pro's/Con's of staying there over Cinque Terre?

Since you are seeking Marriott properties, consider these:

Milan - Straf - 50 yards from the Duomo and relatively new/youthful hotel. Nice outdoor bar out front. We took the City Wonders walking tour which included the Duomo, Sforza Castle and the Last Supper.

Florence - Either the Westin Excelsior or the St. Regis are within walking distance of the train station. And pretty much everything in Florence! Both are super nice hotels.

Rome - St. Regis is near Termini, Pantheon Iconic hotel near the Pantheon (great area, easy to walk to many sights), G-Rough is in that area as well. All of these are nice hotels.

There are several other Marriott properties in Florence and Rome that are a little more off the beaten path, but there are certainly other options if the ones above are sold out or they want too many points. Don't forget - if you use points for 4 nights, the 5th is free. :-) Does that change you mind about the length of any of your stays? You could skip staying in Milan and just head straight to the CT and add that night to Florence. That would give you more time to day trip to smaller Tuscan towns or even do a tour.
As for trains to the CT, look at schedules when they get posted and pick times that suit you. We stayed in Monterosso and thought it was a good option. Easy to get around town the and the train station isn't a big hike up hill!

Also, there is a Sheraton on Lake Como, west side. Just in case you decide to go there.

Lake Como vs CT-
IMHO,
There's plenty of feedback here, and elsewhere, of the crowds and heat in the CT in the summer. However, if it's your priority, you must follow that.
Lake Como is obviously more spread out, equally beautiful, and easier to get away from the crowds. It's an easy one hour train ride from the Milan Central train station, so easy to travel to on jet lag . We prefer staying in Varenna, but that's just our preference. Once settled in, you can ride the ferry boats to the smaller lakeside towns and just have a glass of wine lakeside and relax. I haven't been to Lake Como in August, so cant speak to the heat, but have found it pretty perfect in lake April. Lake Como is a destination that most folks want to visit repeatedly and continue to explore; most folks I know find one visit to the CT is sufficient.
Congrats on the honeymoon, and your trip will be incredible, whatever option you chose.

These are very good (and common) questions. Do you have a decent guidebook (or three)? If you don't have the Rick Steves Italy book, I can't recommend it highly enough. He answers all those questions as well as questions that wouldn't occur to you to ask? And his books have the benefit of being vetted by hundreds of tours that he and his company have led throughout Europe.

Another good guidebook is the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides.

And since you'll be there in August, be sure to factor the heat into your decisions. Rome and Florence in particular can be sweltering.

Happy travels.