Italy Surprise Trip

I can sense your "hunger" to see and experience as much as possible in a limited time. My suggestion is that you concentrate on a smaller locality than you may have in mind, and really enjoy the city by strolling and eating and drinking in the culture of the people.
The alternative is to sign up with a tour.. you know the type....."It is Monday so it must be Rome" type of thing.
If this is the only time you think you will be in Italy then a "full court press" on the tourist sights (in as many cities as possible) is the answer.
Otherwise, I suggest limited your cities to 3 in 7 days and ......relax and enjoy in between the travel !

While in Milan you might want to take a trip to the Lake district/Como. Its easily accessible from Milan (about 40 minutes by train), and is quite scenic and considered one of the best places to see.

Nadine
San Francisco, CA

are your air tickets already set? if so, then stay in Milan the first 2 nights, see the Duomo, maybe the Last Supper if you're interested, (make reservations ahead of time), the Galleria shopping (great even if you're not a big shopper). Then stay one or 2 night in Lake Como (book a hotel in Varenna or Menaggio), then 2 nights in Venice. then, stay in Milan on your last night so that you don't have to worry about travelling by train back to MIlan airport. You'll avoid getting stranded if there's a train strike or delay. If you can fly home from Venice airport, then you can stay in Venice the last night. When in venice, try to book a hotel in Venice, not in the outskirts like Mestre, to enjoy moments like listening to the orchestras in Saint Mark's square in the evening. instead of Venice, you could visit Cinque Terre for 2 nights. if you can change your arrival city, then there are, obviously, other options.

Sounds exciting! Couple of things to know before you go:1) August is hot and humid in most of Italy, it will be hotter than you think.2) It's also the most crowded time because many Europeans take their long vacation between mid-July and 3rd week in August.3) Make sure you book hotels that have AC, surprisingly many (the less expensive ones) don't have AC.I say these things so you're not surprised by the heat and crowds, many first timers are. Does your 7 days include flying in/out? If so you have even less time than 7 days!Travel time between destinations eats up much precious time. The 4 big Italian destinations that are at the top of most people's list for a 1st visit to Italy are: Rome, Tuscany hilltowns, Florence, and Rome--with only 7 days (or less?) and considering travel time, you don't really have sufficient time to "do" all 4. Milan is way down most people's list, it sounds like you're locked into flying in and out of there--I suggest not spending any more time in Milan than you have to for your flights in and out, because it directly reduces the time you have in other more interesting places.It would be tempting to go straight to Tuscany, with a quick visit to Florence on the way to Tuscany, and Rome after Tuscany; and then a mad dash by train back up to Milan to catch your flight out.To see Tuscany as more than a day trip from Florence requires a rental car--but that's a complication you may want to think about, probably you don't want to rent in Milan and try to drive to Florence: renting a car there is not quite the easy and obvious choice that it is here.We can make more specific suggestions if you can reply to this, telling us more about your interests: museums, art, architecture, people watching, wine? (all of the above?)Have you purchased a book yet? Rick has four on Italy. They will help you decide. Have fun reading up and then get back to us and we'll help with more specific advice.

You'll be there during the heat so you'll want to factor that in. It won't get as hot as most of Texas in August, but in Texas almost every place is air-conditioned - in Italy, not so much. You'll also be competing with Italians who are taking their vacations during August. So book your hotels very soon. I like the idea of doing the lake districts (Como, Maggiore) as that will be relatively cool. Tuscany will be scorching, so is there any way you can save that for a future visit?

Hey Karen- how exciting! There are some great suggestions here from the other posters. Three cities in 7 sounds about the right balance of seeing a fair amount but not running crazy. That said, we're seeing 4 cities (Venice, Florence, Rome, and Vernazza in Cinque Terre) in 7 days. That doesn't include transportation to and from. I know it'll be go, go, go, but that is what I want and I am used to. My suggestion would be to use a rail website and check into the train times it takes to get from place to place. This may be different if you're going to rent a car, but it'll give you an idea of how far apart they are. Then you'll have a better understanding of travel time required and you'll have a realistic idea of time to sightsee. Then decide what is more important to you- more time traveling- see more places, or being a bit more relaxed and enjoying fewer places. Have fun!

How great that you get to do something you have only dreamed of doing.
OK, Italy in August is hot, period. Unless you rent a house for the week in the Alps (something I recommend but not for your first trip to Italy)the be prepared for heat. The question is how much travelling do you want to do in seven days. While there are many lovely cities in Northern Italy, it sounds like you really want to see Tuscany and Rome. Others will disagree but I would let Venice go for this trip, otherwise it is too much for seven days. You could take the train from Milan and go down to Tuscany and see Florence for a few days and then head down to Rome, before taking the EuroStar train (travel time 4 1/2 hours) back to Milan on your last day. You can find cheap places to stay in the center of Rome and Florence. Many people here will have different opinions, but whatever you decide I hope you have a lovely trip.

Karen,

I'm with Claire on this one...much as I love Venice, I think you should stay your first night in Milan near the Duomo. Take the train to Florence the next day in the early afternoon, so you will arrive in Florence with time to sitesee and explore the city. Stay 3 days (in order to do one day trip to a nearby hill town in Tuscany) then a quick train ride down to Rome to stay 3 days then a return early morning train ride back to Milan (if your flight is leaving early in the AM on your last day, you will need to be there the night before). You need to start booking rooms immediately. My advice on Venice, don't see it in the Summer...its hot, humid, full of mossies (as our friends from down under call them)...do see it any other time of the year as it is one of the worlds treasures, and make sure you spend enough time to appreciate all that it has to offer.

Karen, I have to echo the posts of Bill and Claire... particularly if this is your first visit to Italy. Leave Venice for your next trip... because you will want to come back!

I agree with limited time in Milan, with most of your valuable time spent in Florence, Tuscany, and Rome. As Bill says, start booking now! Congratulations on your trip!

Hi: I have a question. Is the plane trip to and from Italy part of the 7 days? If so then you only have 5 days for touring. I have been to Italy a few times now and love this country. I will be going back in May of this year. Lake Como is beautiful, I stayed in a town on the lake called Bellagio. I wasn't fond of Milano. I loved Florance. The museums are wonderful and the Duomo is magnificient. So much to see and such a beautiful City. The Tuscan landscape is so very wonderful. May I add the people in Florance are so nice. I have not been to San Gimignano I understand it is also a wonderful place to visit. I loved Siena and would highly suggest it.
If you can rent a car...then you can really see so much more. If you need more info..I will be glad to help. As you were told....it will be very hot in Italy during that time of year and air conditioning is not in a lot of places.

I just returned from Italy yesterday, just over two weeks. We were in Rome, Venice and CT. Then spent the last week in a B&B close to Cortona. From that location you could do train trips to Siena, Florence, Rome and even Venice by train. Which is how I would recommned. You could probably even see Pisa. Terry the owner of the B&B mapped us out a driving trip trough Brunello wine area. It was just beautiful. If you are interested I can send the name of the place. I would do so now but would probably murder the spelling. It was something like Casa Portangio (sp). They have a web site. This area would be kind of central and you could make the most of your week from there. You will be very busy.

Well, realize this, no way to experience all of Italy in 7 days without time travel so that said, I would look at the different regions and see which would appeal to you most. You can spend that whole week in Rome and still not see everything. But if Tuscany interests you, I would do a couple of days in Florence then jet down to Siena, make that home-base and travel the hill towns the rest of the time by train or renting a car. Then hop a train back to Milan to fly out. You could easily spend 3-4 days in Venice so you could stay in Milan and jet over to Venice for a few days. Or Cinque Terre is a few days as well. Hope that helps.