Late May/Early June 24 trip help.

Your two oldest kids will lucky to see some of Venice. Hopefully there won’t be tons of people arriving via cruise ships at that time. Saying that Venice is negotiable … where else would you be going before the rest of the family gets there? More time in Milan? Bologna instead?

More and more places now require advance, timed reservations. In Florence last year, we expected to be able to walk up and get into the Brancacci Chapel. They were limiting visitors, and didn’t have an opening for several days, longer than our stay. Rick’s guidebook will have suggestions, but for any essential sight, check and double check to ensure you’ll see it, and not be disappointed.

Is anyone up for a cooking class? Florence has several options, including Mama Florence. Chef Michele taught there for several years, but now runs a restaurant and teaches, too, at Riva Lofts. We took a class on pasta and gelato, and had dinner there another night.

Rome: get the combo ticket that includes the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill over multiple days (one visit allowed to each place). Allow plenty of time for the Palatine Hill and the museum up top.

Also be sure to include the San Clemente Basilica, and its layer upon layer of historical sights, not far from the Colosseum. Also, the Baths of Caracalla are one of the more spectacular sights, and perhaps less-visited - just south of the Circus Maximus. The Testaccio Market should be visited, but it closes at 2PM. Go there for lunch one day. Our Airbnb apartment was close by, so we did more food shopping.

How many nights will you be in IT? I interpret two days in Milan and Venice as three nights in each place.

Have you talked to your kids about where they would like to go - Milan vs Venice? I have nieces that age and they had no interest in Milan. However, they loved Venice!

Love the cooking class idea. We will be looking for things like that. I saw a recent post on e-bike tours in Florence too. For number of days, we land in Milan on May 28 and fly out of Naples early June 11. We were hoping to be in Rome on Wednesday June 5, with the hopes of being there if Pope Francis does a blessing in St. Peter's Square.

Things I need help with are suggestions for the 4 days I am there with my adult kiddos before my husband arrives. Flights to Milan were reasonable so we thought it would be good to start there and see a few sights while my 15yo finishes final exams (gasp). We are flying into MXP in Milan.

And suggestions for any of the things in between!

So, you need to be in Florence on Jun 1? If so, you have four nights to explore northern IT. I suggest spending all your time sleeping in Milan near the central train station (Milano Centrale) since you’ve been to Venice. Tell your kids they’ll return and see Venice then.
May 28 – visit Milan's duomo (cathedral).
May 29 – day trip to Lake Como getting off at the Varenna-Esino station (1h 15m): https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html. Hop on the 30m ferry to Bellagio that runs hourly from Varenna. Varenna is a good spot to enjoy a meal before going back to Milan.
May 30 – day trip to Verona getting off at the Porto Nuova station (1h 30m).
May 31 – day trip to Vicenza (2h).

MaryPat what an incredible list of suggestions for our trip starting in Milan. Those look like great spots to visit. Thank you!!!