There are tons of posts on Northern Italy, but now I'm totally overwhelmed - I need help with a reasonable itinerary. I plan to travel for 7-8 days in June or July, I will be solo, am a 30ish female, and I want to travel by train/bus (do not like to drive). My original plan was to travel to Milan and Lake Como (Bellagio? other places?), but it looks like I may want to add some additional destinations. I do not want to go to Venice or Florence, I think those are another trip altogether (and I've been to both). Possible places I've seen in my research are Bergamo, Bolzano, Lake Garda or Maggiore, Verona, Mantua, Vicenza, and Padua. What would be the best choices? I don't want to overplan, but I don't mind moving around a bit. I like wandering, art, and maybe some light hiking to see the countryside. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Posted by
London
12 posts
My golden rule is never do more than an hour to and hour and a half to get from point A to Point B and focusing on one area will give you time to really experience a place rather than spending all your time traveling. Milan is a good jumping off place for a lot of things that mean you can stay put in Milan if you want and do day trips out. But you can also spend time in small places from there.
My suggestions will be based on that idea of finding a nice place in Milan and going out from there. The other would be to base yourself in Bologna and do the same thing to explore the Emilia Romagna area.
To the north - Bergamo is a nice day trip from Milan. Around 1 hour on the train. You will arrive in the newer part of town so will need to walk up to the old town. As for the lakes, Como or Lugano are both around an hour away. My favorite though is Stresa on Lake Maggiore. I would suggest staying here for a night at one of the grand old hotels on the promenade. Stresa has the Borromeo islands right in front of them. There are ferries over to all 3. One is a small island that has a fishing village. One is a huge public gardens on an old estate and the other is where the Palazzo Borromeo (which can be toured} sits along with restaurants and small shops. I recommend seeing both.
To the south - I very much recommend Piacenza and Cremona. Lots to see.
To the west - Go to Turin. It is an industrial city around the outskirts but the old historic part is reminiscent of Florence and there is plenty to see. Good shopping as well. There is also a great market here. There are several fast trains a day from Milan that take only an hour. And 30 minutes from Turin is Asti at the heart of the Asti wine region. All of that should take up your week.
The other option is to do a couple of days in and around Milan and then move to Bologna for your base. There are so many great places you can get to from Bologna in well under an hour that are worth visiting. My suggestions would be Modena, Ferrara, Parma, Reggio Emilia and Cesena. Bologna itself is a university town so very buzzy but also with a great historic center. And this region is where you want to be if you are a foodie. You can get day trips from Bologna that focus on the cheese, balsamic vinegar and wine that are all produced in the region.
Hope that helps.
Posted by
Washington DC
28967 posts
I'd tend to choose just one lake rather than hitting multiple lakes on a trip of this length. Beyond that, as you've seen from the earlier response, you have a lot of options for other destinations. There's enough to do in Padua to make it a good base city. Vicenza felt more like a day-trip destination to me.
I bet hotels are fairly expensive in Milan since it's such a large, prosperous city, so I wouldn't particularly want to use it as a base for a lot of day-trips.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
8326 posts
If you’re flying to/from Milan, I would head to the lake first for two days. Personally, I also prefer Stresa on Lake Maggiore. You might hit some days in July for their music festival. From there you could head to Bergamo and then on to Verona or Padova - both nice towns and close to each other for a day-trip. Swing back through Milan to fly back home.
I really like the Dolomites, but you need more days unless that’s your priority instead of Verona, etc. And I would head to Ortisei or similar in that case.
2 nights- lake
1 night- Bergamo (stay in the upper town if possible)
3 nights - Verona ( with day trips)
2 nights - Milan
Posted by
OP
Boston, MA
12 posts
Thanks so much for the responses. I'm definitely going to look up Stresa on Lake Maggiore. I'm also going to take to heart the rule about not traveling for too many hours a day, I do want to make sure I actually relax and see the towns. The suggestion about Bologna was great too - I told my sister about it and now she wants to do that whole itinerary!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
124 posts
I ditto what someone wrote ... love Stresa. It is a 45 minute train ride from Milan. You could take the little ferry to the islands and tour the Borremeo Palace and gardens. Bergamo is also a cute town and again close to Milan. I wasn't crazy about Verona. What about Parma? I think Padua is also a great place to see. Although I haven't been, my daughter who lives in Milan says that Turin is a cool city.