Going to Italy 30 November. We are part of an Umbria tour that starts 5 December so before we do that, we have five days on our own. I'm planning to spend that with a base camp in Milan or a base camp in Verona. Option 1: go to Milan and add day trips to Genoa and/or Turin and/or Bologna and then train from Milan down to Perugia to meet with the tour group. Option 2: go to Verona and add day trips to Padua, Milan, Bologna. Additional NOTE: we will be disembarking a Viking cruise ship on 15 December and going straight to Bolzano for four nights, and plan to visit Trento, Innsbruck (Brener Pass). Sorry for the lengthy day-by-day description but here's the question: Milan with day trips or Verona with day trips? Thank you.
Posted by
Land of La
9798 posts
No interest in Venice?
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1612 posts
Milan is a city of well over 1 million and Verona is a city of ~250K and feels smaller than that so they are very different experiences.
I've spent a decent amount of time in both and I would personally opt for Verona, but I say that because to me Milan feels too big and busy with industry to be bothered with you. It depends on which vibe you think you're going to enjoy more. Milan is huge and busy and probably dedicated to all out shopping Xmas decorations while old town Verona is a mostly pedestrian, chic, cafe culture feeling city.
I would settle on one or two days trips and would add Brescia to your list of potential Verona day trips. And look into Xmas markets in each place because some towns really go all out.
You could always split days between them as well.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
OP
18 posts
Hi, Claudia. Yes - I love Venice but the ship is going to stop there so we'll have a couple days in Venice on this trip. We've been to Venice for a 5-day stay before and really love the city.
Posted by
OP
18 posts
Thanks, Tod. I've been curious about Brescia - and it looks very accessible from Milan and Verona. I'll look into that as a day trip. We really enjoy the Christmas Markets, especially in Germany (that's one of the reasons I want to take a train from Bolzano to Innsbruck) but I'm tempted to think the Markets in Bolzano and Trento will be better than other places in Italy due to the Austrian influnce.
Posted by
Green Bay
22515 posts
Yes, the Christmas Markets in Trento and Bolzano are very good. Verona is good too if it is open when you are there.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1612 posts
I really preferred Brescia to Padua (for which people say I'm crazy) but it is a great walking and exploring town and it has amazing Roman ruins and is a close second only to Verona in that category. And there's a castle on top of the hill for good measure.
Northern Italian towns do lean into Xmas more and even in Tuscany it is a big deal with Arezzo probably doing the most but that's too far from your itinerary.
https://asinglewomantraveling.com/verona-at-christmas/
With 5 nights - which is 4 full days - I would do Verona for 2 days and then day trip for 2 days if you want to explore. I would probably do Bologna and Brescia but Xmas celebrations might sway your decisions if you find someplace splashing out.
The Verona train station is easy to reach in a couple of stops by bus from anywhere in the old town area. I would stay in the old town or across the river in Veronetta and then just pretty much walk everywhere. There is a stealth taxi stand in Piazza Bra if you want one.
Enjoy wherever you go,
=Tod