Milan to Rome

I would only rent a car in Tuscany, assuming you are not going to be in Firenze. Train from Milan to Lake Como area is easy. To the CT requires some train changes, but better then bothering with a car. Rent your car in La Spezia when you are ready to leave the CT and drive to and in Tuscany. Depending on where you end up in Tuscany, it might be best to dump the car and take the train into Rome. Even living in Rome I shudder every time I have to rent a car just to drive out of town.

Joe, as you have described, parking in Lake Como and the CT are big issues. For the CT, tourist cars are not even permitted in the towns unless you are driving to a hotel that has its own lot or to one of the public parking lots. The trains are so easy to use for these two destinations. However, the rental car is great for Tuscany as long as you don't drive through the historical areas of Florence or inside the walls of almost all of the towns you will visit. All have ZTLs (restricted driving zones). I suggest that you rent your car in La Spezia or Siena and drop it off in Orvieto as you approach Rome. The rental car offices in Orvieto are about 200' from the train station. Orvieto is a very popular place to pick up or drop off a rental car.

Agreed that the train is the way to go, until about La Spezia, where you can pick up a car to reach Tuscan towns that are not served by rail. See train schedules at www.trenitalia.com. Most schedules are also on the German DB web site, except not the Milan-Varenna line.

Is much even open in the Lake Como region in October? If they're starting this trip on Oct 13, I was just wondering if much would be open there. I'm asking for myself as well, as this is a region I'm not familiar with.