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Milan to Venice to Genoa back to milan

I am terribly overwhelmed trying to figure out the transportation between the cities we are hoping to visit in Italy. We are flying into milan and are planning to leave straight from the airport to Venice. We have already rented a studio apartment for a couple nights in Venice. We are staying near San marco square and the Rialto bridge. Google maps helped me figure out a route, but I do not understand it. It looks like there are a few transfers, some walking, both of which terrify me given that we have no experience in international travel. Not to mention I don't know how to calculate the total cost of these trips. I think we will also need to get Canal passes for the few days we are there in Venice. If anyone has experience traveling between Milan and Venice, I would greatly appreciate feedback. From Venice, we head to Genoa for a couple days and then to Milan for our last two days. We are considering renting a car because I can not figure out public transportation costs and schedules. It will be two 30 yr old adults traveling together af all times. What do you think is the best way to go? Thanks.

Posted by
16893 posts

The best way is definitely by train, most direct and least stress. If you have a guidebook for these cities, it should address issues such as coming in from the airport to the train station. From Milan Malpensa train station, take a direct shuttle train to Milano Centrale station (check for that name, since there are other routes). At Milano Centrale, you can connect to other trains going any direction. No walking outside the station. How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. This does not sell tickets, but makes the trains schedules pretty easy to print and read. Trenitalia sells reserved tickets in advance with discounts, but when arriving off your flight, I would buy tickets in the station, instead. Italian tickets are relatively cheap even at full fare. Some slower, regional trains are not reserved and therefore you don't book them ahead. The DB schedule link will specify which is which.

Not many of us choose the big city of Genoa for a first trip to Italy. Smaller coastal towns such as the five towns of the Cinque Terre have more appeal. If that is your destination, then enter the name of a specific town in the train schedule search. See more about Italian rail at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/italy-rail-passes. If you can't get your hands on Rick's Europe Through the Back Door travel handbook, then you can read many excerpts from it at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips.

Posted by
11613 posts

Rome2Rio.com can give you transportation alternatives plus links to schedules.

Follow Laura's advice about getting to Venice.

Venice to Genova: go to Trenitalia.com, click on the British flag icon to translate the page, and enter Venezia Sta Lucia to Genova Porta Principe or Genova Tutte Le Stazioni (the pull-down menu will prompt you as you enter the station). There is one change of trains in Milano Centrale for most routes.

If you want to go to Genova, go, it's a nice city. Some others along the coast are more picturesque but a guidebook (Lonely Planet or Michelin) can help you decide.

Posted by
663 posts

There are no cars in Venice, so you either have to take a boat (Traghetto) or walk, or a combination of the two. Ask the hotel to provide directions, as sometimes its not easy to find your way in Venice! Sometimes the "streets" are very narrow and difficult to spot, and the names of the streets not easy to locate. Be sure to pack light, as you will most likely be carrying it up and down bridges with stairs, and not all hotels have elevators.

I also question your choice of Genoa... is there a specific reason you need to be there? Most first timers to Italy stick with the "big three" Venice, Florence, and Rome, adding other places based on their time availability and interests.

Posted by
5 posts

emphasized text
We are huge foodies as my husband is a certified chef. Genoa and Parma are on is lis of requirements for a trip to Italy. We are excited to try the meats straight from the source! :) I think Parma is easily accessible in route between our destinations, right?

As far as transportation goes, we are leaning more towards a rental car due to flexibility and cost. If we park it outside of the city before we get to Venice, and then take public transport in, is that a viable option?

Posted by
500 posts

Those who replied above are giving you good advice.

Take trains in Italy - don't worry, it works. On my first trip to Rome, from Austria almost 15 years ago, I got on an overnight train and woke up the next morning rolling through the hills of tuscany. I didn't know anything about Italy or their train network but somehow my ignorant 20-something self survived and had a great time. Save rental cars for when you want to mosey slowly through a less densly populated area and see out-of-the way stuff. Take trains from major city to major city.

The fare for an adult from Venice to Genoa seems to be about $50 each way. Generally the fare will be more the longer the trip takes, so this is your most expensive pp fare. Budget $50 each person for each trip and enjoy when it costs less.
https://www.lefrecce.it/

I agree Genoa sounds like an odd choice for a first italy trip - I understand it to be a very "real" city with much to see, but not exactly set up for tourism the way other towns are. What takes you there?

Take a deep breath - you're going to have a fine trip, but you'll only enjoy yourself if you let go a little!

Posted by
5 posts

You guys are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. I definitely plan to relax once I get there. For now I'm trying to plan as much as I can beforehand so I'm not scrambling when I get there, ya know?

Posted by
32517 posts

The trains will be straightforward and even easy when we tell you the secrets.

I am a bit confused about your run to Genova. It is not usually a third string location to visit in Italy, let alone a second string and certainly not a first timer's stop. Is there something special taking you out of the way to go all the way to Genoa?

You aren't going anywhere that Italotreno trains can help you so it will be Trenitalia.

Likely you will want to use a few trips on the Vaporetto, for many people the passes pay off quickly. In your early 30s you may find you want to walk more, and Venice is eminently walkable so except for trips to and from your digs and maybe to one or more of the lagoon islands, so maybe paying €7 for each ride may be enough for you folk.

But - you say you only have the apartment for "a couple" of nights. Is that two? That's not a lot of time - just one full day - so you won't have much time for getting under the skin of the magic city.

Your description of where your apartment is is pretty vague. Two thirds of tourist accommodation in Venice could be described that way. Any chance you could share the name of the nearest campo (Venice's version of a square - usually (nearly always) named for the church on the campo) so that we can give you reasonable routes?

Posted by
663 posts

Well, I was unaware that Genoa had such fabulous food, other than its famous pesto sauce. When most people talk about the greatest food in Italy they typically talk about Bologna... Although most anywhere in Italy you will find marvelous cuisine.

They are many pitfalls in having a car in Italy. For one, you can't drive in the historic centers of most cities (ZTLs) without incurring huge fines (usually sent to your address several months after your return). Parking is expensive. Roads have tolls. Fuel is super expensive. And trains and buses are typically fast and cheap.

Posted by
500 posts

Others are hinting at it, and I'll say it: If you haven't been to Italy before then I'd skip genoa and add some time in Venice or add at least a day and see Verona on your way back to Milan.

Posted by
32517 posts

How long is the actual trip? In nights, please.

From which overnight did you plan to visit Parma? Yes, you can easily arrange food producer tours in Parma and Modena, and in Bologna which would be my foodie choice with Parma and Modena. I still don't get Genova. What food are you hoping to find there?

Posted by
663 posts

I have a question... How long is this trip? Is it just a week? You might not have time to see all these places on your list. You should plan 3 nights or more in great cities like Venice or Florence, and at least 2 nights in smaller cities. If you are flying out of Milan you will obviously need to spend your last night there, and possibly more nights depending on if you intend to see any of the local sights. Milan also is known for some great food, like Osso bucco and risotto milanese. Be sure to visit Peck Gourmet Deli, a very high end grocery/cafe/shop.

Posted by
11613 posts

If food is your focus, Bologna should have a few days of your time. Modena and Parma can easily be reached from Bologna, either by car or train. My favorite restaurant in Bologna is La Colombina, on vicolo (or maybe via) Colombina, near the Duomo. Simple but delicious.

Genova is a great place for Ligurian cooking.

I would not keep a car in Venice, perhaps make that your first destination and rent the car on your way out. Parking is expensive, I mean really expensive. In Venice, buy the vaporetto pass (good for various number of hours), Just tap it at the machine each time you board. Great restaurants on Burano and Torcello. Try the Amarone wine from the Veneto.

Posted by
16893 posts

I think you can find great food all over Italy, with different specialties in each region. The trick is to use your foodie eye to discern which menus/locations look like they're enjoyed by locals as well as tourists, or have a particularly creative approach, etc. If you chef friends have made any specific recommendations, then you can probably trust them.

Posted by
5 posts

Ok two things: for the exact location of the apartment, the nearest POI I see on google maps is for what looks to be a church-run hostel. Here's the info for that location: Chiesa Evangelica Valdese Metodista - Casa del Pastore / a Sestiere Castello, 5170, 30122 Venezia, Italy. So if you can help us figure out a train route from the milan airport to that exact area of Venice, that would be absolutely perfect! We have contacted our apartment landlord (host?) to see if he can help as well. He did say is it is off the vaporetto n 2.

And since you guys have nixed Genoa, we are considering trying somewhere else or extending our stay in Venice. we wanted to see the Mediterranean and the birthplace of Columbus and maybe europe's largest aquarium while there. We were also under the false impression that Genoa salami came from the Genoa region, but that doesn't seem to be true. Bologna does seem to be a better fit, as you have suggested. We could rent a car outside of Venice and drive to the Mediterranean, stopping in Bologna and Parma on the way. Is there any specific town on the sea that would be a better fit for us?

Thanks for all your help!

Posted by
500 posts

Hi aya -

Those are all good reasons to go to Genoa, and you sound like a curious and intelligent traveler, but assuming the length of your trip is set, I"d add time in Venice and skip the Mediterannean for now. It's a long way over there to get to the sea for just a brief visit. Also, I still don't understand all this renting cars to drive to Bologna etc. It's far more efficient to take trains in Europe. You perhaps need to do it once to understand. In italy, austria, germany, they are as convenient and ubiquitous as they are inconvenient and non-existent in the USA.

As far as train routes - what did you need to know? (You say you are inexperienced with european travel so I'm hoping I can put you at ease here): From Milan's main train station, buy a ticket to venice, leave a little time to find your departure gate, and get on the train. It will take you to Venice. ;) If you can't find your departure gate, go ask the italian dude in the uniform and walk in the direction he points. ;)

Once you're in venice, enjoy being a tourist - the city is set up to accommodate visitors who know zilch about how to ride the vaporetto to their station. I'd ask your hosts there to give you good directions to the house, since they know the ins and outs best of anyone. Streams of people will be leaving Venice train station to find hotels on the vaporetto route.

Posted by
5 posts

Oh and also our trip is all day Sunday april 12 until departure on Saturday april 18 noon. If we are being too ambitious with our intinerary, by all means please offer an alternative. We are not super interested in Milan, but that's where our airport is, so we need to be there at least on Thursday. We are planning to do the train ride through the Swiss Alps from Milan, which will probably be on Friday.

Posted by
32517 posts

So, the Sunday at the beginning is the day you arrive from home (flew out of home Saturday?) transatlantic into Milano sometime in the morning, transfer into Milano and then train to Venezia and get into the apartment down towards the tail of Venice?

So you don't really have all day Sunday?

Or have we misread your answer?

And in addition to your dash around Italy in this really short time you also will have time (take time) to also go up to Switzerland?

Without giving us a campo to work with in finding the location of your Venice apartment I have googled the church building you gave which looks like it is really in the wilds of central part of he Arsenale with perhaps the nearest vaporetto dock at Arsenale. If it is Arsenale the main boat serving that dock is the number 1. What confuses me is that you say the owners refer you to the number 2, which doesn't anywhere near the tail of the islands.

I have a very good knowledge of most Venice but once you get much east of Rio del Greci and Rio de la Pleta you are getting into territory I am unfamiliar with. Others may know Castello better than me, but I strongly suggest you get specific directions - down to which way to turn at each 3 sided bridge and junction and campo by campo - to your apartment.

You probably realise that buildings in Venice don't have numbers on a street, only numbers in one of the six sestieri, and the same number can reappear in each of those six areas. Also that the numbers don't follow any set pattern, although numbers that are together tend to be relatively near each other. It is really important to get turn by turn directions from your host - they are the one who really know the score.

For first timers it is often a hotel or B&B. They usually have online maps with clear directions, This is one of the difficulties with some apartments. Sorry I can't help more with the information given.

Oh, BTW - several of the smaller vaporetto stops on the north of the island between Ospedale and the tail of the fish are request only. If you don't press the button as they approach they won't stop.

Good luck with your trip...

Posted by
7 posts

Okay so I am her husband. Yes going to Genoa was something I had thought of because to come back home and say we put our feet in two seas would be cool. Plus I love seafood! However, I am a chef and a former chacuterie manager for dean and deluca, so to see some places where the cheese and meat I sold came from would be awesome. What is your all opinion on us spending two days in Venice, two days in Bologna then heading back to Milan for the bernaise train to the alps. Does that itinerary seem doable? Im thinking us using the trains seem better at this point. On that note is there a train pass at all. Something that offers a certain amount of rides on a pretty fixed price? Thanks guys, we appreciate the help!

Posted by
10344 posts

No Italian train pass that makes sense for your trip. Just buy point to point.

Posted by
7 posts

Nigel the owner is going to get us all the information tomorrow. And yes, yore right, Sunday will be spent traveling. But I hope that part of the splendor will be in the traveling via train itself. I'm gathering from everyone that spending one full day in venice is perhaps completely too brief.

Posted by
11613 posts

Chefcaleb, I love Dean & Deluca! Two nights in Bologna would be the minimum. Great charcuterie shops, too.

You probably know that Genova is the birthplace of ravioli - sorry to see it off your list, maybe next trip!

Posted by
378 posts

Genova is also the birthplace of focaccia and it is heavenly. It is made differently in other parts of Italy.

Posted by
96 posts

The train thru the Swiss Alps? The Simplon Tunnel? to Switzerland?

I wouldn't do that with the time you have allotted. You will spend more time traveling that "seeing". Try to arrange your transportation in straight lines, not back and forth. That is a killer.

I would redo your itinerary to cut down on your travel times. Every time you change your location, you lose 1/2 to 1 day of your vacation. You will come home exhausted. Italy needs to be done slowly.
We are going in Sept and I am having trouble downsizing my itinerary, also. So don't feel badly. It is such a beautiful place and there are such wonderful things to see,it is a temptation to see and do it all in one visit.

You can go to the Trevi Fountain in Rome, throw a coin in the fountain to guarantee that you will return. Good luck. :))
and by all means, ENJOY

Posted by
500 posts

Hey guys -
I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but for a first visit to italy, don't try to visit many different regions of the country (Lombardy, Bologna, the swiss alps...venice) all in a short visit. You'll spend all your time going from point to point. Assume you'll be back again soon. Spend minimum two nights in each place. MINIMUM. and limit your long-distance train rides to one or two.

I'd pick: Venice, Milan and the Alps, -- or Genoa, Cinque Terre, and Bologna -- or Venice, Bologna, and Cinque Terre. Not all of the above.

PS see my post regarding my own itinerary for the summer, if you like: We are arguably staying in even a more contained area of Italy than you have proposed for yourselves, and we're going to be in Italy a whole month! (I'm guessing you are spending less than half that amount of time in Italy?)

Posted by
7 posts

Well one of the reasons we were doing the swias train was because it leaves from Milan and returns to Milan in one day. Its a round trip excursion that many people say its worth it. We were going to do it our last day. But I'm starting to think that perhaps we would start in Venice then bologna and finish in Milan. But is it feasible to stay in Venice the entire week and only make day trips to bologna? Thanks for everyones input, it is really helping to narrow down our itinerary.

Posted by
11613 posts

It's feasible to daytrip to Bologna from Venezia, but it would be a lot easier to use Bologna as one of your bases to daytrip to Parma and Modena, two excellent locations for food production/gastronomy.

Posted by
32517 posts

Chef and aya,

All the things you have pointed out are very reasonable things to do, and over several visits all can be accomplished. The problem is (bet you've figured this out now) you are hoping to do a lot of that in less than a week - and you might (probably) have disorientation and tiredness from jet lag. Where are you flying in from?

So in the time that you have you really need to decide if you are on a major sights sightseeing trip for your first trip, or is this really a business trip where you can improve your professional knowledge? You have time for either but you really, really don't have time for both, so you really need to choose.

Italy, and northern Italy, is a fabulous place. We just keep going back. For a foodie, particularly a professional chef, a week, or 4 weeks, just in Reggio Emilia would be paradise. Bologna for the Mortadella and all the foodie and slow food - you should see the 6 foot long 30 inch diameter Mortadella I saw in Bologna. Parma for the Parmesan and Parma Ham, and all the other cheeses and meats. Modena for the Balsamic. You could spend ages visiting farms and factories in all those foods and do nothing else.

Same for the tourism. I've been to Venice many times - I don't remember how many. Each time is for a week +/- and each time I find more wonderful things. We are now doing walks in each of the sestiere following the cases of Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti and that's enough to keep us occupied for a week at a time.

So, can I suggest that you decide if it is a business trip or a short vacation.... and make changes accordingly.

Yes, I do realise that time is very short.

I hope that your apartment owner gives you clear instructions. When you work out exactly where it is and which vaporetto stop, let us know and we can help you get elsewhere....

Posted by
500 posts

Hmm yes the Bernino express to Chur/St Moritz IS tempting isn't it? I thought of making a trip like this myself - was going to stay the night at the turn-around, however, so we saved it for another time. I don't think you can afford a whole day to sit on a train and look at scenery in your whirlwind trip, however - especially when the NEXT day is likely to involve taking a train somewhere for several hours, hmm?

As others have said, when you take a train trip and change hotels, assume it kills a whole day of sightseeing, because... it basically will.

Posted by
7 posts

Would anyone suggest a city outside of Milan that would give us easy access to the train so that we can get to the airport and to milano centrale train station? I was looking at Manza. Thanks

Posted by
500 posts

I've been asking the same question, since I'm going in and out of Milan and have to kill the night before my flight near the airport too.

Malpensa? Seems like it's in the middle of nowhere. I'm probably going with an airport hotel that's convenient to my AM flight. Eager to see if others suggest something else.

Posted by
7 posts

Okay so the apartment in Venice is off the street calle lunga That's according to the Google map on the website. It says in the description that its in the campo Santa maria formosa if that helps.

Posted by
500 posts

So you should be able to find it on a city map like i just did.

Tell me again, why if you are only staying in venice for a couple of days, and have never been there before, didn't you just stay at a hotel that offers services and conveniences, rather than a studio apt. way out in Castello that you can't find?

Posted by
2431 posts

I don't get why the other posters think the apartment's in Castello - I'm seeing that Campo as just a little north of the Basilica San Marco and east of the Ponte Rialto. Looks like a great location. When you get out of the train station, you need to go to one of the vaparetto stops (white and yellow cubes) and purchase a multi-day vaparetto pass, then ride the #1 or 2 vaparetto to either of those two locations. In any case, I hope you spend a lot more time in Venice than originally planned - there's nothing quite like it.

Posted by
16025 posts

Campo Santa Maria Formosa is a nice location --- quite central but far enough off the tourist path you won't face mobs, unless you head to Piazza San Marco. We spent a month in Venice in an apartment not far from there. I can give you walking directions.

From the train station, walk to the canal and find the vaporetto dock for the No. 2 going toward Rialto and San Marco. Buy your tickets and enter the boarding area. There is now a turnstile that you must have a ticket to pass through. Ride the vaporetto to the Rialto stop and get off. Turn left and walk up the sidewalk along the canal toward Rialto bridge. You will turn right ( east) on the street that lines up with the bridge. It is Salizzada Pio X (I do not recall seeing a street sign for this one). Follow that street (and all the people) into Campo San Bartolomeo. You will enter the long narrow square about midway. Cross the square to the other side ( the statue will be on your left). Turn left and walk up the square (north) almost to the corner. You will pass a pharmacy that has a counter in the window, showing the exact population of Venice (residents not visitors). Please note the number and report back. We watched it drop by several hundred in the time we were there. There will be restaurant tables in the middle of the campo, on your left.

Pass several more shops and you will come to Sotoportego de la Bissa, a passage way into the next street. It has a green neon side that says Rosticceria and is also signed "per San Marco." Turn right here, and follow Calle de la Bissa. You will pass the Rosticceria (on your right) and also a very good Gelateria, also on your right. This Calle leads you to a little bridge over a small canal. Go over the bridge and keep going straight. You will pass a little bar on the left ( Bar Mulino, good coffee and sandwiches) and then enter a little square, Campo San Lio. There is a trinket-seller's tent in the middle.

Keep going in the same direction into Salizzada San Lio. The trinket seller will be on your left and a lingerie shop on the corner to your right. The large decommissioned church will be to your left. Continue going east along Salizzada San Lio, past shops and restaurants, and another famous Gelateria that we never sampled. When you get to the Coop grocery store you are almost there! Turn left ( going north again) into the little Calle just before the Coop. This is Calle Mondo and it will lead you to the bridge that crosses a canal and arrives at Campo Santa Maria Formosa. You will pass one of the best seafood restaurants in Venice, Osteria alle Testiere, on the right just before the bridge. If it is afternoon the shutters will be down and you may not even notice it.

Cross over the bridge and make a slight jog to the right ( to get around a building blocking the straight path) to enter the main campo. The church is on your right. Go straight across the square, aiming toward the pink building Hotel Scandinavia. Calle Lunga is the little Calle just to the left of the hotel.

Posted by
11613 posts

Aya and chefcaleb, if the directions and recommendations you receive here are not helpful, you can get assistance from asking at TI offices, or just walk into a hotel lobby and ask the desk clerk - I did this many times on my first trips to new cities.

I think you picked a nice location, it will be good to return to after a busy day in Venezia.

Enjoy your trip and buon appetito!

Posted by
2431 posts

One thing you could have a lot of fun with is visiting the Rialto Market, not far from the west side of the bridge, purchasing exotic seafood, and cooking it in your apartment - can't do that at a hotel.

Posted by
32517 posts

It is wonderful to be dealing with facts....

I'm glad it isn't way off in the Arsenale.

Not a million miles from Santa Maria Formosa is Campo Santa Marina. Prominent on that campo is one of the best pasticceria in Venice - Didovich. I have such good memories there.

I don't often go there now, unless I don't have time to cross the Grand Canal behind the Frari - my absolute favourite now is Tonolo which is near campo San Pantalon - but let me tell you that Didovich is fabulous.

Posted by
7 posts

Jtraveler we are certainly listening to you. And we feel so blessed to have someone offering such great advice. Here's the thing, we are not wealthy and are only able to do this because we found an impassable deal. With my work, and with the deal we found, a week is all we could do. So yes, I would love to take a month off and explore but these are the cards we were given. Going to Italy is not something we can do often. Perhaps once every five years and this will be our first. Our thought, as flawed as it may be, was that if we are going to splurge and do something crazy like going to Italy, we want to see as much of it as we can. But I see what your saying, if we do it and are traveling the whole time, what's the point? But I also don't want to go home wishing we had done more and seen more of the country. Jtraveler in your prior post you said do two nights at each place and that's what we are doing. Two min Venice, two min bologna and two in Milan. And yes a hotel would be easier but more expensive. In Milan we found a place for 60 a night with hundreds of good reviews, right next to a train station. My wife and I only need a bed, bathroom and WiFi. We don't care about luxury, we'd rather spend on food, not lodging. So anyway, we will talk it over and consider not traveling but just try and remember that going to Italy may not happen again for 5 or more years. I really hope you all don't think we are disregarding anything you all say. On the contrary, it has really shaped our travel plans. I may also really reconsider being so far away from the train station in Venice. My wife and I have walked through Manhattan with a stroller, three kids and a heavy backpack all while carrying an box of doughnuts and shopping bags, but even that may not be as bad as walking through Venice with luggage.

Posted by
500 posts

Chef, it sounds like you have absolutely the right attitude.... I deleted my earlier comment which was perhaps inhospitable. Apologies. As far as having no dough to blow on travel, i understand! (same boat here). Your urge to manage your little time and money in the most creative way is understandable, but there are certain "diminishing returns."

You are wise to take the advice to reduce your travel time while in Italy. You WILL find that even in major tourist centers like Venice, Florence, Milan, while you will benefit from the pre-paved tourist path in terms of convenience, you will find many under-the-radar meals and sightseeing experiences, since you're doing excellent research and getting good tips here. (PS Do you know the Fred Plotkin book about Italian food?) AND while I'm on a roll here (heh) -- do relax about the transportation issues. You'll get there. Pack LIGHT and prepare to get lost - nobody is going to abduct or mug you - and then fall on the bed in the hotel in great relief when you realize you're in Venice and you have 48 hours (or more) to do whatever the hell you want!

Posted by
500 posts

PS I live in Manhattan and I'm pretty sure pushing luggage through Venice is a whole lot easier.

Posted by
16025 posts

Do not worry. The area of your apartment is fine, much better than close to the train station. You are young and can manage with your roller bags through Venice to get to Campo Santa Maria Formosa. ( I am old and manage just fine, But on our last trip, heading to the airport, my husband was well in front of me and when I came to the bridge that I described above, not struggling at all because I am fit, a gorgeous young Italian man in business suit came along and without a word picked up my bag and carried it up and over the bridge, then set it down. I thanked him in Italian, and he smiled. I probably reminded him of his mother, hopefully not his nonna.

My point is that Venice is a friendly place if you give it a chance. Since you have an apartment and like to cook, go to the Rialto market each morning and find something that looks good for dinner. Our days there started with exercise on the Rialto Bridge (. 12x over and back) and then to the Rialto market. By the third day the vegetable seller knew us. The fishmongers were different, as we could not focus on a single one day after day. But each day we would each choose what we wanted---usually sardines for him, a piece of swordfish for me. If you do not speak Italian you can point and make it work.

You will have a great trip.

Posted by
32517 posts

and something uniquely Venetian is the fantastic invention of an ombra and a plateful of cicchetti. Maybe you will take something you learn as your browse the various bacari.

If you want to have some of the best, and don't mind standing up, in a real old fashioned osteria you can head over to the San Trovaso canal opposite the Squero (gondola boat yard - where they are built in the traditional way) in the sestiere Dorsoduro.

Posted by
1994 posts

I saw a question about staying in a town outside of Milan the night before your flight. I would really suggest you not do that – the Italian rail system can offer surprises, and it would be really unfortunate to miss your plane because of something like a train strike or cancellation.

While Milan is often dismissed on this forum, I really enjoy it and I think you could keep yourself occupied in your final hours in Italy. In addition to DaVinci's last supper and an amazing cathedral, it has it has a couple of wonderful art museums, some beautiful ancient churches, and I've been told the shopping is great. I tend to eat really simply when I travel, but I've also been told there are some wonderful restaurants.

Posted by
500 posts

Sherry,
This is a question I'm pondering for my own upcoming trip so pardon me for butting in... if one stays out side of Milan but NEAR the airport, this is still practical for getting to an early flight the next AM, no? Assuming one is not relying on the Rail -- and the closer one is to the airport, the less prohibitive the cost of a taxi. Just offering a practical alternative suggestion.

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Hey sherry, well we booked a place in ballarte which is a little northwest but still considered Milan. So let's hope for the best. The owner says its a quick trip to the airport and she doesn't have an issue getting there. Oh and thanks Nigel for all the help. We are going to gorge ourselves. I'm super pumped.