Northern Italy

Christy, do you have 7 days total or 7 days "on the ground". It takes 2 days to travel (1 getting there and 1 getting back), so if you have a total of 7 days for your vacation then you only have 5 days in Italy. Knowing this makes a big difference in what you can see. IMO, even 7 days on the ground is not enough to see Milan, Bergamo, Florence and CT. and what do you mean by "Florence region"? Florence is a city, located in the Tuscany region. Since you know your travel dates so far in advance, you will be able to pre-book train tickets at discounted prices, which should save you money vs buying a eurail pass.

Bianchi is in Treviglio (BG), about 20 miles from Milan. I don't know what other famous brand is in Bergamo other than Bianchi. Girardengo went belly up several years ago. Forget the eurail pass. You don't need it for the amount of train travel you'll be doing in less than a week. Just pay for tickets. Advance purchase will give you a big discount, but tickets are non refundable, so if you miss the train you are out of luck. A Frecciarossa or Frecciargento (high speed) train ticket to Florence from Milan will cost you less than 50 euro one way even if you pay full price, so it's not that bad.
Florence needs at least 2 days to see (two hours by train from Milan). Cinque Terre one day (2 1/2 hours via train from Florence one way). Assuming you are in the Milan region 2 or 3 days. That's all you can see. If you can add an extra day in Florence, maybe you can take a day trip to Siena or one of the towns around Florence/Siena.

We will arrive Italy on Sunday and fly back to US on Saturday. I know there is so much to see and so little time. That's why I know I need all the help I can get. I really have no concept of distance and such, in relation to what I need to focus on... I am very open to suggestions as to itinerary... 3 things i know: I really don't want to miss the Cinque Terre, The Bianchi factory is in a suburb of Milan and the other factory is in Bergamo... Other than that, we are quite open. I just want to get the most out of this trip. We have never traveled in Europe. but I did live in Germany, connected to the military, for a year, a long time ago.

Christy, I have the same question as mentioned in the previous post. Have you allowed for the two flight days, and also for the fact that you'll be jet lagged for the first few days, so won't be up to full "touring speed"? Especially given the area you'll be travelling and the short duration of the trip, I wouldn't bother with Railpasses. I haven't done the number-crunching, but I doubt whether passes will be cost effective, especially since you'll need to pay separately for the reservation fees. If you're caught without a reservation on a train where this is compulsory, you may be fined on the spot, and it's not cheap! Given your destinations, return flights to MXP sound like the best idea. Allow at least an hour to get from the airport into the city (it will likely take longer though). It's extremely important to allow adequate travel times between the places you'll be visiting. In some cases this will only be a few hours, while in others it will be at least half a day (checking out of hotels, get to the station, wait for departure, get to hotel in the new city, check-in, etc.). Once you've clarified the first question, it will be easier to offer more detailed suggestions. Good luck with your planning! (*NOTE: I was posting at the same time you were replying. I'll have another look at this later today and try and offer some suggestions).

The question is, "What is your priority?" Other than the two bike factories which will probably take most of a day? Do you want to see a couple of things very well or do you want to want to just drive/fly by many sites and just to be able to saw, "Ya, I saw it - sort of." Milan is worth a couple of days and go to Florence for three days. Save the rest for the next trip.

Ccioc is the other brand of bikes..... new line for us... Got the factory info off the net... could be wrong about location, but that is what I found.

Christy, Could you confirm whether it's this CIOCC Bicycle site that you're referring to? I found a listing for CIOCC, with their address at Via Guglielmo Marconi, 56 Curno, Bergamo I also found a rather lengthy video on the manufacture of a CIOCC frame at: http://homegrowncycle.com/video/ciocc-bicycle-factory/ As you appear to be setting up a distribution channel, I assume you'll be contacting the two manufacturers to get detailed address information? I haven't looked at the distance from the station to the factories, but you should probably budget for Taxi fare. I'll have a closer look at the travel details later. Must get to the Gym. Cheers!

Ken, yes my husband is in touch with the US distributor and handling the details.. I am the "travel planner" in this family. Thanks for the info

The Bianchi headquarters is about a mile north of Treviglio station. Treviglio is a 30 minute regional train from Milan Central station and costs 3.45 euro. Bergamo is 30 minutes from Treviglio station by regional train and cost is 2.75 euro.

Thanks ,Sam.... Valuable info!

Almost 5 km from Bergamo station to Curno. If arrival is Sunday in Milan, probably morning, you can walk around town in the afternoon, maybe see the Duomo, Galleria, La Scala Opera house. Maybe Last Supper (if open: google "cenacolo vinciano' and see opening hours). Monday you probably want to devote to your business trip. That's good because most museums are closed on Mondays. But I don't know if a full day is enough for you at both factories. It depends on how many hours you want to spend at each. Assuming Monday is enough for bike business. You could go to Florence on Tuesday morning via train. You can be there in less than 2 hours. Spend in Florence Tue, Wed, Thu. During these 3 days you can take a day trip to Cinque Terre. Then on Friday you check out of your hotel in Florence and head back to Milan. You need to spend the night in Milan on Friday night if you depart from Malpensa, because flights to the US depart in the mornings. Or, even better, you could go to Florence Tue and Wed. Then Thu morning you depart Florence to go to Cinque Terre (2 1/2 hrs). Stay in CT all day Thu. Spend the night there, then in the afternoon of Friday you head back to Milan directly from Cinque Terre. Spend the night in Milan, fly back next day Saturday. Last non stop Intercity train from Monterosso (Cinque Terre) to Milan Central departs at 6:55 pm and arrives at 9:50 pm (prices start at Eur 24.50). If you want to get to Milan earlier there is another IC non stop departing Monterosso at 4:46pm. Travel time still about 3 hours. (actually it does stop along the way, but no train change required) What I described above is a Clockwise itinerary. You could do the reverse in a Counterclock wise manner (Milan>Cinque Terre >Florence>Milan). Either way that's all the time there is.

Roberto,, This sounds like a really good plan to me, with Tues and Wed in Florence. When we get to our factory towns, will we need to take a taxi to the actual site? Other public transportation? Or walkable? Do I understand correctly to just buy individual train ticket to each destination? and this is less expensive than the Italy 7 day pass? The Milan airport is in what town? Would want to stay somewhere close , of course on day of departure. Suggestions?

So , maybe the itinerary would be something like this? night 1- Milan, night 2- Bergamo, night 3-4 Florence, Night 5- Cinque Terre, night 6, back to Milan, close to airport?.. Wish so much there was more time!

You don't need to spend the night in Bergamo. One of the factories is closer to Milan than Bergamo and Bergamo is only 30 miles away from Milan. Checking in and out takes longer than just going to Bergamo for the day on Monday. I would spend the nights as follows: Sun-MILAN Mon-MILAN Tue-FLORENCE Wed-FLORENCE Thu-MONTEROSSO* Fri-MILAN**
Sat-HOME * Monterosso is the largest of the 5 Terre. You could spend the night in any of the 5, however the IC trains don't stop in the others, therefore you would need to take a Regional train to Monterosso, then take the IC to Milan from there. ** Malpensa is not close to Milan (55 km). But you could still spend the night in Milan in the city without going near the airport, but stay close to the Cadorna station from which you can take the Malpensa Xpress train in the morning directly to the Airport (the station at Malpensa is next to the terminal). The train ride from Cadorna station to MXP is only 30 min. From the other stations a little longer, that's why you should stay at a hotel near Cadorna. If you want to go to a hotel near Malpensa the night before, there are hotels right next to the airport or in Gallarate, the big town near the airport. It's up to you. But the ride from Cadorna is quick enough. That way you get to spend an extra evening in the city, if you want. Malpensa is in the middle of nowhere, so if you choose a hotel near the airport you'd be stuck at the hotel because there are only crickets there at night.

Any suggestions for B&B near the Cordona station ? We definitely want to make the most of evey minute ww are there, so won't be staying in a dead area.

Cadorna,that is!

Central Milan is not what you would call B&B territory. Its a major business hub so its like looking for a B&B in the Chicago loop or Manhattan. There are good hotels in town in the $110 to $130 range as long as its not Fashion Week or similar big event while you're there. Check on bookings.com. We've stayed at the Best Western City Hotel by Piazza Lima, but that is more toward Central Station. Others on this site have liked the Hotel Sempione, again closer to Central Station. There are trains to Malpensa from Central Station, but they take 45 to 50 minutes as opposed to the 30 to 35 minutes from Cadorna. The subway system works very well and 2 lines cross at Cadorna station. Anywhere in the central district of Milan is unlikely to be "dead".

There aren't too many hotels near the Cadorna. The Makimba, the Genius or the Palazzo delle Stelline are the closest, but still a walk. There isn't much of budget price hotels downtown Milan. Do a search, but you'll get a medal if you stay under 100 Euro. Anywhere in the Centro Storico will do, you can always take a taxi from your hotel to the Cadorna station, which is probably what you should do if you have a lot of luggage. It shouldn't be too expensive if you stay downtown. The Cadorna station is right next to the Sforza Castle. Taking a taxi all the way from Milano to the Airport Milan Malpensa (MXP) will make you at least 100 Euro lighter. It could be an option if it's several of you sharing the ride, but two people will save with the train.

Christy, If you're looking for a Hotel near Milano Cadorna, Hotel London is reasonably close. You could walk from the Hotel to the station, but with luggage a short Taxi ride would be better (that's what I do). The Hotel is also within walking distance from the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele and other sites. Cheers!

Ken, Sam and Vernon, Thanks for the advise on the hotels. Would these hotels also suffice as a good base for our 1st 2 nights in Milan. Of course, taking the train to our factories on the outskirts. Is there good WIFI coverage at most restaurants, etc...? From doing some research, looks like WIFi coverage might even be better than in the states. Is the Italian rail service easy to navigate? We are accustomed to figuring out subways and so forth here in the states.. Just wondering from an English speaking point of view.

That last post was for Roberto, also

1. Hotels: Any hotel in the city center should do. In terms of using them as a base for your business trips, I'd say that wherever you are you probably need to take the subway to the station where you want to catch the train. There are 22 train stations in Milan, if you can believe that (and I'm just counting main lines and commuter trains, not the subway). There is no city in the US that has as many. Fortunately you won't need to go to all of them. Trains to Treviglio depart from the following stations (in order of frequency of trains): MILANO PORTA VITTORIA MILANO CENTRALE MILANO LAMBRATE (Although P.Vittoria has by far the most trains to Treviglio, basically every half hour, however the trains from Centrale are faster by 15 min., Centrale has train to treviglio every 1 hour approx.) Trains to Bergamo depart from the following stations: MILANO CENTRALE MILANO PORTA GARIBALDI (trains from Centrale are faster, however) Hence, for your first 2 days, you may want to be within easy reach of MILANO CENTRALE. That's not a problem, since it's the main hub and you can reach it by subway. 2. WIFI is widely available in nearly all hotels and there are hot spots in many areas and establishments. 3. For navigating trains, first of all become familiar with the Trenitalia.com website for train times. Once in the station there are displays everywhere showing: TRAIN TYPE AND NUMBER DESTINATION (Last destination of the train)
DEPARTURE TIME (using 24 hr clock) TRACK NUMBER Find your train on the big electronic timetable, go to the Track no. indicated (beware of last minute track changes), VALIDATE THE TICKET AT THE MACHINES NEAR THE TRACK (required except for Freccia high speeds), get on board, get off at your station.

I didn't see anything in there recommending you to see Lake Como. It is easy to get to from Milan and very relaxing.

Christy, "Would these hotels also suffice as a good base for our 1st 2 nights in Milan." As I recall, Hotel London is not far from the Duomo metro stop, which provides easy access to Milano Centrale. As with other Metro systems, you just have to pick the right line and direction to get to your desired destination. I travelled that route to get to Milano Centrale, for a day trip to Varenna (Lago di Como). Cheers!

On the subject of subways, you can get a 2 day transit pass for 8.25 Euro. I recommend buying it at a "Tabacci", little shops that sell cigs as well as newspapers, and transit tickets. You can also get them at vending machines in the subway stations, but at least at train stations, "helpers" will be there to guide navigate the menu in return for your spere change. If you stay near Cadorna (Hotel London, as Ken mentioned, is around 90 Euro and seems to have positive reviews) you can get to Centrale and Garibaldi stations in 15 minutes on the Green line. Lots of trolleys and buses can get you where you want to go as well. At the "Moscova" stop on the Green line, there are lots of cafes frequented by a younger crowd (Cafe Radetzky for one). A local guide also recommended the area arround the Navigli (last remaining canal in Milan) as a part of town for the younger crowd. Weekday Happy hour spreads seem to be the thing.