Northern Italy by train

Posted by halfdozmom (Vancouver, WA) on 01/07/20 08:20 PM

We will be starting in Varenna, ending in Florence for a week (total about 2 1/2 weeks) late April early May. We will be backpacking and traveling by train. Between we hope to do the following-

Milan - 1 day
Venice - 2-3 days
CT 1-2 days
Siena - at least one night
Florence - 7-8 days (while there, day trips to some of these cities we can reach by public transit/train: Pisa, Lucca, Assisi, San Gimignano/Volterra, Ravenna, Cortina. We don’t need to see all, and are open to other options that might be better)

What would be our best order for an itinerary? We’ve never been to Italy, so we may be way off base an doability, so please be kind 🤗

Posted by halfdozmom OP

Vancouver, WA

01/07/20 08:40 PM

376 posts

Also, we don’t need to fly out of Florence. Other that the starting point, we can mix it up any way that seems best and fly out of somewhere else 😊

Posted by Nelly

Abruzzo Mountains

01/07/20 09:07 PM

1075 posts

To reduce cross-peninsula shuttles, I think the optimal loop is to travel Milan - CT - Venice - Tuscany (Siena, Florence et al). I would personally choose one coast or the other (Venice or CT), not both, but it's your trip and it is doable. I just recommend avoiding too much back and forth.

Edit: since you're willing to change things up, all I'm suggesting is any way that creates a loop instead of zig-zagging. So Milan - Venice - Tuscany - CT, maybe fly out of Milan works as well as Milan - CT - Florence - Venice. Less travel time, more on the ground enjoyment time

Posted by halfdozmom OP

Vancouver, WA

01/07/20 09:12 PM

376 posts

We are open to where we fly home from and where Florence falls in our trip

Posted by halfdozmom OP

Vancouver, WA

01/07/20 09:14 PM

376 posts

Nelly - thank you!! Great options to consider!!

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

01/07/20 10:01 PM

27648 posts

I believe it's Cortona rather than Cortina (d'Ampezzo--way up in the Dolomites) that you're thinking of. That's a train trip to Camucia-Cortona station then a bus or taxi up to the hill town.

This webpage will give you access to the schedule for buses from Camucia to Cortona: https://www.tiemmespa.it/viaggia-con-noi/orari-e-linee/ . Type Camucia into the Cerca Linea box.

This is the schedule for one of the buses between Camucia and Cortona: https://www.tiemmespa.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/quadroi-su4ritorno-castigliondel_lago-terontola-camucia-cortona-1.pdf. "Feriale" means "workday", and that includes Saturdays, but you have to check the footnotes, because the schedules vary by day of the week. There is very little service on Sundays (Festivo), which is pretty typical of Italian inter-city buses.

Assisi will require at least 5 hours on trains, round-trip. It is a beautiful place; only you can decide whether that's the best use of one of your days in Florence. The non-touristy part of Assisi is well uphill. Look for a bus to the top then wander down.

Ravenna will be at least 4 hours round-trip. The mosaics are stunning and the town is a beauty, but it's a lot of time on the train.