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Northern Italy May 2020 Venice, Florence, Tuscany and Cinque Terre or Lake Como area

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My fiancée and I are planning to go to Italy in mid to late-May 2020 for 11 days and 10 nights (with the possibility of extending the trip by a couple of days). We're considering all options but are thinking of flying from JFK into Venice and leaving from Milan. We'd like to focus on the northern half of Italy and perhaps go as far south as the Tuscany area.

We've done enough traveling in Europe now that each of us only takes a carry-on bag and a backpack - so mobility won't be too much of an issue. I've read about driving in Italy and am thinking of only renting a car in the Tuscany area, otherwise we plan on mostly train travel. So...
Day 1: arrive in Venice by noon
Day 2: Venice
Day 3: Venice and take train to Florence
Day 4: Florence
Day 5: rent car to drive into Tuscany area
Day 6: Tuscany
Day 7: Tuscany
Day 8: return car and take train to either Cinque Terre or Lake Como area
Day 9: Cinque Terre or Lake Como
Day 10: Cinque Terre or Lake Como, travel to hotel near Milan Airport for overnight before morning flight on day 11
Day 11: depart from Milan at 10am

As I said, we have the option of extending the trip by a couple of days, still working on that. But does this timeframe seem doable?

Posted by
1585 posts

For 11 days, the time frame is good. I would add a day to Florence though. Lake Como would be my area of choice to stay before I fly home from Milan. The distance between the two towns is convenient. Some notable towns in Tuscany to established base for touring nearby villages are Lucca, Chiusi, Montepulciano, Greve, and San Casciano in Val di Pesa. San Casciano in Val di Pesa is ideally located in the Chianti Classico area near Florence and it's perfect for daily excursions to Florence , Siena , San Gimignano, and to explore the gorgeous Chianti countryside as well. It's the first town to greet you in northern Chianti, a gateway leading to the other villages in that region. The territory of the town, whose center is a delightful village perched on a hill, is scattered with small fortresses, churches and hamlets waiting to be discovered.

https://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/san-casciano-in-val-di-pesa/

https://www.verrazzano.com/

Posted by
872 posts

MXP AM departure we like to spend the previous night at the Villa Malpensa, not arriving until dinner time. The hotel has a friendly bartender and a very good restaurant; 15 minutes to the airport in the morning.

Adding one night each to Venice and Florence would be expedient as right now you have only one full day in these cities.

I suggest you rent a car upon arrival in Florence and bring it back. Leaving Florence, Lake Como [quite possibly mid-lake in Varenna] would involve much less travel time than the Cinque Terre [train time to MXP only 2 hours].

Read this about driving in Italy and restrictions involved [ZTLs]; avoid leaving anything of value in a car when parked:

http://driventoit.blogspot.com/

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