One night in Milan

What time is your arrival in to Milan? I would possibly head straight on to Como, then overnight in Milan before heading across to Venice for your cruise.
I stayed at this traditional 4 star in Mian for one night a few years back - close to the station for train and airport transfers. http://hotelberna.com/en/

Take the Malpensa Express train to Milano Centrale, walk 3 blocks to Hotel Berna (reserved well in advance) and check in, and if room is not ready (probably not as you will hit town late morning), have the hotel hold your bags. Purchase 1-day transit passes at a Tabac, (newstand/ciggy shop), and take the Metro (subway) 1 block away and go to Duomo, the Milan Cathedral. Tour the Cathedral and go up to the roof. Walk across the street to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and gawk. It's OK to get a cup of coffee, but don't eat lunch there, its a rip off. Walk over to the Castello Sforzesco and walk around the medieval fortress. If you are feeling lucky, you might walk down to the Chiesa Santa Maria della Grazie and see if there are any cancellations to view DaVinci's "Last Supper".
Late afternoon, head back to the hotel on the Metro and get in your room, clean up, walk down the street to the the Antica Oteria Cavallini for a nice Italian dinner. Back to the hotel and you will be ready to crash.

Thats what I would do.

Thank you both! Hotel Berna looks perfect and is available. We arrive at 2:25pm.

What time does your flight arrive in Milan? If its before mid-afternoon, you will likely not be able to check in to a hotel anyway. We chose to go straight through to our lake destination.

I had not even considered continuing on, but I am going to think about that!

If you want to do that, you should be able to get to Varenna in 2 hours and 10 minutes from Malpensa if you can make the the 4:13 pm train. There is a 15 minute connection at Milano Centrale. There is a connection once an hour at 13 past the hour. The 5:13 pm takes a little longer because of an extra connection required at Lecco.

Yes, I also can recommend Hotel Berna and it is close to the train station and metro stop to get to Duomo, etc. On a girl's trip we stayed here one night a few years ago and it was perfect. Also has a great breakfast buffet. Last Oct. my husband and I flew into Malpensa and hopped on a train to Varenna as soon as we got to Centrale. You could go straight on to Lake Como unless you would like to spend a night in Milano to see Duomo, etc. Also enjoy Croatia! Myself, husband and our 2 sons really loved our trip to Croatia & Slovenia back in 2005. Buon Viaggio!

I highly recommend the following:

1. Go to the Duomo. Pay for the Cathedral Pass and climb (or take the lift) to the rooftop for gorgeous views and some stellar architecture.
2. Take a walk through Vittorio Emmanuele II Gallery, which is a lovely covered shopping arcade with the likes of Emporio Armani, Versace. As soon as you emerge, La Scala (the famous opera house) is on your left.
3. A tour of La Scala is -well- worth it.
4. Get a gelato. Yum!
5. Walk up to Sforzesca Castle, which is an immense park now, populated by housecats and tourists more than the powerful Sforza family. The grounds are lit up and open quite late. It's a very pretty sight.

Heather, were you following me? lol

My wife and I might be in Milan mid Nov, looked at Hotel Berna and all booked, any one have any other hotels to recommend? Thx. Joe