I am going to Milan from sept 22 to October 4. I am planning the trip. I was think fly into Milan take the train to Florence until 25, jet lag and a day trip to Sienna or Chianti. The 25th to Rome by train for 2 nights, then 28 train to Cinque Terre area for 2 night, 30th to Venice 3 nights then to Milan one night and home. It seems like a lot of time on the train! I want to enjoy both history and nature and won't have a car. Please provide suggestions on the above or other areas you recommend! Thanks
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2628 posts
You have about 11 or 12 nights, it looks like, which really doesn't give you enough time for 4 locations. I would do 3 - maybe Venice, Florence and Rome. Also, I would fly into Venice and out of Rome - there's no need to start and end in Milan if you're not interested in seeing it. Doing 3 cities would give you 3 nights in Venice, 4 in Florence with time for day trips, and then 4 in Rome. These cities are all well-connected by train and will be easy to transit.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
You have 12 nites on the ground. Try this if you want to do all 4. Or just do the big three and add those two nights to Florence and Rome.
Milan-Venice 2H35m. 3 nites.
Venice-Florence 2H05m. 3 N.
Florence-La Spezia 2H41m. 2N.
La Spezia-Rome 3H35m 3 N.
Rome-Milan 2H51m 1 N.
Posted by
3122 posts
Are you flying to Milan because it's the city that interests you most? Or is it cheaper than flying to Rome or Florence?
If Milan is your top place of interest, I would say to spend more time there and then choose 2 other destinations to stay overnight. You can always do day trips. For example, from Milan you can take a day trip to Turin or up to Lugano or to the Riviera (San Remo). If you stay in Venice you can take day trips to Ferrara, Padua, Mantua, and/or Verona; or Ravenna, or even San Marino. If you stay in Florence you can do day trips to San Gimignano, Siena, Pisa, etc.
OTOH, if Rome is really your center of interest, plan most of your time there. Rome has endless things to see and do.
In any case, with a home base / day trip plan you'll still be spending a fair amount of time riding trains, but you won't be packing up every morning and wrangling your luggage all over the place day after day.
Posted by
OP
78 posts
We are traveling in out of Milan because it was very cheap $899 for two form Nyc.
Posted by
3122 posts
Good for you, getting a bargain air fare!
Even if you are not especially keen on Milan, it does have several world-class sights. The Last Supper, the cathedral, and La Scala opera house come to mind immediately. Milan also puts you within range of both the Alps (Lugano; Turin [as in shroud of]) and the Riviera (San Remo, Portofino, or Cinque Terre) for day trips.
Your plan to visit Florence, Rome, Cinque Terre, and Venice is doable, but as you say it's a lot of traipsing around, and you've left yourself almost no time to see Milan. What if you skipped Rome, saving it for a future trip? That would give you more time to savor the northern locations. You'd then have a reasonable number of days to divide among Milan & surroundings, Venice & surroundings, and Florence & surroundings.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
The fast trains between major cities will make your travel time manageable. The only long trip is to Cinque Terre.
Trenitalia can give you a precise schedule for your train trips, it is definitely doable.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Sep 02. Arrive Milan. Train to Venice
Sep 05. Train to Florence
Sep 08. Train to Rome
Sep 11. Train to Cinque Terre
Sep 13. Train to Milan
Sep 14. Depart Milan