Hello!
Thanks to all of your helpful comments, I've come up with a rough itinerary but hoping for some feedback before I book accomodations. We are a family of 4 coming the first week of July for 11 nights. The kids are 9 and almost 4. The adults have been to the major cities in Italy many years ago. We have to fly in and out of Milan - only direct, affordable flights. For background, we live in New York City. We love beautiful scenery, mountains, biking, hiking, crystal blue water, castles, forts, boat rides, countryside, and a little bit of art and culture. Our 9-year-old loves soccer and the Roman gods. Our 4-year-old loves ice-cream and pasta. The 4-year-old can't do long or difficult hikes or bike so we are limited a bit with her (in the US we have the tag-a-long bikes but I don't know if they have those in Italy?)
Here is what we are thinking:
Day One: Fly into MXP, train or car to Stresa.
3 nights in Stresa (Do we need a car here? We will need it for next leg so if it's possible to rent here we could do that)
Drive to Ligurian coast and stay in Camogli or Santa Margherita.
3 nights on coast.
Drive to Tuscany and stay somewhere near Siena for 4 nights. Day trip to Florence, 2 days in the hill towns.
Back to Milan for last night. Ideally leave car in Florence before taking the train back to Milan. Stay somewhere in Milan near the train station. Late afternoon flight to can take the express back to MXP day we leave.
Is this doable and well-paced? I'm not crazy about the idea of driving in Italy but if we are on freeways should be OK and somewhat easier with the little ones in tow. I would prefer two bases for 5 nights and then a last night in Milan but having difficulty deciding between lake and coast and logistically it seems to make sense.
Any feedback is appreciated!