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Rome to Milan - 2 week trip advice?

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We are planning to go Italy for 2 weeks in late September- October. We wanted to get some advice from you as we are debating how to spend time in Liguria - Piedmont-NW Italy. Below is our interiim itinerary and we are looking to fill the gaps for 3,4,5,6. We are definitely planning to do 1,2, and 7 as we will fly back to SFO from Milan.

  1. Fly SFO to Rome - 3 days
  2. Tuscany - 4 days
  3. Cinque Terre?
  4. Genoa? Liguria
  5. Asti-Barolo - short side trip
  6. Turin?
  7. Milan -> SFO - 1-2 days? Questions/Comments below:
  • My wife has already been to Italy so we are skipping some of the major spots like Florence, Venice, Pisa, etc
  • We dont want to move around too much. Ideally we only want to stay in an area for 4 days and limit switching hotels to a minimum. We prefer a home base to explore.
  • We prefer walking or taking trains to driving. However we will probably rent a car in Tuscany.
  • Would you recommend Cinque Terre or going to Genoa? I assume we cant do both because Cinque Terre requires lots of moving around?
    • Is Genoa worth visiting ? I assume its not feasible to stay in Genoa and do a day trip to Cinque Terre.
    • I would like to stop in Barolo for a tasting if possible.If not then Asti? probably a day trip?
    • Is Turin worth visiting before we go to Milan? If we skipped Turin where would you go for 2-3 days before heading to Milan? Or would you stay 3-4 days in Milan?
    • We are set on this route to start in Rome and fly back from Milan..

thanks for any advice...

Posted by
16243 posts

Some people prefer to do Rome last, mainly because the airport is close to the city (35 min), unlike Milan's.
It's up to you. But if you have a car in Piedmont, it won't matter, because you can stay at the lake Maggiore on your last night(s) and drive to the Malpensa airport in the morning to return your car there.

I'm not a fan of Genoa, but if you want to visit it, one full day will do. In Liguria, besides the Cinque Terre and Portovenere area, I like Moneglia (for some relaxation). Liguria can be easily visited by train. You can also visit Portofino from the Cinque Terre (or Moneglia) if you want. Staying in Portofino will cost you an arm and a leg. They charge you for the air you breathe by the minute, there.
If after Liguria, you head to the Piedmont Langhe and Monferrato areas (I bet you like wine), I suggest to rent a car in Genoa or Turin and visit that area by car, so that you can drink and drive. If you already have a car in Tuscany, you might as well keep it for Piedmont too. While at the Cinque Terre stay in Monterosso, which has plenty of parking.
If you fly back from Milan Malpensa airport (MXP), it wouldn't hurt to spend your last few nights (including the one before flying back) at the Lake Maggiore. Lake Maggiore is a short ride to the airport (about 40 min from Stresa and even less from Arona).
If you choose the Lake Maggiore option (my suggestion) I don't think you have time for visiting the city of Milan.

Posted by
11 posts

thanks. Good point - we will look into starting in Milan and ending in Rome.

How much time should we budget for Cinque Terre and Piedmont? or should we spend more time around Milan and Lake Como instead of Piedmont/Turin?

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