I'm traveling for work in mid-October, and after the conference ends on a Friday, I'm taking the following week off, so I'll have eight days until I fly home. I'm starting from Frankfurt, and departing from Milan, so I decided I want to take the train through Switzerland to Italy. I'll probably be a bit tired after the work trip part, so I'm looking forward to a relaxed solo trip (I love meandering, eating, reading on the train, eating some more, visiting a museum or two etc) and am trying to be more chill than my usual method of squeezing in as much to see and do as possible! I've solo travelled a lot before, but have never been to Italy nor Switzerland before, and am in my late twenties.
That being said, I'd love some input on how many days to spend in each place, and if my planned itinerary sounds doable. So far, I have only booked the first two nights in Zurich (I'll take the four hour train Saturday am, and stay Sat-Sun, eat my weight in chocolate, etc). I'm thinking of taking the train from Zurich to Chur on Monday am, taking the 4.5 hour Bernina Express to Tirano, having lunch there and moving on to Milan (2ish hours by train).
This is where I'm unsure with what to do between Monday evening and Saturday morning -- should I stay in Milan for a couple of nights now, or go straight on to Florence (another 2 hour train) for the whole 5 days? Will I wish I had more time to soak in Florence (which is the place I'm most excited for) and possibly do a day trip to Siena or Bologna? Or should I split the time evenly, and spend time enjoying a bit of aperitivo culture and the Last Supper in Milan? If I stay in Milan a couple nights, I'll still have time to spend 3 or so days in Florence, so I'm torn.
I've heard only amazing things about Florence, and mixed experiences of Milan, but I don't really have expectations and it could be cool to see. I have to come back to Milan anyway to fly out the following Sunday am, and I think I'll stay in a hotel by MXP the night before as it's an am flight -- it looks like the Moxy is pretty convenient?
I would love any advice on the itinerary I have in mind, and if you think anything should be reordered or skipped, as all I have booked so far is Zurich! Also would be great to have recs of best neighborhoods to stay in both cities -- I'll have a big suitcase so I'd like to stay pretty close to the train station, but also want to feel safe as a solo female traveller and also feel like I'm staying somewhere a bit interesting/cool. Mostly excited to eat so if there's any standout meals I shouldn't miss along the way, I'd love to add to my growing list!