Single Man 6 days in N. Italy?

In six days? No. You will spend most of the time traveling from place to place and see nothing.

Will you have a car or use public transit?

Traveling by train. The first week is done by car. Not planning on staying many places for more than a night. Looking at it, I would say The Dolomites, Venice, Florence and the Cinco Terre.

hey jmatto
no way, are you kidding? if you're not worried about lodging where you staying, how many bags do you have and where will you keep? have you done research on public transportation (bus and train), point A to point B, september can be a busy month. are you trying to mark off places on your bucket list? italy is a big country and if curious about everyday life of residents stay put, you will see italy whiz right by you with no enjoyment you can explore some of lake garda or verona. this is your trip and i'm just giving you my 3 cents.
aloha

Since you have to return to Milan, forget the Dolomites and Venice for this trip. You may be able to visit Genoa, Santa Margherita Ligure or Camogli and the Cinque Terre to hike. This would be a wonderful week.
Can you contact the Catholic Church in Oleggio to see if they have any records for your grandfather? These records can be quite helpful.

So I've narrowed it to 2 nights in Florence and 2 in Venice. Hiking will take a backseat this trip. Makes a good excuse to go back!
That leaves 2 nights. One will be in Milan the night before my flight back. The other? Was thinking Bologna for a night. I could put it between Florence and Venice. Any other suggestions or should I add the extra night to the other cities? I picked Bologna because it's in the middle, plus I didn't see a lot about it other than food is supposed to be good.
Other questions:
-Anyone had experience with photography tours? Specifically, heading out with a professional to get advice and improve my hobby as well as getting insights from a local and maybe some shots others won't.
-Is there anything that happens in Northern Italy in the first weeks of October? (festivals or holidays people regularly observe) I'd be willing to travel to see a unique event during the week of October 6th to October 12th.

Thanks for the input from all. I appreciate the help.
J.

Jeff,

It's good to see that you've reduced the number of stops, as your first Itinerary was unrealistic. When planning the number of stops, it's a good idea to assume that each change-of-location will take about four hours (in some cases that will be longer).

Regarding the extra night, I'd suggest adding a night to Florence and using the extra time for day trips to Siena, Lucca or perhaps even the Cinque Terre (that is possible, although it will be a somewhat longer day if you want to have a look at all five towns). If yo decide to do that, post another note and the group can offer some suggestions.

If you haven't travelled in Italy before, there are some potentially expensive caveats to be aware of both with rental cars and when using trains or other public transit. If you need more information, post another note.

Do you speak any Italian. If not you may want to brush-up on a few of the common greetings, etc.

With only one night, sticking to the route between Milan and Venice is wise.

Your two big choices are Bologna and Verona.

If you wanted to add a night to either Florence or Venice, you could add day trips to Sienna or Padua (Padova), respectively.

My suggestion would be to take the train from Bellagio to Florence 3 nights. train early morning to Venice 2 nights, train to Verona (lovely walkable city) 1 night and then your last night in Milan. You will only get approx. 2.5 days in Florence due to travel 1.5 days in Venice. I suggest the extra day in Venice if Verona is too much.

You don't mention your age, but not only is Bologna a great food town, it is also a university town. So if you are younger, you might prefer it to Verona.

If you are near Turin, like the countryside, go in the Langhe region South of Turin, where they make Barolo wine and try White truffle from Alba as well as porcini.
You would need a car or need to hike really a lot.

I smile every time I see the title of this thread. The first time I had to check to see which forum it was under since it could have been "travel partners." :}

I hope you have a wonderful trip. I think you were quite wise to get input from the travelers on the forum.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions!
Reading the OP makes me realize how cheeky my original itinerary sounded. If only there was more time.
Looking like that extra night may just go to Florence and become a day trip to a surrounding spot. I'd love to add in the Cinco Terre, but I think I'll hold that for another trip and give it more than a day trip.
As far as Milan goes, should I worry about staying near Linate Airport? Is traffic bad enough in the morning to warrant an "airport hotel"? Or can I stay more central? Flight departs 11:25 and I assume be there 2hrs. before.
Thanks again to all who replied
J

I have stayed at a hotel by the Duomo a number of times and the ride to Linate is easy and not far.

I'm just going to add that I looove Verona. It's one of the prettiest towns I've been to in Italy. Just throwing that out there.

Linate is a short taxi trip from central Milan. We stayed near the Duomo area and taxi was about 15 minutes and 15 euros ( last year). Hotel arranged it for us and traffic was light and we went mid-week in the morning.

Stay in Milan the last night and enjoy! Have a great trip! And you can always go back.

Jeff,

As I mentioned earlier, the Cinque Terre is an easy day trip from Florence. Depending on which trains you choose, there could be 1 - 2 changes and the shortest travel time is about 2H:34M each way (using Riomaggiore as the destination).

If you think of Lake Como as an upside down Y, Bellagio is where all of the lines meet and difficult to access anywhere else by car unless you plan on taking a ferry to Varenna to the east side or Menaggio to the west side. It is absolutly stunning there...just saying! Varenna is the only place on the lake that has train service! When you are at the Lake be sure to go to Cantina Follie in Tremezzo. It is a wine bar that is just amazing! The quintessential wine bar! Tell Joost that Linda from Florida said Hi! You won't regret it and order the antipasto... all organic and from the Valtellina valley, north of the Lake. You will need to take the ferry if you are staying in Bellagio. You can find many hikes and trails with stunning views...for your photography! They have pamphlets that tell you the intensity and duration of the hike in the tourist place in Menaggio Piazza.

I would use Google maps to note travel time between some of the places since you are on a time budget....particularly the Cinque Terre to Milan piece. Not so sure that Genoa would be a big destination unless you have other reasons to visit there. I think I would go from Florence to somewhere in Tuscany (Montepulechiano or San Gimignano both small medieval towns) or Cinque Terre depending on your time. If you go to Tuscany, you could take a wine bike tour...it's a very photogenic area and quite a day to talk with a guide who will tell you about life there as you bike, rest, and enjoy a good meal after the ride. It cost us about $150 per person two years ago. Just another thought!

As far as finding information about relatives, check out the local church. They have all kinds of records, however, they are not always open every day. Buon viaggi in your journey!