Stop in Milan between Florence and Venice

Go for it! We have seen The Kast Supper twice, incredible. There are city tours that include it if you can’t buy tickets directly. Why not stay overnight in Milan?

It's approximately 150 miles from Florence to Venice. To go by Milan is an additional 210 miles. The question is whether the trip to Milan is worth the time and cost of driving that far?
Beware that there are radar cameras on the causeway going over to Venice, and there is no leeway on mph.

Mrs. Davis, my 5th grade teacher travelled every summer. She would share her travel slides with the 4th and 5th graders....she is the reason I started a travel bucket list in Grade 4. Her images of Spain (including the killing of the bull in the bull fights) put Spain on the top of my list and I just kept building from there.
Of course you want to do this!
I use something like rome2rio website to plot the cities of my travel. The website provides options of travel with recommended times and pricing. Now, it doesn't change pricing or availability seasonally, but for someone new to that country, it shows what websites or companies provide the logistics.
So, if you are starting in Florence, then you can get a train to Milan in under 2 hours. Park your baggage at the luggage storage at the train station and head to the Last Supper. Train from Milan to Venice is about 2.5 hours.

If you plan ahead, then book your train tickets early to save the most on the long distance high speed trains and book a time slot for the painting ahead of time.
However, if you aren't able to book ahead, then as mentioned, buy a city tour ticket.

My last suggestion is that if you want to book ahead, but booking 2 people at the same time becomes difficult, maybe you can look at booking 1 person at two close scheduling times.
edit: Are you driving? Did I miss something?

Not driving! Since we're sticking to major cities we'll stick to the trains. We'd prefer not to stay one night in a place - we like to settle in as much as possible and not deal with packing/unpacking and checking in/out too many times.

First, be absolutely certain you can get late morning or afternoon tickets for the day you wish to visit the Last Supper. Be aware that there will be a specified entry time and a strict 30 minute limit on your visit. It's a huge detour. You'll spend the better part of the day rather than a few hours going from Venice to Florence, and it will double the cost of the train. If you can get past all that, then it's certainly possible. It does strike me as an inefficient use of time, but maybe it's better to be crazy than regretful.

Florence to Venice is 2 hours fast train. You are asking to add 2.5 hours to a trip....and see something you WANT to see. I don't call that crazy or even an inefficient use of time. Not every minute of travel needs to be productive. Consider the hours one sleeps in or sits over every lunch? We each have our own criteria of how to spend our vacation.
Now, for something different, have you booked your flights? If not, what do you think of flying into Rome and out of Milan? Depending on departure time, it might require one overnight in Milan prior to flight, but it might feel more 'efficient' and allow for a little more flexibility to get a viewing timeslot.

Hmmm. Sounds like my attempt at subtle humor was a little too subtle. Clearly going from Venice to Florence with a long stop in Milan isn't very efficient, and it's the OP who suggested it might be a "crazy" idea. The point I was trying to make is that given a choice between doing something a little "crazy" and regretting not having done it for long after the vacation is over, maybe doing the "crazy" thing is the right choice for them. It certainly could be done, provided they can get tickets.

I decided to stay a night in Milan to see last supper and the duomo
I am traveling between Varenna and Bologna. We had originally planned to day trip back to Milan from Bologna and see the Painting. But I thought that was a waste of time to backtrack. My wife on the other hand didn't want to do a short stop with luggage.
So we get to relax explore a little more and enjoy ourselves.
I am actually looking forward to this short stop.
So hope you take a walk on the wild side and decide to be crazy and see the Last Supper.
Your question shore has caused a heated debate among a few people.
Relax folks its vacation!

We did it! We decided to go for it and did a whirlwind day in Milan. We weren't able to get tickets directly to see the Last Supper so we did a tour and that worked out well because we saw a lot in 6 hours! We would definitely have loved to spend more time there but this was perfect for what made sense for us on trip. The Duomo and the Last Supper were two highlights of our trip. Thanks for the feedback!

The trip is feasible if done by train, too long for driving. As much as I think that Milan is underrated, it is still a long detour and not the most efficient way to spend your time. Considering that is difficult to find tickets, that the visit is short and the fresco barely visible, I would consider spending the same time visiting 2-tier sights in Florence. IMHO you get a better idea of Italian Renaissance spending time visiting Florence's S. Lorenzo (including Cappelle Medicee and the library), S. Maria Novella and S. Spirito, or a tour of Palazzo Vecchio.

Except that seeing The Last Supper is one of my top travel memories and it may also be for the OP.

I'll add that there are times and US origin-cities where airfare to or from Milan can be very cheap. It's also nice to try out Emirates if you want to. We did not include Milan on our first trip to Italy, and did not regret it. We've actually been there more than once now, because we have connected elsewhere, or tried Emirates. The OP didn't ask about it, but there was a recent discussion here about how easy (or hard) it is to fly home from Venice in 2019.

The Last Supper is like the Statue of Liberty in NYC. Everybody asks about it when they should be going online, today, to try and get an official ticket.

Edit: Referring to the later post about the experience, I had wanted to see the Last Supper for some time. I'm glad I can say I saw it. But the fresco is in terrible condition, and the viewing experience was highly regimented and rushed. At least you can stay in the Sistine Chapel as long as you want to.

Milan is no where near Florence or Venice. Plan to visit NW Italy and perhaps Switzerland on another trip.

This is the OP. I just posted this morning to share how my experience went and thank those who gave advice. No need to tell me not to do it because I already did it and it was one of the best days of my trip. 😂

lindsey, so glad you enjoyed your trip.
I am posting just to add balance to people that recommend skipping Milan. I spent 3 weeks in Italy between Lake Como and Rome. I spent 1 day and 1 night in Milan. I would give up my 2 nights in CT to keep my time in Milan. Yes "the fresco" is in terrible shape. However, standing in that room seeing the windows where the "light source" of the painting comes from as part of the whole image is forever seared in my memory. No way a cute town full of souvenirs on a coast can compare to that.
The OP identified something important to her and I am glad she stuck it out and even more glad that it turned out to be the right decision. It is good to get a general poll about the importance of certain sights, but even better to trust your own instincts.

lindsey,
Congratulations on making it to Milan and seeing the Last Supper and the Duomo. It took us two trips to Milan to see the Last Supper and for us, it was also one of our highlights in Italy.

I'm glad you went with what you wanted to do, and went for it! Good for you, and I hope you get to go back!

hello!!! sorry to interrupt on your thread but i noticed someone mentioned rome2rio and have never heard of that. is this an accurate and safe way to book travel around europe? site looks great.