1. Depends on where you are coming from? But they are as good as many others. Verona is a beautiful mid-size city.
2. Ravenna, Modena, Ferrara, Parma, just to name a few.
3. Private car. Alternatively bus from Venezia Mestre station.
4. Turned around in what way?

Keep in mind that the Milan airports are outside the city and MXP - your most likely landing point - is an hour outside the city. So it is probably an hour into Milan and then a gap for the Bologna train and then an hour+ to Bologna in terms of fighting jet lag.
Bologna can probably absorb the days you have there but if you really want day trips Modena (25min), Reggio Emilia (35min) and Parma (1hr) are all easy train options.

Verona is a pretty, cafe culture kind of town with churches, a Roman arena and theater if you want sights and is lovely walking old town based on the original Roman one.

If you want something other than Verona there is Lake Garda nearby - check out Malcesine which lakeside but has a cable car up to Mount Baldo and you can hike around there and even hike up or down if you're so inclined.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

You can get from Verona to Cortina with a train to Fortezza, then a train to Dobbacio (Toblach), then bus to Cortina. Takes 5 hours.
Similar travel time, but a much later arrival going through Padova and Montebelluna, then bus to Calalzo-Pieve di Cadore, then bus to Cortina. The first bus looks to be a train replacement bus, so there may be better connections later this summer.

Similar return to Venice in 5 hours, 2 buses and a train. There may be scheduled bus service to Venice this summer in less time.

Hi and thank you all for some great tips!

I will definitely look closer at all the town suggestions and the distance from Bologna.

Also to look at the travel time from the Milan airport to Bologna. We may need to stay somewhere closer for the arrival day as jet lag is definitely a problem. Any suggestions for smaller town feels?

When I mentioned turn it around, I meant start in Venice and do the itinerary the other way. If that makes things easier?

It looks like Verona sounds great so we will fit that in.

I can't thank you enough for the suggestions on getting to Cortina, I will look into it

A &G

If you want to visit Cortina in late Aug (peak of the peak season), you need to secure your hotel room NOW. Also, Cortina will host the next Winter Olympics and therefore there may be construction/renovation that causes noise and dust. You can stay in Toblach as an alternative.

Hi ballinthepark. I appreciate this as I knew August is busy but not that busy. I also didn't know about the winter Olympics. Let me ask you this.... I did originally want to go in September but my only choice is to start the trip after September 14th at the earliest. I am fearful the buses in the Cortina area are significantly reduced sometime after Sept 11th. Should I worry about this? I really do not want to rent a car and want access to the trailheads and service to Venice
Thanks
A&G

I think full bus schedules for Sept may not be released yet. However, it doesn't hurt to ask hotels or owners of vacation rentals that you are interested in for better information.

Ok I will try that