Travel Veterans, what do you think of my Itinerary?

Do you mean Varenna on Lake Como or Verona which is between Milan and Venice? They're both great, but the travel from Varenna to Venice will be a good bit longer. Either way, I would do two nights there, rather than one. (I hate spending only one night in a place.) Happy travels.

Michael,
We are going to Varenna on Lake Como. I only scheduled one night because it doesn't seem that there is a lot to do there.

You have done well, but I would spend another night in Florence rather than Venice. Much more to see in Firenze, and you can also do easy day trips from there.
You will probably have time for a day trip out of Rome also.

Just to keep the replies balanced, I'll suggest skipping Florence all together. Your trip looks lovely, have fun.

You could spend a year each in Venice and Rome and it wouldn't be enough. But I think your current schedule is fine!

You're doing two one-nighters in a row after a looooooong flight that if you're at all like me will wear you out. I think you should do two nights in Varenna because it's an absolutely beautiful and romantic place to recover from jet lag. Take a ferry ride to Bellagio during your full day there, if you get bored (not likely). I would take a day away from either Rome or Venice to do this (and I love both those cities). Three nights in Florence would be fine. And good for you for not trying to cram 10 places into 12 days. All too common.

Is there something you especially want to see at Varena? If not, I think I'd change it to Verona- it's a beautiful city (I just spent 3 weeks there) and the part you'd want to see is quite compact and close to the station. If it's the Italian lakes you want to see, maybe stay at either Desenzano or Peschiera, which are both on Lake Garda and on the train route Milan-Venice. Peschiera looks lovely (we went there on a day trip to Sirmione, (also lovely, but packed with tourists). Other wise, your trip looks great and I hope you have a fabulous time.

I agree with Rachele. Much as I adore Venice, I'd take one day away for any of your other stops (except Milan). I haven't been to Varena, but Verona is one of my favorite cities, lots to see and lovely at night.

FWIW, I absolutely love Verona, but I would have to pick Varenna over it as a place to recover from jet lag. But it's not worth it for only one night, imho.

Assuming this is your first time, looks great.

Anybody have suggestions for a day trip in case we become overwhelmed by Rome's hustle and bustle? Thanks! Cynthia

Someone will surely have a day trip suggestion but don't let the hype fool you, Rome isn't something to be feared. There are a lot of areas and sights that aren't crowded, I always felt safe and everything is amazing.

If the hustle and bustle wear on you, go out to the Appia Antica, Aqueduct Park, or hike the Janiculum. All a real change of pace without having to leave Rome.

From Rome - Ostia Antica as a day trip. It's on my list for my next visit. I was in Rome for 6 days and never had time to go, but I will for sure in February!

I would either leave for Varrena early in morning (skip MIlan Duomo) and stay two nights or forget about it and catch it on another trip and a reason to return to Italy.Otherwise I like your schedule. YOu could do one more day in Florence and one less in Venice but Potato/ Potato. YOu will like both.But if you do the extra day in Florence you can do a day trip to Siena. A good day trip from Roem can also be a train to Orvieto (1 1/2 hour)

I was just in Rome for a week. We found Castel St. Angelo a wonderfully relaxing and stress free place to visit IN Rome. Go first thing in the morning and you practically have the place to yourself. The views of Rome from the upper levels are BEAUTIFUL! They have a lovely grape vine covered outdoor cafe/bar from which you can sit and enjoy the views. If it's a hot day, the castels lower levels are refreshingly COOL! Another great place for lovely views of Rome was from Pincio Gardens. If you go to the top of the Spanish Steps (face away from the steps) turn left and walk up the street until you hit the park. You'll see a wonderful observation area with terrific views. The park itself is nice and quiet if your stressed. Pincio is a tiny part of the Borghese Gardens Park. There is also a Botanical Garden in Rome that I would have liked to visit, but never found the time. I did not find Rome stressful, just HOT. It hit 102 a few of the days we were there. Thank goodness there are lots of water fountains to drink from everywhere!

I think your schedule looks good, except as much as I love it I would skip Varrena if you can only spend one night. It's not worth it for only a few hour stay and it is the opposite direction of your real destination. If you can take a night from somewhere else, I would add it to Varrena. That would give you a full day and it would be a great place to acclimate yourself to Italy. If you don't want to take the time to do that, then I agree with the suggestion to stop in Verona. It is on the way to Venice. We only had two nights there and I wish we would have had more. For a day trip from Rome, what about Orvieto? It is a charming hill town and is unlike your other destinations. Happy anniversary and have a great trip!!

For a taste of Lake Como, one night in Varenna makes sense to me. Take a fairly early train and arrive there mid-day. Check into your RESERVED hotel and head for the ferry. Tour the lake from town to town for a few hours then have a nice dinner in Varenna. Next am, head for Venice. You may want to return to Lake Como. I did.

Are you arriving at 8:45PM or AM by plane or train in Milan? If you're arriving by plane, you might make it into the actual city by 9:30 or 10PM. The Duomo closes at 18:45 and trains depart for Varenna at 21:20 arriving at 22:32. Some hoteliers appreciate an earlier arrival but will accommodate a later arrival if you ask.

We are arriving by air. I am very frustrated, because originally we were going to arrive at 6pm, and British Airways changed our flight to arrive at 8:45!
The reason we are taking just one night in Varenna , is that we just wanted a day to recover, before we moved on to Venice, but I felt that 5 nights in Venice might be too much. I like the suggestion about skipping the Duomo in Milan, and going directly to Verenna. It seems we will be seeing lots of churches and the time might be better spent in Verenna. We have a hotel right on the lake, so I am very excited about that view! Thanks everyone for the suggestions about day trips from Rome! Cynthia

If you decide on Varrena, do the Rick Steves recommended cooking class. It was a wonderful experience

This thread is quite long and I haven't followed it so if I duplicate an answer I apologize. You do know cynthia, that the great attraction for many at the Duomo in Milano is the roof, not the inside? It is huge roof that you take an elevator up to and walk around, all white marble (and a little lead) with incredible masses of little and big spires with points all over, and the view is spectacular. Please don't write it off as "another church".

Yes, I have seen the RS show on Milan, and it does look beautiful. I am now struggling with adding a day to Varenna, and reducing our time in Venice to 3 nights. Or, I could take that day from Venice and add it to Florence, so we could do a day trip someplace. Too many decisions! I know that Verenna is out of the way, but I guess I wasn't that drawn to verona, since it's big attraction is the false claim that it was Romeo and Juliet's town. Correct me if I am wrong, but the train trip from Milan to Verenna is only about 1.5 hours. Thanks to all!

You are mistaken about Verona only being about Romeo & Juliet. You may have heard about it because of the play, and yes, there is the fake balcony and plenty of R & J things you can buy, but that is a very small part of it. You should read more about Verona before dismissing it as being something it is not.

Just curious - is this trip for next month or next year? If for next month, do you have time to change accomodations? Or an even bigger question - are accomodations available at this late date? If for next year, then you have plenty of time.

As to a side trip from Rome, Orvieto/Civita or Assisi is a good side trip. They are quieter but very beautiful places.

San Francisco, Our trip is in 10 days, If I decide to cut Venice to 3 nights and add that night to Florence, that would be on 9/12. I have emailed the hotel in Florence to see if we could add that day. Perhaps it's too late. I am a little concerned that I will really annoy the hotel manager in Venice, because 4 months ago, I changed my reservation, and his email subject line of the email was " final confirmation" ! In Venice we are staying at Hotel Pensione Guerrato. I am leaning towards 3 nights in Venice, and 3 in Florence.....If I can change it at this late date. Just Travel,
I will definitely check out Orvieto/Civita or Assisi, several people have suggested those cities.