Trip planning for 7 days late Dec. - arriving in Milan- headed to Rome?

Greetings, Faith!

Super economy fare for Rome to Milan in Dec. is €55.90 each (no prices yet for January). It's a 3-hour train ride. If you fly open-jaw, is there enough of a difference in airfare to warrant the time you lose, including a night in Milan so you're near the airport before your flight home?

How many nights do you have in Italy? Some people think they have 7 days if they have 6 nights, others know they will only have 7 days if they have 8 nights.

You can certainly do a loop trip from Milan and back, if Milan is your key arrival/departure point.

And I’ve been in Florence twice in November - really nice, but certainly cooler than there in the summer! Maybe a bit cooler yet, in December.

This may be too far-flung for a trip starting and ending in Milan, especially without at least a second week for traveling, but we had a 3-week trip in December 2012-January 2013. We started in Rome before Christmas, but the city was decked out for the holidays, including a giant Presepi (manger scene) outside St. Peter’s Basilica. We took a quick, cheap flight to Sicily, where we spent Christmas. We then returned to the mainland, and had a festive New Year’s in Sorrento, south of Naples. Day trips from Sorrento included Naples itself, and the surviving ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum. We finished with a train ride to Rome for our flight home.

If you’re interested in an Ancient Roman Empire town site, and don’t make it to Pompeii or Herculaneum way south of Rome, visit Ostia Antica, just west of Rome. It served as the port of Ancient Rome, and surviving bits include a tavern that seems like they could open up tomorrow and start serving food and beverages again, part of a mansion with amazing floor mosaics, and a large public toilet that’s amazing, considering that Roman plumbing was state of the art, 2,000 years ago. Maybe more comfortable and efficient than a restroom you’ll find at a modern arena or public gathering place nowadays.

We often fly in and out of Milan to save money, but our trips are much longer, so it's worth it to us to take trains to other cities and towns. For such a short trip, you will spend a lot of time and hassle just getting from one place to another.

How about either flying in and out of Rome and just staying in Rome (if your interest is in Ancient Rome or late Renaissance) or flying in and out of Milan but immediately taking the train to Florence (less than 2 hours by train) and just staying in Florence (if your interest is in Renaissance and being able to take easy day trips by public transportation to towns in Tuscany). Both cities are wonderful in December and both are jam-packed with things to see and do, although Florence has by far the most concentrated, easily walkable center.

Thank you all so much for your replies and wisdom. I think the idea of flying into Milan but staying in Florence is great and likely what we'll do.

We'll have 7 days, 8 nights, so I'm thinking that 3 days in Florence and 3 in Rome might work... checking on trains and logistics.
Your advice is much appreciated.
Faith

With8 nights, both cities are possible.

Usually flights land in Milan in the morning. If this is the case for you, take a train to Rome that same day. At least you can nap, eat, and relax on the train and you can spend 4 nights there so 3 full days. Than take the train to Florence the morning after your 4th night in Rome and stay 3 nights. The afternoon of the last day in Florence, take a train to Milan in time for a view of the Duomo and dinner the night before your flight.

Do the hotels and B&Bs (tend to) have heat?
A year ago we were in Spain in April. It was unseasonably cool and the cold humidity really froze me -> there was one AirBnb without heat !!!

If you want to stay mainly in Florence and Rome, consider flying into Milan, train it to Florence for your 3 days and then train to Rome for however many days and then fly from Rome to home. Of course, you'd have to price the multi-city plane tickets but the time savings may be worth a little extra $$. Going all the way back to Milan from Rome for the flight home doesn't seem worth it to me. After the train trip from Rome to Milan, it takes another hour or so on the train from Milan Centrale to the airport. That's time you could spend sight-seeing in Rome.

I took a day trip to Lucca from Florence last year and loved it. It was in early October, though, while the weather was still nice. It will get dark pretty early in Dec-Jan, but it would still be a doable trip.