Trip to Italy

How many nights will you be in Italy?

10 nights all together

Bologna, Parma or Modena.

Depends on what you want to do.

There’s so many options. Can you give us an idea of what you’re wanting to do & see (without naming a city), so we’re not just giving you a list?

Also, I see that you asked about hotels in Milan & Florence on separate posts. There’s a huge amount of travelers this year, so the favorite spots will be booked months ago. I like to use www.Booking.com; filter on a rating of “8” & above, set the map into the detailed center of the city, and search by price until you find what you want & would like to pay.

Thank you..🙏

One consideration in deciding whether Milan is first or last is the available flight options. If you decide to fly home from Milan, be aware that it will take time to get from the center of Milano to the Malpensa Airport (an hour I think), and that most flights depart early AM to get to your connecting-flight airport. I've never flown in or out of MXP, but have heard from several people that they stayed at an airport hotel the night before to make that early flight. Either that or plan to take a very early cab ride, possibly before sunrise.

Bologna and Florence have smaller airports that are closer to the city center, so either would be good departure or arrival points, assuming that you can find the right flight combinations for your connecting flight back to the US. Also, wherever you fly to initially is where I'd recommend that you spend more time, so you can get over jet lag and enjoy what you came to see. If Milan is first, I'd spend more than 2 days there. Plenty of interest to see and do.

Personally, with only 10 nights, I would suggest staying in no more than 3 places. If you decide to visit Milan-Bologna-Florence, that makes a lot of sense geographically and you would have very manageable 30-60 min train rides. And they are all great cities! On the other hand, all of these are very bustling, busy cities. And you should still expect crowds in Florence in Sept.

Thank you so much now that I am considering the flight options I see it will be easier and accessible to get a round ticket to and from Bologna up on arrival take the train to Florence and three days later train Florence to Milan, two days later, back to bologna stay one day and depart from there back to Istanbul I will be staying in Turkey for nine days after so my flights are going to be from Istanbul to Bologna.
What do you think?

Have you explored open-jaw (multi-city) flights?

Why not fly directly to FLR since that now seems to be your first destination? Fewer steps and logistics upon arrival after a long flight would make life easier.

Perhaps the flight combinations to/from Istanbul are better via BLQ, but I would be surprised if that’s the case. Flying from MXP to Istanbul might make more sense than from BLQ. I suspect that flights from Milan to elsewhere in Europe will not be restricted to early AM, unlike a flight back to the US.

I loved Bologna (especially the cuisine), but I’m not sure you’ll be able to appreciate it much if staying just one day/night before a flight to Istanbul. That’s a lot of movement with very little payoff. I will confess that I try to avoid staying in places for just 1 night, but you may have more tolerance for that.

I see what you’re saying, so you suggest that I fly to Bologna to get to Florence and depart from Milan back to Istanbul?

so you suggest that I fly to Bologna to get to Florence and depart
from Milan back to Istanbul?

No, not suggesting that at all. If you’ve decided that Florence will be your first destination upon arrival to Italy, it makes more sense to fly to Florence (FLR) than Bologna. The only reason to fly in or out of Bologna is if you’ll also be spending time there.

Booking a multi-city flight itinerary is a more efficient strategy because you avoid backtracking to places you’ve already been. The key is figuring out which airport will give you the best flight options that get you to Istanbul, and likewise for getting from Istanbul back to the US, if that is your desired itinerary. For me, the goal is to find flight itineraries that have the fewest connections.

Well, I have no interest in going to bologna either I was just thinking it might be easier to get plane tickets from Istanbul to get to Florence and the closest international airport to Florence is either Bologna or Pisa .. so what do you think? Would it be easier to fly to Florence and depart from Milan? back to Istanbul but what would be the shortest and easiest airport to fly to and from that was the reason I picked bologna but if that is not practical, then I should take multi destinations from Istanbul? I appreciate your time and helping me.

Well, I have no interest in going to bologna either I was just thinking it might be easier to get plane tickets from Istanbul to get to Florence and the closest international airport to Florence is either Bologna or Pisa .. so what do you think?

There likely will not be much difference between any of the smaller airports you mention, whether FLR, BLQ or Pisa. It will depend on which airline (and their codeshare partners) you choose. Since we now know that ultimately you need to get to Istanbul, my guess is that you could fly Lufthansa (for example) from CA to either Frankfurt or Munich, then fly to Florence (or whatever you decide will be your first Italy destination). Train to Milan, xxx days there before flying to Istanbul. After your 9 days in Istanbul, you could book a Lufthansa flight back to the US with a stop in either FRA or MUC. There is no need to transit through Italy again if Istanbul is your final European destination.

Other options besides Lufthansa might be KLM or Air France. I've not been to Turkey, but I suspect all those airlines have flights to/from Istanbul. All of them will have flights to Italy from their respective hubs, whether Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Paris. Frankfurt and Amsterdam would likely be easier airports for your connecting flights than Paris.

Whatever flight combinations you choose should all be on one booking directly through the airline. If there are any flight changes, the airline is obligated to find another flight(s) to get you where you want to go.

And I second Jean's suggestion that you look into accommodations ASAP for a Sept trip. Many hotels (particularly in Florence) will already be booked.

I think we could have been more helpful if you had initially provided more details about your overall itinerary, e.g., fly from XXX US airport to FLR (or some other airport in Italy), then to Istanbul, departing Istanbul to XXX US airport.

If you want to visit a third city I would add Bologna, but honestly I would just spend more time in Florence (so much to see) unless you have been there before. As far as where to go first, decide based on what works best with transportation.

I have been looking and searching for several hours now😂😂 first of all upon my arrival to Istanbul I will be staying that night nearby Airport will start my journey the next day and up on last day of Italy I will be heading to Izmir in Turkey 3 days then Istanbul for a few days last will depart for home ..👏👏 ( I am interested on seeing Florence Tuscany area and Milan) so the easiest route that I came up with will be Istanbul, to bologna and back bologna to Izmir ( from Milan, I will leave the day before my departure from bologna, and stay a night and bologna.. so what do you think ??