We will be in Italy Dec 16-22. We arrive on the 16 at 4:25 pm in Milan - we have until the evening of the 19th to "free" travel - then on the 19th in the evening we meet up with some people in Padua where my husband is a speaker at a conference. We have been to Italy before but did not go to the Cinque Terre....
I VERY much want to see it - my idea is to rent a car in Milan on the 17th and spend two nights in the Cinque Terre area and then head back to Milan and catch the train towards Venice. THOUGHTS PLEASE!!! When we were in Italy before we used Rick's book and visited Lake Como (Varenna) and were awestruck - but I would like to see something different this time - but with us flying into Milan and having only a few days am trying to figure out what is best. (on trip before we hit: Florence, Pisa, Venice, Varenna, Rome, and Capri area) thanks for any input!!!
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Reply to Heather (post immediately above): The CT in December is also being discussed concurrently in another topic thread, click here.
Posted by
NY, USA
17 posts
I did already respond to a recent post re: visiting Cinque Terre in November. Be prepared for a beach resort in the very off season. Not a Lake Como experience at all. The driving might be tricky in that immediate area if it is rainy winter weather. Have you considered staying more in the area of Milan, Venice, Padua?
Verona is amazing. Read about Vincenza; the architecture (Pallidio) is wonderful.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15589 posts
I second the suggestion for Verona. I was there in February, few tourists but lots of locals, especially in the evenings. And many varied sights to visit during the days. I also think that the CT is not a good idea during off-season, and weather is uncertain. If it is cloudy and rainy, it would not be at all picturesque. I certainly wouldn't want to drive a car in the CT (and I knew steep hills when I lived in San Francisco).