What to do during the days: lucca, santa margherita, stresa, milan

Lucca: it's a walking city. No car needed. You can rent bicycles and cycle around town or around on the wall surrounding Lucca.

Santa Margherita: Boat or bus or hike to Portofino. It's a good walking town.

Stresa: It's on a lake that has boat/ferry trips to the islands and across the lake. The town has a nice promenade walk along the lake. When I was there a few years ago I bought a day-pass for the ferry and visited several islands plus the town on the opposite shore.

Milar: Has a Metro system. You will want to see the cathredal and surrounding area. You can take day trips to Lake Como by trains that run about hourly.

Lucca, while nice, doesn't rate 3 days. Have you considered the CT?

Stresa is a great place to walk around. Definately take the ferry to the various islands. One has a pretty "castle" on it with beautiful gardens.

Lucca: Rent bicycles and ride around the top of the city wall. Walk around town, being sure to see the facade of San Michele. Visit one or more of the villas in and near the city. We did Villa Torrigiani on our own with a car, but the TI office had info about tours.
Sta Margherita: I second the Portofino recommenda-
tion. You can get to San Fruttuoso from there, and also back to SM, by boat. Also, you can drive or get a bus to Rapallo, another attractive town, nearby.

Stresa: The Borromean Islands are great. We actually found that we needed two days for them because the palace and gardens on Isola Bella took a whole day. If you have a clear day, take the cable car up Monte Mottarone for splendid views.

In reverse order: Milan, right out of RS...Duomo (and make sure you go up to the roof top), Duomo Museum, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, la Scala Opera House and Museum, Leonardo Di Vinci's Last Supper (hard to get tickets...book early), Sforza Castle and finally Via Dante...more than enough to fill two days and nights. I haven't been to Stresa. Spent 2 nights in Santa Margherita Ligure...definitely walk to Portofino (and boat back), explore the town (we stayed at the Metropole which was on the Ocean, so I swam a lot), take a train to Vernazza and spend the day in the CT. As for Lucca, do bike the ramparts...explore the city on foot (its small so you should be able to do it all)...I liked the Cathedrals and the San Giovanni had opera signers 3 nights a week....and for those looking for really good wine, the best Enoteca in all of Tuscany..Enoteca Vani...just 1 block north of St Michele's square.

joelle,

The Guidebooks have lots of suggestions on sightseeing possibilities in each of those locations. I'd suggest packing along a copy of the Italy 2010 book, as I find it's good reference during a trip.

I wouldn't bother renting a car. It will not only be slower than travel by train, but you'll also have to worry about parking, going through ZTL zones and you'll need an I.D.P. for driving in Italy. All of the areas you're visiting are easily covered by train.

A few suggestions on some of the locations you'll be visiting.....

Milan - visit the Duomo (including the roof), Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, browse the Rinascente stores, Sforza Castle and the Last Supper (if that interests you - book early).

Stresa - there's MORE THAN ENOUGH to keep busy here for 3 nights! Tour all of the Borromeo Islands (or just Isola Bella, which is the largest - Isola Pescatore is mostly just restaurants, although there's an interesting Church), take the Cable Car to the top of Mt. Mottarone (great views) and for a wonderful day trip take the incredibly scenic Cento Valli railway to Locarno (Switzerland) and then return by boat (be sure to take your Passport, "just in case"). It's a long day, but a really nice trip.

Happy travels!