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

Joelle, I highly recommend renting a bicycle and riding around the ancient Etruscan wall of Lucca. We had a blast.. happy travels.

Same as Linda...we rented a tandem bike, and also loved it. Not sure why, but that little bike ride is now enshrined in the memory bank as an all-time biggest hit. We loved just strolling through Lucca...a very pleasant change from the tumult of Florence. Or all could be skewed by the kindness of the Luccan waiter who brought free grappas to 2 excited tourists.

We stayed in Santa Margherita for a week in 2001 -- it's a lovely town, but small, so we did take a few day trips. I highly recommend taking a train to the nearest town of the cinque terre (Monterosso?), walking the 5 towns, then taking a ferry back to the first town, and the train back to Santa Margherita. That's a great day trip.

We also rented a car one day and drove to Florence because my husband had never been there. We parked the car by the train station and just walked around -- no formal tours since there really wasn't time for that.

And, we took the train into Genoa. It's a lovely seaside city with great fish markets.

Finally, Portofino is within walking distance of Santa Margherita and is a must see.

Have a blast!

I totally agree with Linda & Denny. . .rent bikes and ride around the beautiful walled city of Lucca and through the streets of the old city. We just returned from Italy and our stay in Lucca was most memorable and least touristy. Our Hotel Rex (near the train station just outside the wall) provided free use of bikes. Enjoy!

From Santa Maegherita take a bus to Portofino. Really scenic little harbour. Don't buy anything! Monaco prices in the stores.