I have planned our trip to Italy around a business trip at the end of April. We are spending time in Rome,Florence,Orvieto, Montefalco (Umbria), Bologna and so far end up in Venice. Other than our week in Umbria we are planning to take the train. After 4 nights in Venice we have 5 nights before our flight out of Milan. I've done so much planning that I'm not sure where to head next....suggestions?
Posted by
Washington DC
28463 posts
Geographically, I see three obvious suggestions (I'm sure there are others):
- Dolomites
- One of the lakes
- Padua-Vicenza-Verona
Given the uncertainty of nice weather in late April, if I had to plan in advance, I'd choose the third option because of more indoor sights.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2698 posts
Spend some time in Verona. It's a fantastic little city. Quite a few sites, very walkable and quite pretty.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16235 posts
Along the itinerary from Venice to your final destination (Milan airport) there are the following possibilities:
Padova (Padua): this beautiful city can easily be visited while you are in Venice (only 20 min away by train). since you are in Venice for 4 nights, I think you have enough time to spend at least a portion of a day in Padua
Vicenza: Beautiful Palladian architecture. It doesn't take long to visit. You could couple it with the Padua visit above (Vicenza is a bit further west along the railway from Padua.
Verona: Verona deserves a full day dawn to night. It might be worthwhile to spend at least one night here.
Lake Garda: The lake is very close to Verona. You would need to spend a couple of nights to enjoy it. You could actually spend a few nights here and visit Verona from here (Peschiera sul Garda is a good base for train travel) or you could spend a few nights in Verona and visit the lake from Verona.
The Dolomites, also suggested above, is another great option. However I'd recommend renting a car for visiting those mountains. You can rent a car in Venice and return it at the Milan airport when you depart. In 5 nights you could visit both the Dolomites and Lake Garda, which are in the same general area.
Milan: Milan doesn't deserve 5 nights in my opinion. However you probably need to spend at least the night before your flight. Make it two nights and you have a full day in Milan before going home.
Lake Maggiore: Lake Maggiore (Stresa) is west from Milan, but is very close to Malpensa airport (MXP). I don't know if you depart from Malpensa or Linate, but if it's Malpensa, you might consider spending the last 3 nights before the flight in Stresa. You can reach the airport from Stresa in 40 min by car, 55 by bus shuttle to the airport, or about 45 min with a combination of train to Gallarate, then a taxi from Gallarate to the airport.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16235 posts
If it were my trip, I'd visit Padua while in Venice.
Then I'd spend 3 nights in Verona, with a day trip to the lake Garda (Sirmione is beautiful and not too crowded in April).
Vicenza is half way between Venice and Verona, therefore could be visited from either.
Then I'd spend the last 2 nights in Milan (no more than 2 nights) before the flight home.
The other areas are also great, but in April the weather may be a factor at the Dolomites and even the lakes. Neither mountains nor lakes will be great options if it rains.
Posted by
19 posts
I vote for Varenna on beautiful Lake Como. Take the train from Milan & spend at least a day there. Our whole family really loved this place. We didn't take the ferry to Bellagio or Menaggio, we just stayed in Varenna & soaked up the breath-taking views of the Italian Alps above Lake Como. Can't go wrong with this IMHO.
Posted by
OP
redmond, WA
75 posts
Thanks so much for the great ideas...we had planned some day trips out of Bologna, but this will make for a much more relaxed time there. I like the idea of spending time in Verona and day tripping from there.
We are planning to spend our last night in Milan to make getting to Linate easy in the morning.