Where to Stay - Milan , Venice , Rapallo

You seem to be in the beginning stages of your trip planning and are seeking information without any real direction, other than you have some cities you might be interested in visiting. Suggest you take a breath, buy a guidebook or two for some areas which interest you, and set out a tentative itinerary with estimated costs, timelines, and travel goals. By doing so, you can weed out potentially thousands of places that wouldn’t be suitable for you.

Rapallo we stay at the Hotel Astoria, which is perfectly located.

Wbfey1, thanks for the sage advice. I'm actually at the stage in my trip planning where my itinerary has been established, along with flights, and train schedules. I have planned a 7 week retirement trip. Am now looking for places to stay in my designated cities. I can use R.Steves suggestions based on his books, but always like to check out where his followers like to stay.

are the single person stays for a different trip - this one for 4...

By the way - 4 adults; 2 adults, 2 small children; 1 adult, 3 teens; seniors? Rooms vary in size and capacity.

I night in Milan? Where in Milan?

Same questions about Venice? And can all of you do stairs? Do you know which part of Venice?

It is no good for me to send you to a 5th floor walkup if you can't (or don't want to) do stairs, or for me to send you to Dorsoduro if you want the train station or La Fenice.

We are staying at the Moscova B&B next June. It was really hard to find a room that would take my family of 4 anywhere in Milan as my 14 year old is now considered and Adult.

https://moscovaluxury.com/en/

In Venice, we ended up at the Suites alla Maddalena because I wanted to be near a vaporetto stop with a direct link to the airport via the Alilaguna. I had originally booked Al Redentore di Venezia on Giudecca but cancelled due to the airport transfer issue, not wanting a long vaporetto or an expensive water taxi. If I didn't need to get my parents to the airport I would have stayed there.

https://www.camariele.com/suites-alla-maddalena/
https://www.alredentoredivenezia.com/

Nigel, Yes, in Milan and Venice, Rapallo there will be 2-4 of us. The rest of my trip in Switzerland, Munich it will just be me? Did you read this on the other forums?

Curious about Rapallo as a choice. What factors led you there?

What is your budget for hotels?

I stayed in Rapallo. You can walk to Portofino (5 miles) and boat back to Rapallo. If I were to visit Rapallo again I would rent an apartment. There are some great places to buy homemade pasta, meats, fresh vegetables and if there are 4 of you, you could make some delicious meals. Rapallo has a great promenade along the water as well.

Did you read this on the other forums?

today you wrote 2 questions very similar to this for other locations saying you were "a 65 year old single traveler", and this where you are with your family.

I'm just a little confused....

April,
I read that Rapallo was one of the best places to stay on the Italian Rivera. But is this not the case?

debnemetz, as a bit of an explanation, many of us read all posts in the All Topics view. So your 3 posts came up in order one right after the other today with slightly different info. Nothing wrong with that at all - just explains Nigel’s confusion. Alas, I am no help with places to stay, though. :)

So here's the scoop! 7 weeks in 'Europe.

The first 3 weeks, I am alone in Germany and Switzerland. Hence my first post. My husband and 2 daughters are joining me in Italy for the next 3 weeks , hence the second post, and I am spending a week in Paris. I hope this clears up any confusion.

I went back and read all your posts - sounds like an amazing trip!

Thank you Travelmom! I'm a little nervous traveling alone, but you only retire once!

Thanks for the clarification...

So for my first trick - Milan.

What do you hope for there, and how long will you be there, in nights, please....

Nigel,
Three nights, only me...thinking near Duomo area as a first time visitor. Or Brera , San Lorenzo area?? Looking to spend about 100/night.

In Venice, the area around Campo San Barnaba in Dorsoduro works for us.

So you will be solo in Milan, and then your family will join you for Venice and Rapallo?

For Milan, take a look at Room Mate Giulia, a new-ish boutique hotel about as close to the Duomo you can get. A single room, refundable rate, is $140/night (in July) if you join their “happitality” club (free to join). That is without breakfast. I would just walk across Piazza Duomo to nearby Princi for the best coffee and croissants. (And return at lunchtime for a light-as-a-feather focaccia sandwich).

In Venice, with a family, I would suggest an apartment instead of a hotel—-rooms for 4 are tough to find, and an apartment will give you more space and meal flexibility. We love to cook in Venice, starting with a trip to the Rialto Market in the morning for fish and produce for that night’s dinner.

We rent our apartments in Venice from the Venice Red House agency. Marco and Caroline are Venetian, speak excellent English, and have a wide variety of apartments in all sections of the city. Their prices are reasonable and their cancellation policy is very liberal (we had a reservation with them for March 2020 and were able to cancel it 2 weeks ahead, with immediate and full refund).

https://www.veniceredhouse.com/

Their team will meet you at the closest vaporetto stop and escort you to the apartment to get you settled. This is the apartment we had for a month a few years back:

https://www.veniceredhouse.com/apartments-in-venice/the-lions-house-apartment-lion-4/

2 bedrooms (one a loft), 2 bathrooms, rooftop terrace, washer/dryer, and a dedicated elevator right to the apartment (it is on the 4th floor). It is close to Rialto Bridge on a tiny square named Campo San Lio. We had a string quartet playing Vivaldi outside the window on several occasions (they were drumming up business for their evening concert). There is a Coop grocery store just up the street, and one of the best gelato shops in Venice on the route between the apartment and Rialto Bridge. I loved having the rooftop terrace—-we would go up at 6 pm every evening to listen to the church bells and watch the cruise ships depart.

This apartment was on the higher end, price-wise, because of the size and rooftop terrace, so there are other options that are less if you prefer—including 3 in the same building if you like the location.

We also like Dorsoduro, and have a smaller apartment there for our next visit (hopefully this March).