travelling to Italy

Because this will be an experience in which you are doing things you haven't done before, to speed up your learning process, here are some resources to get you started on planning your trip:Using trains in EuropeRail Schedules Europehttp://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/traintip.htmYou can get by using the Italian train system speaking basic English, spoken clearly and slowly helps.Rick has written a book that would be helpful for what you're doing, it's Europe Through the Backdoor 2009 and you can order it on this site at the Travel Store (above)

Thank you kent :-)

You'll have no problem traveling on your own, even as first time visitors. Trains are very easy to use and buying tickets using english is rarely a problem. Be sure to validate train tickets before boarding - some tickets don't require validation, but better safe than sorry.

With only 4-5 days after your business trip, limit yourself to a maximum of 2 cities. I like to spend my last 1 or 2 nights in the city from which I'm flying home, so I'd suggest Venice and that city. While in Venice, day trips by train to Padua, Vicenza and Verona are easy. Vaporetto trip to Murano and Burano is easy, too.

thank you very much Frank... I agree with your suggestion, I think 2 cities are enough, maybe I will choose Milan for my next destination from venice.