JacquieK

Hello again! For the third year in a row, (very lucky us!), we're planning a trip to Italy. "We" includes myself, my husband, my husband, my mother-in-law (MIL), and my two kids, ages 2 and 4.

We're flying into and out of Milan and will have approximately 9 days not including travel days.

My husband would love to see Piedmont and Cinque Terre.

A few questions:
1. Is it possible to see both places in several days?
2. What are the highlights of Piedmont?
3. Where should we stay in either place?
4. How far a drive is it from Milan to Piedmont and/or Cinque Terre or from Milan to Cinque Terre, or from Piedmont to Cinque Terre?
5. Would we be better off taking trains?

I greatly appreciate any help on any or all of the above questions!

Thanks so much!
JacquieK

Big_Red

1 Piedmont is an entire region, so that question is very difficult to answer. Maybe your husband knows what he wants to see.

Similarly, the Cinque Terre is a string of five villages. You probably will not have (say) a day for each village.

4 Please look at website for either Viamichelin or Mappy.

5 A car would probably save money but with five people and luggage, a car/minivan might be tight. Think about how much luggage everyone will have. With five people, pick the car carefully. The cost per day for a two or three rental might surprise you, but the cost per day for a 7 day rental will be less.

Sampaguita

Hi Jacquie,

9 days should be quite OK for a good tour of Piedmont and a side trip to Cinque Terre (5T). I live close to Asti in the centre of Piedmontm and we can drive to Cinque Terre (actually Levanto, the first main town just next to 5T) in an hour and a half. I would allow a few days for Cinque Terre, its not too big, and I am not sure if the kids are up to hiking between the villages, but they do have a good train service in-between all the as well as a boat ferry service. I also like Levanto as a place to stay as its a real town, not a village, and easy to drive in and out, which is not the case in the 5T villages. Don't miss a day in Genoa also if you haven't been there.

Piedmont is world famous for its wines and cuisine, some of the best in Italy. The central wine centred around Asti and Alba, offers beautiful vine covered hills, panoramic views of the Alpine mountains all round, hill top castles and villages and many local festivals. And you should spend at least a day in Turin, a beautiful baroque city, often overlooked with loads of galleries and museums(even the kids would like the cinema museum). Also Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta are in Piedmont, just as beautiful as Lake Como, but not as many tourists. And the mountains too, maybe a day trip to Val d'Aosta?

I would go either to Cinque Terre at the beginning or end of your trip. You could take a train from either Milan or Turin/Asti to Levanto and on to 5T, you don't really need a car there. For Piedmont touring a car is essential a most of the places to go to are outside of towns with rail stations. A big wagon type car like a 7 seater Ulysses would be what you need. Myself I would suggest go to Piedmont first (an hour and a half from Malpensa to Asti, take almost a week here and then off to 5T for the remainder of your trip and then back up to Milan (2.5 hours to the airport). What time of year are you thinking of?

repete

RE: Turin

The Cinema Museum has a very cool elevator (hope for a clear day) and the kids also may like the lounging chairs in center of the museum with multiple screens playing snippets of films.

If they need a break to run, there are nice green spaces along the Po.

jgg

In June of '06 we flew into Milan and rented a car and drove to the Piemonte region for 5 nights then drove to Lerici which is right near Cinque Terre for 4 nights. We absolutely loved this trip (from there we went to Tuscany and Rome).

In Piemonte we stayed at Baur B&B (www.baurbb.com) in Acqui Terme. It was absolutely heaven!! A wonderful B&B with incredible hosts, delicious breakfasts and in an excellent location for us to explore the region.

In Lerici we stayed at Hotel Florida (www.hotelflorida.it/). The rooms were a bit small and very plain, but we enjoyed the hotel as a whole as breakfasts were good, staff was very helpful and nice and it had a great location right across from the beach and a nice leisurely walk into the little town. We did the Cinque Terre from there by boat which we really enjoyed.

Here is a link to my trip report if you are interested. My kids are older than yours but you still may find it helpful: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34830020

JacquieK

Thank you so much, everyone...

I was aware that Piedmont was a region and that Cinque Terre included 5 towns...What I'm not clear on, although clearer now thanks to some posts, is what are some of the highlights in each place and the distances between them and from them to Milan.

I look forward to reading the trip report from the other traveler who visited both places! I'm sure then I'll have more questions.

Thanks again!
JacquieK

weasel

Hi Jacquie, We did a similar trip 2 years ago in Oct. We spent 2 nights on lake Orta. It is a beautiful little town. We then spent 4 nights in an agriturismo just outside La Morra in the Peidmont It was called Risveglia de Lange and would be perfect with small children. From here we toured the small hill towns and wineries. Alba, Asti and Barolo. The food in Peidmont was the best we had in all of Italy. We then Spent 3 nights in Moniglia at the hotel Elena. This is just north of the CT, a 15 min train ride. The train station was just down the hill from the hotel, it was very convenient and not as crowded as the 5 towns get. Also had parking included for our car. The highlights of the Peidmont would be the Barolo wine and the truffles as well as the woderful people. Very friendly and not as over run with tourists as Tuscany.