maxi

Hi, back to my planning for our trip in May. We will have 2 weeks and we mainly want to go to the lakes, southern tuscany and Rome.

We do not have our air tickets yet but are planning to fly into Milan and out of Rome.

I need help with a few logisitic questions:
1. We want to drop by Milan for a day to see the Duomo. Should we do it upon arrival or should we do it on the way from the lakes to southern tuscany?
2. What is the best way to travel from the lakes to southern tuscany? We'll rent a car at some point. Where should we pick it up?
3. We want to see Volterra as a day trip. Should we do it en route from the lakes to southern tuscany or as a day trip from our base in southern tuscany?

Thanks in advance for your contributions!

Jean

We can't answer your logistics questions until you tell us where in "the lakes" and where in "southern Tuscany" you'll be staying. These are two fairly large geographic areas.

You should see whatever you want to see in Milan when you arrive. It's possible but not necessarily required that you transit through Milan on your way to Tuscany.

tuscanlifeedit

I have the same reply as Jean: the lakes and southern Tuscany are descriptions that are much too broad. Do you plan to see all the lakes? Como, Garda, Maggiore, Orta? More? Less?

Depending on which lake and town, you could go directly there from your arrival at Milan (which airport?). A car could be a good choice, but that depends, again, on which lake and town.

maxi

I am thinking of Lake Como, either in Varenna or in Bellagio. And our base in s. tuscany is Pienza.

At the moment, we don't have tickets yet and can therefore consider all possibilites according to our itinerary.

jtrandolph

If you are flying into Milan, it would make sense to see Milan before you go on, yes? After you arrive in Milan you could find a hotel for the night and the next day see the Duomo and, as I recommend, the Galleria.

Take the shuttle from the airport to the Central Station (railroad). Get a taxi to take you the short distance from there to the Hotel San Francisco. The next morning walk a few blocks to the subway, or whatever they call it, to the Duomo and the Galleria in the center.

The next day, catch a train to whatever "lakes" you mean. As far as I know, you won't be gong back to Milan after the "lakes".

You need some good maps.

Jean

Train travel from Lake Como to Southern Tuscany will require your return to Milan and a connection either through Florence or Bologna to a point near Pienza where you will rent a car. Pienza has no train service. Go to www.trenitalia.it (click on English) to find train schedules.

There is a car rental in Chiusi, perhaps in Montepulciano, or you could rent a car in Florence and drive through Chianti on your way to Pienza.

If you want to get from mid-Lake Como to Pienza in one day, I'd train as far as possible (probably Chiusi) before renting a car. This will be a fairly long day. If you break up the journey and spend a night (or two) in Florence, you could see Volterra and San Gimignano on the way to Pienza. Even though you'll drive past Siena, I'd plan on driving back to see it on another day.

Make sense? As jtrandolph mentioned, you need good maps for the driving portion of your trip.