Hi - you will get many more replies if you re-post this on the Europe board, and tag it Italy. Have you spent any time with guidebooks? I use the bigger ones with lots of pictures to plan trips, and then take ones with few pictures but lots of info on transport and restaurants with me.

Why do you think you can't visit the countryside? If you are going to be in Milan you will be very close to the lakes - in fact you could visit between Venice and Milan. I loved Lake Maggiore, and people rave about Lake Como.

If you are not visiting the Tuscan countryside you should travel by train - see bahn.de or trenitalia.it for schedules.

Hi thursdaysd

Thanks for your suggestion I have re-post this in the Europe board.

Hi there,
From experience this is the min. amount of time to spend in each city.
1) Rome - 3/4 days. Much bigger than one expects so research your time well. There are so many areas. Use metro, public buses but taxis at night.
2) Florence - max 2 days. A small city but a trip in Chianti area that surrounds Florence is amazing.
3) Venice - max 2 days. Two days in Venice and you have seen most of it. But its a great place to just take it slow and walk so take advantage of your slow time here.
4) Milan - 2/3 days - mig hectic city but very much alive. Depending on what interests you 2 days would be enough to see the main attractions. Food is good, its easy to move around on foot.

I would get to all of these cities via train. Go onto www.trenitalia.com, register and buy your tickets online. The Eurostar is the fastest (frecciarossa even faster).

Hope this helps!

Ciao

"Two days in Venice and you have seen most of it." - funny, I spent six days and could easily have stayed longer.

I love Venice so find the 2 days is plenty comment very funny. I could easily spend the entire 17 days only there!
-suze

These are just my suggestions. I live in Italy and wouldnì't we all want to send endless days in these amazing cities, I was simply giving some go from here help... with 17 days one can do what they want.