11 days in Italy in July... Where to??
 

I'd like to start in Milan so I can spend a few days at Lake Como. But where to from there? I want to see a lot but not be overwhelmed with travel. How many cities is doable and which ones are the best?

In that time I would consider Lago Como, Venice, and Florence all by train---leaving time for a last nite near MXP or flying home from Florence.

Is adding Rome too much?

Yes. If you don't want to be overwhelmed as you indicated. If you add Rome, drop something else.

Do you really have 9 days. You can;t count the day you arrive or the dayyou leave - so you may, in fact, only have 9 days.

If the latter I would do just 2 places. If you have 11 days PLUs the day you arrive and the day you leave you can do 3 places - but in a rush. Also, if possible avoid backtracking to Milan to fly home - but get open jaws flights.

How are you with heat? It can be staggeringly hot in Florence in July. It sits in a river valley surrounded by hills. Also, how are you with crowds? If you try to move very quickly through the global-mega-tourist-draw destinations like Venice, Florence, Rome, you end up in a real crush of people who are also day-tripping through trying to see the Top 10 sights in 48 hours.

If you would like to see a fantastic Roman arena you can see one in Verona. It's in better shape than the Colosseum in Rome. For me, Verona is one the best cities of Italy. It has great wine, a knockout castle, three terrific piazze for evening-time fun, great shopping and that arena I mentioned. You can even see an opera in July in the Roman arena if you book early.

A trip to Northern Italy that begins with the enchantment of Lago di Como to shake off the jet lag, then is off to Verona, and finally in Venice can really be fantastic. If you hang around Venice in the evening (bring mosquito repellent!), the mobs of day tripping tourists vanish and it can be a most relaxing city, with no cars at all.

If you are an especially energetic tourist you can easily slip off to Padova or Ferrara for a day from Venice, but you might not want to. People who don't race through Venice see a lot -- including all the Renaissance painting and architecture that is there in the city that the check-list tourist minded never look at because they are too busy figuring out train schedules to race off to Florence to see --- ??? You guessed it: Renaissance painting and architecture.

If you plan to include Verona, you need to book early for the best places in July -- and read reviews before you book to make sure air con works:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/201...es-restaurants

Great input. Yes, it's 9 (maybe 10) days total. I have had several mention how amazing Rome is so would hate to skip it. So many options!

Does anyone have experience with doing northern Italy and Switzerland. How does that compare with staying in Italy for the full 10 days?

The mention of heat is no small issue, unless you are someone who does not mind it--in which case disregard completely my input.....the European cities, like any city, are mostly buildings and asphalt and of course, one does much walking when traveling. I would think your mention above of northern Italy and Switzerland would be better in July than the intense heat of Florence and Rome.

We found that Rome in late May/early June was still quite hot--bordering on really unpleasant for me--in the daytime and the same with Florence in October, so July would be that much hotter.