Hi all, we have some business in Milan which will be done by Thur ( 3/18 ) so we decided to stay and fly out Sunday 19:00.
We've never been in Italy before so Rome comes to mind but we'll be wasting too much time. Thinking Lake Como but it could be too cold and not open. Would you recommend Venice, Florence or both? Should we be staying in Milan and eat, drink and party? We are originally from NY, USA but currently living in Lisbon. We are not overly impressed by the history and religious sites but nothing against them. We are flying in Linate and flying out Malpensa if that makes any difference. Another question we have ( depends on where we want to go ) is whether to stay in the same hotel in Milan ( Business is close to Linate ) or move to Center of Milan or other Destination hotels even though we have to come back to Milan to fly out.

Cheers!

Since you have basically only 2 days, I'd recommend you stay put in Milan and spend one day on a train trip to a selected town to visit. Spend the other day in Milan proper, get a reservation for the Last Supper painting if you like that, or just wander around the city. There's lots of info available on what to see in the city.

If you do decide to do a day trip to a selected town, there are several choices. Como, Stresa, and Orta are three different villages/towns on 3 different lakes, each with its own set of attractions. Go to a spot like that to get a little flavor of another part of Italy, have lunch there and stroll around a bit, then head for your Milan hotel.

In fact, I was thinking about Como but some on this forum commented it might be too early for the lakes ( It could be cold and the restaurants may not open till April ). IS that true for March 21 ?

Well, it could be cold,but it will also be cold in Milan!

The suggestion of Como is a good one. There will be a wide choice of restaurants open and you can take a trip on a lake ferry and see some scenery. Como is a pleasant small city and the (beautiful) train station is close to the ferry docks.

There will be plenty to occupy you in Milan if you decide to stay put.

So it's still a good idea to lake strolling ( not too cold and enough restaurants are open )? I don't know much about Stresa or Orta but I heard about Varenna and Bellagio. Are they too far up the line to go?

karakken,

Varenna will take you approx 2 hours from Milan. Stresa will take a little over an hour. Venice would be 3 hours. If you could get the express train to Venice immediately after your work and look into flying back from Venice - I would go for Venice! Even if there is a small change fee. My first trip there was in March and I loved it. Uncrowded, very atmospheric.

Just gien the time of year, I would choose Venice.

Other options as daytrips from Milan: Torino, Pavia, Bergamo, Verona

I probably wouldn't go to any of the lake towns, even though I love the area. I could probably be talked into Portofino, however, which is about 2:15 hours from Milan.

Don't think about multiple stops. Just pick one. The fastest trains are usually in the morning. Milan-Venice in 2:20 hours. Milan-Rome in 3:30 hours, and Milan-Florence in 2:09 hours. Smaller towns within reach that I can recommend are Parma and Bergamo.

I second Dayle's suggestion of not returning to Milan to fly back to Lisbon. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights to Lisbon from Florence or the smaller towns, but I see four flights a day from Rome and one a day from Venice.

If I were you I'd try my utmost hardest to make it to Venice.

OK so I convinced my wife that we've got to go to Venice.
Thur - we have dinner and stay in Milan
Fri Morning we take train to Venice( What's the best way to get to train station from Linate hotel? ) Once we get there what the best way to get to the hotel ( near San Marcos )?

Drop the luggage and to see San Marco ( Well somehow cheapest hotel is in San Marcos why? ) because the check in isn't till 14:00

Enjoy Venice ( Gondola with accordion? Why much? )

What are the must-dos and must-sees in Venice?

Sunday morninf we check out and head to Milan ( The flight is at 19:00 ) how to get to the Malpensa Airport from the train station? Subway?

Cheers! And Thanks guys for convincing me to go to Venice!

Also, is there a reason to buy traintickets ahead of time? ( It's 40 euros ) As I am not quite sure which train we will take, I'd like to decide that later but if there are long lines, maybe I should purchase them regardless. Thanks in advance.

You can avoid lines by buying the tickets at one of the many travel agencies who can book Trenitalia tickets. There is no upcharge.

Thanks - if I buy on the web, do I need to print them? Also, the waterbus in Venice caost 25 euros per 3 days. Is it worhth it? Does it cover most of the traveling needs? ( Someone said Venice can be covered mostly on foot ) If we just need to go to Hotel from Train station and back - can we do this by waterbus? How much is onetime cost of waterbus per person?

Cheers!

one ride on water bus = €6,50

You've told your wife you two must go to Venice, but you're asking what is must-see/must-do there??? I wish my husband was as easily directed...

May I suggest you buy a guide book and read the Venice section during your plane and train rides getting there.

I assume you've already made your hotel reservations in Venice...

Hello karakken, when you take the train from the Santa Lucia train station in Venice to the cental train station in Milan (Centrale) you can take the Malpsens shuttle bus to the Malpensa airport. Here is their website.
http://www.malpensashuttle.it/e-default.htm

Thank you all for the info.. Yes I have the Hotel Ca' Formenta - is supposed to be close to San Marco. Of course I'll review what's recommended by tour guide books but considering that we are first timers and (2) days in Venice, I'll take your recommendations as well for what to see, what to eat and what to do..

Water bus is 6.50 per ride so 4 rides is over 25 - I am assuming we should get the 3 day pass ( Is waterbus only transporation we need including rides from and to the train station in Venice ? ).

In summary, we go

Friday Morning

Linate Hotel to Centrale Station ( Subway? Taxi? - How far ? )
Train to Venice
Water Bus to Hotel near San Marco

Sunday Morning

Hotel to Venice Train station
Train to Milan Centrale
Malpensa Shuttle to Airport
Fly to lisbon

Sounds right guys?