3 Days in Italy Pls suggest what to do
 

Folks
I am landing in Milan on Sun at 7 AM and have full three days to spare as conencting flight out of milan is on wed 10 am
So what would you suggest I should do?
Take a cab from airport, see a bit of milan sights and head for train station....off to rome for next 2 days and then return to milan on tuesday night to get a good sleep ?
Or should I first go to venice, sleep in venice and spend next two days in rome and then back to milan on tue night?
Or just forget venice and spend time between milan n rome?
I am first time visitor and there is a 2 year old baby to spoil the fun ;-)
so what are your suggestions?

Rome is a bit far, considering you only have 3 days. What about Sunday in Milan, Monday in Venice and then Tuesday in Verona?

When we travelled overseas with our 5 and 3 year olds, they were very tired from the flight and took a couple of days to adjust. So, I don't think travelling all the way to Rome would be too enjoyable.

What time of year?

You'll get answers here that tend to "it must be [...]" based on the person's favorite place, but I think time of year would be my determinant. If summer, I'd head to one of the lakes. (You could be in Bellagio on Lake Como by lunch time.) If winter or very early spring, I'd go to Rome (definitely not too far!) or Florence (my personal favorite!). Venice would be my last choice of the places you mentioned only because I think it would be a bit more difficult with a 2-year-old and lots less romantic for your first visit there.

(BTW, Italy is the best place to travel with a small child. The Italians love little kids, and you'll get lots of helpful attention.)

You'll have to return to Milan the night before your outbound flight no matter where you go. If you get there by 3 or 4 p.m., you'll have a few hours to wander around.

Go to Venice.

Milan to Rome is 4 - 4 1/2 hours on the train.

Is this part of a larger itinerary? in Europe? around the world? Are you arriving in Milan from another continent? I would advise simply staying in Milan, but might revise my advice depending on the answers to the preceding questions. You can see the city, Pavia, Bergamo, Monza - - it will all be new to you, won't it?

Best wishes,

Rex

Since you will be up in Milano, I would just stay in the north and see cities in the north, rather than trying to travel down south and spend more time traveling than site-seeing (especially considering your toddler will be with you too!).

You could devote all day Sunday to seeing the sites in Milano (the Duomo, La Scala, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Sforzesco Castle, the "Last Supper" painting at the Santa Maria delle Grazie church/refectory, etc). Then Monday go to lovely Verona. That is the charming, quaint city of Romeo and Juliet fame, with its old Roman Arena, shops, etc. that make it a worthwhile day trip. On Tuesday you could go to either Venice or Bologna. Both are terrific cities and you could spend an entire day in both.

BTW, 2 year old toddlers don't spoil the fun - they just make it more interesting! I have been traveling with my child since she was 4 months old. She is now 5 years old. We went to Milano last February when she had just turned 5 and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Verona was also our favorite. Read my trip report on Milano for some ideas of things to see and do! This trip will be an enrichment for the 2 of you and one that you won't forget. Buon viaggio!

Hi D,

I would visit Venice this time and save Rome for another visit.

((I))

What about visiting Milan (as Huitres said) and Como and / or Maggiore Lake?
You can take a train till there, take there a boat; visit Como and Belaggio, or visit Stresa and Isola Bela (near Maggiore).

I would recommend staying around Milan and enjoy what Lombardy has to offer.

Kick back, take it easy.

Milan will easily occupy you for a whole day. Sure it's not as gloriously stunning as Venice or Rome but it has its gems. The Duomo is spectacular.

Then a visit to Lake Como and the breathtaking Bellagio would take up another day.

If you need to rush around and see another city then visit Bergamo which has a very picturesque old town. Pavia and Cremona are also good to visit.

I'm in favour of a slower pace of life.

Take your time to savour the country.


___________________________________
Italy Travelogues
http://www.colin-julie.com/travel.htm

Thanks everyone for the clear responses.
I will be taking a 8 hour trans atlantic flight before landing in Milan. And yepp...will be continuing to India, Singapore n Bankok.
I guess weather is something certainly to keep in mind. and for sure we will have to be back in Milan the night before the departing flight as there is another 8 hour flight to handle plus we will land in India during midnight!!
So it looks like we will skip venice/florance for the time being and try to spend more time in Milan n Rome instead. Perhaps sometimes in future we will visit the other cities in summer.
We did travel with our kid before she was 1 year old..that was a trip to paris n belgium and it certainly was no problem. But now that she is about 2 years old, she has learned many new tricks so I wonder how it will be ;-)

Anyone got any idea about the following?
1. How far is Milan train station from the Milan mapense airport and what is the best way to get there?
2. Which area in Rome is most suitable for tourists in terms of accomodations and easy access to the city sights.

This will sound critical... but how does one come to "plan" (if you have in fact done any planning) a trip to Italy, India, Singapore and Bangkok (are you going the rest of the way around? or just coming back?) - - and five days before departure, realize that you have not actually thought about the three days you allocated to your Milan "stopover"? Did this suddenly arise as a need to get to Bangkok - - and by serendipity, you were able to patch in these stopovers?

I can not imagine a situation in my life where I would need (want?) to travel around the world... need (want?) to do it with a two year old... have to plan it on short notice, but not necessarily get there as soon as possible... and not put a ton of thought into what are the countries and destinations along the way for the stopovers?

It's just totally out of sync with any real life experience I can imagine for myself.

Curious minds would love to know more.

hello Rex
actually we were planning to visit india singapore n australia but decided to defer australia to some other time so added bangkok instead. since we are flying alitalia to india with a plane change in milan, why not break the journey, stretch the legs n see rome as well. Dont forget if i tried to this just a few weeks later, will have to buy three tickts as infant will be above 2 years
I have already figured out quite a few details and hopefully will finalize all accomodations etc before coming monday giving us 2 weeks to relax!

and oh by the way, landing in milan is still 2.5 weeks away, not landing this weekend.

Dawes:

Milano's Malpensa airport is 50 minutes away from Milano Centrale Train station and is easily accessible via the white Malpensa Shuttle busses located outside of the airport on the baggage claim level. The shuttle busses leave every hour and cost 5 euros per person. Your 2 year old will be free.

I don't know why you keep insisting on going to Rome. It would appear from the schedule you have presented to us that it would be a very difficult thing to do. As I and the others have suggested, save Rome for another time when you are not as rushed and just enjoy Milano and the northern regions while you are there. As flexible as children can be, it is very tiring for them to be going, going, going all the time. Your little one might actually appreciate your sojourn of 3 days in one place, before moving on to India. (You yourself admitted that "she has learned many new tricks" - you certainly don't want her to go crazy on that 5 hour train ride down from Milano to Rome do you? Especially considering she's just flown transatlantic for 8 hours previous?! Even as stalwart a traveler as my 5 year old is now, there is still some consideration to give young ones -- their little bodies need to adjust and aren't always as ready and raring to go as we may be. My child spent our first day in Milano last year sick with a nauseous stomach (vomiting) and fever - for no apparent reason - and I had to adjust my plans accordingly. That was hard to do as I am a get-up-and-go type of gal, but such is the life of a parent sometimes! (Please don't be offended by my advice, I just want your family - little one included - to have an enjoyable and relaxing first-time trip to beautiful Italia.

On learning that your stopover in Italy is en route to India it makes even more sense to relax in Milan as much as possible because when you hit the craziness of India and Bangkok you won't have much "quiet" time.

Great trip though ! I'm very envious !!

__________________________________
Travelogues
http://www.colin-julie.com/travel.htm

Thanks for the replies folks. Much appreciated. Everything is in place now. its going to be mostly rome with just transition thru Milan.
Huitres, thanks a lot for your kind concern. we will certainly vchange or cancel any plan if l'il one is not able to keep up or becomes too hyper !!