My wife and I are going to Milan in early August. Hotel is booked, we are renting a car, flying in/out of MXP.
I'm looking for ideas for a couplee of day trips.

Hi U,

Are you sure you want to stay 5 days IN Milan? That's about 3 days too many for me. How about flying in, getting your car and heading for one of the lakes for 3 days? Return to Milan and do your shopping, sightseeing, then fly back. Milan hotels are very expensive and August is not the nicest time to be in the city.

I travel for business in the states, so the hotel is booked with award points. Also, I like to be able to unpack and feel settled.

Actually hotel prices are very reasonable in August. I know because we were there last August. And, we had a tremendous time.

But forget the car, especially if you have a hotel in the downtown core. Hotel parking is ridiculously expensive, and driving will test your marriage.

Stay in Milan, forget the car and take day trips by train. Maybe to Bergamo, Como etc.

Thanks for the tip on driving vs the train. The more I read the more I was wondering about the car. How early does the train run to the airport, or should I rely on a cab?

Which hotel?

H.I. Garibaldi

My DH and I spent a week in Milano last November, and had a wonderful time. We had planned to do a day trip or two, but ended up staying put, because we loved Milano so much. There are lots of museums, so we generally would go to one in the morning, then have a long, leisurely lunch, and spend the afternoon walking around seeing outdoor sites, people watching and shopping. In the evening, we would go to a small restaurant/bar in Brera that had happy hour. The people were friendly there, and we went back every night. I'd always heard that Milano was not as friendly as other cities in Italy, but we found that to be totally false. And everything you've heard about shopping in Milano is true: it is fabulous.

Regarding the train, I don't recall exactly what time we arrived, but it was fairly early morning, and we were able to take the train into the city, then cab to the hotel from the train station, which saved quite a bit of money over just taking a cab.

Here are a few ideas:

You can get to Varenna, on Lake Como, from Milan's central station in about an hour and a quarter. From there, take the ferry boats all over the lake - Bellagio, Menaggio etc.

Or get off the train in Lecco (40 mins) and take the slow boat (1.5 hrs) from Lecco to Bellagio - see http://www.beginningwithi.com/italy/...atleccobl.html for photos of that trip.

If you want to hike, take the number 5 bus from in front of the Lecco railway station to the funivia (cable car), take that up to Piani d'Erna, from which hikes of all levels (of difficulty) are possible. See http://www.beginningwithi.com/italy/travel/lecco.htm for photos and details.

Also, there are lots of activities in Milan in August, for the people still in town instead of away on vacation - outdoor concerts and movies, dances, etc. The city is pleasant then because so much less populated, though it can be fiercely hot.

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

beginningwithi.com (personal)
www.tvblob.com (work)

I love Milano! If I had a free hotel room for 5 days there, I would be delighted.

You don't need a car. Junk it. Besides, then you can drink some of the regions great wines. And having a cocktail in the Brera district every evening is divine.

You want ideas for day trips -- but can't I at least mention that the Pinoteca Ambrosiana is a delightful place, even if you aren't a "museum person"?

Ok, back to day trips:

You can take the train from Milano Centrale to Stresa in Lago di Maggiore. There, you can have lunch in a grand hotel with a lake view, and then take a short boat trip to the 3 lovely islands in the lake. The most beautiful is Isola Madre, with its collection of tropical birds and its charming puppet theater in the Palazzo. The most touristed is Isola Bella, with its very tasteful grand Palazzo and its really eccentric huge garden.

(If lunch at a grand hotel is not your thing, walk along the promenade (to your left) until you reach the end. There you will find a funky waterside restaurant called L'Idro Volante. Tasty cheap food, priceless views.)

In Stresa you can take a cable car up to the very peak of the mountains for a marvelous view of the Lakes district and a hike if you've the energy.

A train from Centrale station will get you to Varenna on Lago di Como. Take the boat across to Bellagio and revel in the views. If you like strolling through villas and gardens, there are famous ones in both Bellago and Varenna. If it's too hot to walk, get on a boat and float around the lake.

You could also visit Lago di Garda by taking a train to Desenzano or the next stop of Peschiera del Garda. From either town you could take a boat to Bardolino and drink its great wine, but even better would be to stay on the boat and go as far north as you can to see the fantastic scenery. It's about a 4-hour trip, but you could stop to have lunch midway between Salo or Torri.

Cities to visit that would be high on my list are Verona, with its fantastic outdoor amphitheater and PERFECT small museum in a castle, and for just strolling around the charming town, including a visit to the Duomo. The wines of Verona are memorable.

I have always wanted to see Mantova -- but I have heard it is quite humid in the summer.

Incredilbly, you can also visit Torino for an afternoon (I'd head straight for the movie museum). Have a great lunch, great wine. The train trip station-to-station is about 90 minutes.

My favorite museums and sites in Milan are the Last Supper, the Duomo, the tiny museum of the Duomo, and the Pinoteca Ambrosiana. And the Sforzeca has its highlights. But I also love simply strolling around the Brera and San Babila areas, and the Via Dante. A marvelous place to have an amazing vegetarian lunch (think gnocchi in pumpkin cream) is the tiny grocery shop, Alla Vecchia Latteria via dell' Unione on the via dell'Unione, just a stone's throw from the Duomo.

Enjoy!