We are going to Italy next summer (2002) and will be visiting Florence, Rome & Venice - which city has the best airport to fly in & out of?? Thanks for your help!

what is your point of origin?

The follow-up question from "peter" is mostly relevant to cost, not "convenience". florence does not have direct trans-atlantic service (assuming that you are from North America). Milan DOES have lots of trans-atlantic service, and cheap(er) flights (but not trans-atlantic) into its two lesser known "co-terminal" airports (Linate - - similar to Chicago Midway, and Bergamo Orio al Serio, about 40 miles away, northeast of Milan) <BR> <BR>Venice also has a very tiny (secondary) airport called Treviso (again, no trans-atlantic service. Of the big three (Rome, Venice, Milan), Venice is by far the smallest and least distant from the "city" of the three. But of course, it requires a boat to get to the city (or bus to certain hotels near the train station, perhaps). <BR> <BR>And there are well over a dozen airports attracting more and more international (intra-Europe) flights from the burgeoning number of smaller, lower-priced airlines. Often, the cheapest way to get to Italy is via London, Brussels or some gateway cities in Germany or Spain/Portugal. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

I did a similar trip for my honeymoon. Since we obtained a great rate via lufthansa, we flew into rome via frankfort. From Rome we took the train to Florence, then Venice, worked our way to Munich & left from there. It worked for us. Good Luck!

Of all the major Italian cities, it's usually Rome or Milan that has the best prices --- however that may not be focus of your question. If it's convenience, then your best choice of the trio you've cited would be to fly INTO one and OUT from another --- either start by arriving in Rome and then heading north to Florence & end in Venice, departing from that city (or you could do vice versa). <BR> <BR>And actually one of the easier airports that I've flown thru in Italy is the Pisa airport (Galileo Gallilei) --- it's small --- you have to make a connection thru another European city --- British Airways flys from London into Pisa. I liked it as it's close city center as well as the train station.

Kate, <BR>I have used both of the Milanese airports and never had a problem. They are not overwhelmingly large, and rarely experience the delays that sometimes occur at the Roman end in Da Vinci. I would highly recommend them, and take a train to your non-Milan destination from there. It is not expensive to do so. <BR>Have a great trip, <BR>Kathy

kate, I'm going to italy this summer. we're flying direct from JFK-Venice, and direct Rome-JFK... all Delta, for pretty good fares.