No brainer Milan and Bergarmo surely. Nothing to do in Nice and it is not really warm.

Number 2 Amsterdam but take a rain coat

Number 3 London but see above

Number 4 Edinburgh (for 6 days oh my god)

Number 5 Nice but why drive from Milan

don't live in Zurich ( visited several times ) but you will have the same weather issues like in Ams. or Edn.

I like Nice for a few days , one can easily visit Menton, Monaco, Antibes, Eze, Cannes..... by car or bus/train. We were in Nice last year at the end of April - the weather was fine. By May 1st weekend some brave soles were in the water!

cristine,

Yes, we've been living in Zurich for about 2 years so I've had a lot of nice travels. I try to get away at least once a month.

Switzerland can't be beat for natural beauty. Part of my problem lately when I visit other countrysides is that they just don't hold up well in comparison!

The Ticino area is Italian in language and feel and you would probably love Lugano. It's right on a gorgeous lake. There is also Bellinzona which some prefer. We liked Ascona and Lugano. The scenery is spectacular.

No too far away but on the Italy side there is Lake Como which I haven't been to but many Fodorite's really like.

April would be nice in the south of Switzerland but probably not elsewhere - it can be sunny and gorgeous or damp and rainy...

I don't think you would love Switzerland unless you went to the lakes or came at a better time of year - ie winter or summer or even early fall.

and Viajero loves Nice so this should all really confuse you!

Greece is quite nice...

And have you considered Turkey?

I loved Morocco...

gruezi

We really enjoyed Nice. There are so many day-trips from there, old Nice is nice, and there are museums, the promenade, etc.

Here's my trip report from mid-May:
"We arrived in Nice in the early afternoon on Friday, via train from Venice.

Our Hotel le Grimaldi (http://www.le-grimaldi.com/) was a short cab ride from the train station. It was 10EUR for myself, my daughter, my gargantuan bag, and her two small ones. We were greeted graciously at the hotel, which immediately struck us as a good find.

The hotel is actually two Belle Epoque buildings back-to-back. One side is much prettier to enter, as it faces a nice church. The other side is fine, too, but a bit boring. I think the side on rue Grimaldi is the plain one, and the other side on rue Maccarani is prettier.

The man at the front desk carried my bag to the room, and showed us around. There’s a business center on the ground floor, with free internet use on their two computers, and a free printer to use. (Also wireless in the lobby, I think for a fee.)

Our room was a ‘classic’, twin-bedded room, which was large enough, had a little balcony, a sparkling tile bath with fluffy bright yellow towels, and nice toiletries. It was 150EUR, plus tax and 10EUR per person if we opted for the hot/cold breakfast buffet. They suggested we check out the buffet (served till 10:30a.m.), and if we were interested the next morning, we could sign on for it. Their deal is that you have to buy it everyday to get the 10EUR rate. Otherwise, per day, it’s 15EUR.

So the next morning, we were happy to find hot eggs, proscuitto, yoghurts, cereals, cappuccino, assorted croissants, juices, etc. We thought it a good deal and quite convenient, so we enjoyed it each morning.

For our first dinner, I had brought the name of a restaurant I’d found on Travel Talk, and the front desk agreed it was a good one, a local favorite in old Nice. It’s called Acchiardo, at 38 rue Droite in Vieux Nice. We headed over for their opening at 7p.m., and were very happy with it. Really friendly and attentive service, very quaint and casual atmosphere, with a good menu. I had a steak dinner, which actually included vegetables on the side. My daughter had two different salads. We had bottled water and a half-liter of house red wine. When the bill arrived for 28.50EUR, I thought they’d made a mistake because it was so much less than I’d been accustomed to paying in Venice, Florence and Rome. But, no, it was correct. (We would have maybe eaten there another night, but found out it closes on weekend nights, believe it or not.)

We walked all over old Nice, then through the pedestian area to the promenade and took that way back to the hotel. It’s such a beautiful walk at night. The Chateau hillside is all lit up, the palm trees are lit, and the waves look so pleasant. It was how we ended each of our Nice nights, with that walk back to the hotel.

The next day we decided to take the short bus ride on the #81, to visit the Villa and Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, near Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. (The bus is just 1.30EUR each direction, which you pay in exact change on the bus.)

It was a nice visit, especially to see the views of the sea down below on both sides of the hillside. I thought the price was a bit steep, at 9.50EUR for an adult, because the Villa isn’t really all that interesting (sorry!), but the gardens are pretty. There’s also a nice little café there, for a light snack or drink or meal, which was a welcome break from all our walking.

While we were there, a very strong wind came up, which caused quite a bit of white caps in the water below, and chased everyone in from the patio tables. The wind stayed with us for the rest of the day, but wasn’t terribly annoying.

From the Villa, we did the easy walk down to the port of St. Jean to walk around and check it out. There are nice boats in the little harbor, with cute restaurants and shops. It’s very tiny, so doesn’t take long to walk from end to end of St. Jean. We spent just about an hour and a half there, then caught the #81 back to Nice.

That evening, we returned to old Nice for dinner. We loved that neighborhood’s little streets, overall atmosphere, and cute shops. We found the Restaurant la Tapenada, 6 rue St. Reparate and had a very nice dinner. It was probably about 60EUR for the two of us, on their fixed price menu, with a bottle of house wine. Very nice little place, with friendly and attentive service. They even let my daughter trade her dessert for a salad. So she had two salads to start, one after the other, and they timed the arrival of our main courses perfectly. We were perfectly happy with our meal there.

The next day we decided we’d stick to the coast and see Antibes, which is a short 20-minute train ride from Nice. We were glad we’d chosen Antibes, as it’s beautiful. The sea wall makes a nice walk, and the Centre Ville is very charming.

We wandered its streets, shopped in a tiny clothing boutique, found a little place for omelettes (nothing special, but nice enough), then headed back to Nice by train after about 4 hours total. It was a good choice for a quick day-trip.

That evening we weren’t very hungry, so opted for the simple Pasta Basta, once again in old Nice. It was a nice meal, although not extraordinary. Good prices and decent service.

All in all, we were very impressed with Nice and the surrounding area. It’s a very pretty city, with a friendly attitude, sitting on a lovely shore. There are many options for things to do near Nice. We’d considered St. Paul de Vence and Digne, but with the beautiful clear weather, we were drawn to stay at the seaside, and were glad we did."

Thanks so much for all your replies!! To tell you the truth I'm even more confused now but i'll do some more research on the places mentioned above and let you know what we'll decide! ;-)

The French Riviera is nice; we included it in a trip to Venice and the Italian Riviera. Although we liked the French Riviera, it was our least favorite of the three. Since you are starting in Milan, why not spend your time in Italy? The big three, of course, are Venice, Rome, and Florence. April would also be a lovely time to visit the Greek islands as long as you avoid Greek holidays.

I'd only stay in Nice without a car. And use the bus and trains to make daytrips. A cottage along the Cote d'Azur (or maybe slightly inland) would be lovely. But you sound like city people. Maybe one of the smaller towns/cities like Cannes or Antibes. Or maybe Menton, which is right at the border between the French Riviera and the Italian. You could make daytrips along either Riviera.