hi folks,

I got a flyer from easyjet today advertising their flight sale for the next few months- up to the end of June; looking at the web-site, there bargains throughout the summer.

as I'm keen to practice my burgeoning italian skills ! I liked the look of Milan - very cheap flights and I don't know the area very well, if at all.

so if you had 10 days or so to spend around Milan this summer in the company of your SO and two adult "kids" who love all things Italian and like a mix of activities, where would you go?

we have no problem with driving, or trains of whatever gets us around most easily.

any ideas out there?

regards, ann

I'd split it between Milan itself for art and history and somewhere on Lake Como (maybe a town less touristed than Bellagio) for food, wine and relaxation.

thanks Zerlina -

where on Lake como do you suggest? - I don't know it at all.

presumably we wouldn't need a car in Milan - would you suggest hiring one for lake como?

and how long in Milan?

regards, ann

I'd spend a couple days in Milan, and then move on . . . . is this a 1st trip to Italy? Or have you already been? From Milan you can easily get to Venice (~ 2 hrs, 35 min) by EuroStar train .... or to Rome ( a bit longer 3.5 to 5 hrs).

I'd spend 3 days (2 nights) in Milan, then train to Florence for a week.

Maybe three days in Milan and a week on Lake Como to make a vacation rental possible.

Have a look at this property in Domaso, which is at the northern tip of Lake Como, not at the Y where all the more touristy towns are:
http://www.villa-annamaria.it/

There are two reviews at www.slowtrav.com; they suggest renting a car. But there's a good restaurant or two in the town.

Given the hard economic times, the owner might be amenable to negotiation.

Venice...I'm a sucker for Venice though and will usually take advantage of any chance to spend time there. I'd probably head straight to Venice...and then stay in Milan before the flight home.

Definitely the lakes - not just Como. I stayed in Stresa, which was a good base for someone without a car, although it got a bit overloaded with tourists during the day. You can visit the islands, and also do a train-and-boat day trip to Switzerland. Then I'd head to Venice - or if you've been and don't want to go back, maybe Bologna, or Ferrara (base for Ravenna).

I'd go to Bologna for 3-4 days and do a couple day trips from there -- the mosaics in Ravenna are fabulous. Lake Como is beautiful ...we'ver only stayed in Bellagio which was lovely and then end in Milan for a couple days b4 returning.

Lago di Garda, probably, Sirmione and Riva del Garda.

Ann, If you have not seen Lago Como then that is a must. You can train easily from Milan to the village of Varenna on the east shore--I would stay right there. Google the site for Varenna--there are several good hotels. Get back if you need more help. And, look at La Limonera apts. in Bellagio--a :15 ferry ride from Varenna. A 2 BR apt. might be the best idea.

hi folks,

thanks so much for all these ideas.

I should have made it clear that it's really the milan/como area we're interested in - having spent a week in each of Rome, Florence and Vencie, and one on lake garda too, [the advantages of living in the UK, albeit at the far south- western corner], if we're going to fly into Milan it makes sense to me to take advantage of the proximity to place swe don't know. And I keep reading such good reports here of Como, that it seems an obvious choice.

another parameter - our holiday with our kids have always been most successful if we move round as little as possible, so we get to know local shops, cafes, bars etc. and we need as much room as possible - DS has ADHD so we and he, need our SPACE. so you're right bob- a 2 BDR apartment isn't just desireable, it's essential!

so the villa annamaria that Zerlina found looks terrific - but I'm a bit worried about the cost from what you said about negotiation - how much did you pay? and how infrequent are the ferries to the rest of the lake [the ferry web-site seems to be down at the moment]. is there much to do in the village itself - DD likes to have a look at the occasional shop [and has been known to accuse her mother of being a mistress of understatement!]

Bob- I'm having a look at Varenna and bellagio. the limonera apartments are too small for us i think - just one bedroom and all the largest ones have gone for the time we'd want. but they're along the right idea.

any ideas for what to see in milan for our first 2 days or so?

regards, ann

2 days in Milan:

1. How's the cash? Milan is the best city in the world for looking at clothes shops (official: Mrs F says so, and I've worked with clothes retailers whose Milan office kept preprinted lists of everywhere worth looking at for viositors from foreign offices). With the pound where it is, you can't afford any of it and little is really designed for British colouring or sizes. But the shops are wonderful: Via Sant'Andrea, Via della Spiga and roundabout

2. The Gallerie next to the Duomo: crap shopping and the architecture's only so-so if you're used to Victorian grandeur. To be honest, the Duomo's just another Italian cathedral (the fascia's absurdly recent) without the interesting bits you find tucked away in just about every other Italian cathedral. But the gargoyles on the roof look nifty from the Rinascente caff - though they are just another wodge of gargoyles: probably a bit better than some of than your local churches, but not much.

3. The Poldi Pezzoli Museum. One of the world's three great small museums. Better still if you avoid its tedious weapons collection, which goes on for room after bleeding room, and just look at the art

4.The Brera Museum. In an area that tries to be charming, but just feels like some manufactured bit of Milton Keynes, this is Milan's Great Art Gallery. Lots of paintings you Really Have to See. If you like seeing paintings.

5. Eat. There aren't that many tourists (except from the fashion biz around Via Montenapoleone) so most places survive only by providing consummately excellent (if rarely desperately imaginative) food to a regular clientele - and do so with that professionalism ONLY restarants in big Italian cities manage. Don't faff about where: just choose anywhere that's not got a multinlingual menu.

6. I'm particularly find of the church of Sant' Ambrogio (though possibly because I first met him as he was being trundled round town in a van, with a police escort, from his church to the Duomo on his feast day). For a city with Milan's long history, it's got astonishingly little really old (even less than London), and Sant'Ambrogio, together with its near-neighbour, Sant'Eustorgio, are about the only Early Christian churches in a city which briefly rule the Empire. Plus <b> you get to them by getting a Milan tram </b>.

7. Personally I'm iffy about the Last Supper.It's had a stressful life, and the reproductions (most photographede before the bomb damage) probably show it better than real life. Given the difficulty of getting tickets these days I wouldn't bother.

8. Food shopping. The Salumeria di MonteNapoleone makes you feels Messrs Sainsbury, Tesco, Waite and Rose (that's how the name got invented) may as well just give up and go home. As for that Mr Sommerfield: well, he never existed, did he?

Ann, in May 2008 we spent 3 weeks in Italy (North), to / from Milan. We loved very much this area . Look at my report, maybe you can find there some ideas:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...orth-italy.cfm

Ann, look at these apts. in Bellagio:
www.bellagioanticopozzo.eu/en

Villa Annamaria will certainly be less than a week's rental in Venice and probably less than anything comparable in Bellagio. I did not mean to imply that it was particularly expensive; I think most property owners are amenable to negotiation these days.

Domaso is small. Encourage your daughter to do her (window) shopping in Milan.

Ferries are much less frequent than in the Bellagio area. For exploring the lake, I'd suggest renting a car.