Destination Advice
 

My wife and I are bringing our 3 (9, 5 & 5) daughters to Italy for 6 nights in late April and will be arriving and departing MXP. Does anyone have suggestions on where to visit and stay? We would prefer to stay in the general area as we do not want to drag the kids all over Italy.Within a couple of hours of MXP would be preferred. We have stayed in apartments in the past and have found them to be much easier than hotels when travelling with kids.

Thanks!

Your basic question is too vague for me. Are you looking for a city or small town or countryside environment? What do you want to do while you're there, soak up the local scene or explore an area? Museums? Ruins? Villas/gardens? Will you have a car, or will you be using public trans? What is your lodging budget?

You might also want to state "Milan" rather than MXP for those of us who have to do a look-up to see which airport that is.

Lake Como is in full bloom at that time of year.

Without knowing a LOT more about your interests, budget, mode of transport, etc., it would just be throwing darts to guess at what might work for you.

From Milan you could easily get to Florence or Venice (by train) if you want to explore the north a little.

All the above questions are appropriate, but I also think that a family like yours could spend a happy week in April based in Verona. On rainy days you'd find plenty to do in the fun, very walkable town, or you could take easy day trips to other towns by train (including Venice). On sunny days you can visit Lago di Garda, including Gardaland, but also just go for ice cream in a pretty town like Bardolino. You can take a train to the lake and then ferries to visit as many towns as you like.

Verona would make for a great mix of outdoor fun and city sights (including a Roman arena and a great castle). If you pick an apartment, try to stay fairly close to the train station for day trips.

Thanks for the input and advice and sorry for being too vague for some. We are really looking for a nice, picturesque town, city or destination within an hour or two of Milan. How e get there depends on where the "there" is. We have rented cars, hired a driver, and taken trains in Italy in the past so we would be open to all. I will look into Verona as that does sound appealing.

Merry Christmas!