Do you know the length of the drives between Milan and Florence, Florence and Venice, Venice and Milan??
 

We are leaving soon for Milan and trying to create an itinerary for 10 days. We are unsure if we should travel to Florence and Venice or if we will be to rushed? What's your opinion? How much time will we be in the car? Any ideas on where to stop along the way? Your sugestions will be much appreciated. Thank you.

We flew into Milan and drove to Venice. We stopped along the way at Sirimone (sp). It is a peninsula area that juts out into a lake. Great area to stop and have some lunch, etc. You will see it on the route from Milan to Venice. The drive was not too bad. We parked our car at the Tronchetta in Venice. Traffic going into the parking area was heavy but we hit the place at 5pm.<BR><BR>From Venice we drove to Siena which is about 45 minutes past Florence. This again was not a bad drive. We based in Siena for 7 nights and explored the Tuscany area including Florence.This was a fun area to explore a different route each day.<BR><BR>After this we headed to Portovenere to explore the Cinque Terre area for 2 nights then up to Bellagio for last 3 nights and flew home out of Milan. This route worked well for us and we enjoyed the trip. It was about 2 weeks total time.<BR><BR>With 10 days you may want to eliminate the Cinque Terre area and just spend your time in Venice and Tuscany exploring by car. The autostrada is a good road (with crazy drivers) and you can make good time from area to area. The small roads in the Tuscan hill towns get a little slower.<BR><BR>Hope this helps some.

We traveled to Italy for the first time last October. Trip report soon to be posted on the web at: http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/j/x/jxf17/<BR><BR>We were there for 10 days also and had a car for a week of that time. We actually started out in Rome and worked our way north. The drive from Florence to Venice was about 4 hours if I remember correctly. Quite mountainy with a number of tunnels on the highway near Florence but a good drive all the way. The drive from Venice to Milan was also about 4 hours and it was relatively flat all the way. <BR><BR>You should have plenty of time to complete your itinerary without feeling rushed.<BR><BR>Jim

You may want to re-think having a car unless:<BR><BR>1. there are four or more of you<BR><BR>2. you plan to see other destinations in Italy, other than just these major cities (and I actually WOULD recommend that maybe you should try to do that).<BR><BR>Especially for the first segment - - Milan to Venice, it seems little advantage to travel this by car (in fact, maybe downright disadvantageous). It's rather a wasted expense to figure out what to do with the car while you're in Venice.<BR><BR>A car rental, starting in Venice (when you depart there) - - and concluding in Tuscany (or with your drive from Tuscany back to Milan) could give you the flexibility to see more RURAL parts of Italy. And this would be a good thing. <BR><BR>Wherever you plan to drive, take a look at www.viamichelin.com or www.mappy.com for all the information you need on driving times, distances and routes.<BR><BR>And go find places in this triangle that others haven't even reported on (much) here.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Go to viamichelin.com and ask for driving directions.

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