My husband and I are planning to spend a week touring around Tuscany by car, but the only direct flight we could get from the US to Italy was via Milan (we are traveling on FF mileage). Rather than getting on another airplane from Milan to Florence, we thought we might just get the car in Milan and drive. Has anyone done this? How is the drive?

Cheri, The drive is easy but not much to see unless you divert over to the coast and spend a nite there--always a good idea. Most people would train to Florence--about 3 hours--and get the car there. Since you need a car anyway, I would stop in Santa Margherita or Portovenere for a day or two enroute.

The idea to arrive to Milan rather than to Florence is very good. If you rent a car in Milan you can drive along the A1 highway which will take you in 2-3 hours drive directly to Florence. Beware to the FOG BANKS in the Po plain (From Milan to the Appennine mountain! Milan and the surrounding areas,in certain periods of the year (winter through spring) are often "clad" in a thick fog which often cause car accidents. So this brings me to give you another advice: drive carefully! Italians are well knows for their lack of driving education, and also on thick fog drive as if the road is totally clear! I am italian and I have travelled often along the Rome-Florence-Milan route!

This is another option, we did it and loved it, from Milan we went South on the A7, visited the fantastic Certosa de pavia and also Pavia, which is very interesting. Then proceed to the coast where you can visit Portofino,Sestri Levante etc. and then we did Lucca right off the autostradda to arrive into Firenze from the East.

...sorry I meant from the West.

Depending on what you want to see, we flew into Rome, took the train to Florence, rented a car to explore Tuscany, and took the train from Florence to Milan, and flew out of Milan. Traveeling by train might be more relaxing (at least we thought so).<BR>Good luck!