travelinjj

Flying into Milan from Barcelona and looking to stay in Bologna as a home base and to make day trips if possible to Modena, Parma or other suggested locations in the region that can be accomplished as a day trip via train. I am also planning to visit Florence for two days and return via Milan to fly to Barcelona for flight back to US.
Plan is to arrive Milan on Sunday afternoon and travel via (express) train to Bologna.
Mon, Tues, Wed -Bologna
Thursday , Friday -Florence
Saturday travel day via Express train to Milan
and flight to Barcelona onto the US.
Any advise and recommendations on best travel options or airlines, trains that will enble one to accomplish this travel time frame or other suggestion. This will be our second trip to Florence but would like to go for the museum and shopping experience. Never traveled the Emilia region and looking forward to just eating and eating and drinking the wines.

zeppole

You might find cheaper flights and shorter train journeys if you flew from Barcelona to Rome and made your first stop Florence. Then go on to Bologna. You will have a shorter trip to Milan from Bologna.

Ravenna, which is easily reached by train from Bologna, is one of the most stupendous art sites in Europe. It is an extremely rewarding destination.

You can see both Modena and Parma in a single day. Travel by train first to Parma, see the sights, have lunch, and come back with a stop in Modena.

Just so you know, wine is not outstanding in the Emilia region. It is worth checking out the Chowhound website and its message board for Italy to find good restaurants in the cities of Emilia.

zeppole

Just to be clear, you can visit both Parma and Modena from a base in Bologna in a single day. Travel by train in the morning to Parma. (You will pass by Modena). On your return in the afternoon, stop in Modena before returning to Bologna.

ellenem

Are your flights already booked?

Just wondering why you can't fly back to U.S. from an airport in Italy (Milan, Bologna, Florence).

Also, I think there are a few inexpensive airlines that fly between Barcelona and your actual destinations in Italy: Ryanair for Barcelona-Bologna; Vueling for Barcelona-Pisa (connect to Florence by train for less than 10€). There may be more. I only did a quick search.

Another place of interest in Emilia Romagna if you like mosaics is Ravenna, an easy day trip from Bologna.

I would try to maximize my time by avoiding the flights through Milan.

janisj

"<i>Saturday travel day via Express train to Milan and flight to Barcelona onto the US.</i>"

IMO this is an exceedingly risky plan. You want to take the train to Milan, fly to Barcelona and catch a flight to the US. One glitch of any sort and you will probably miss your flight and be SOL.

A train strike, a mechanical problem w/ your Milan/Barcelona flight, anything. You should return to Barcelona the night before your flight home.

charnees

seriously,you need to change your flight plan to fly home from Bologna or Milan. even if it costs you a couple of hundred dollars, you are going to have to spend money on unnecessary train travel. You will also save tons of time. The flights are called open-jaw or multi-city flights.

janisj

Oh, I agree - it would be MUCH better to fly home from Italy. But if for some reason you can't change it -- definitely get back to Barcelona the day before you fly home.

Mimar

Heck, I'd get to Milan the day before I flew from there. Then allow another night in Barcelona. Stuff happens, especially in Italy.

zeppole

Trains from Florence and Bologna to Milan are guaranteed to run whether there is a strike or not. That is Italian law.

Many flights for Barcelona leaving Milan's two airports don't leave until afternoon or the evening. There is no reason to spend the previous night in Milan if you book a flight for after noon.

If you can't switch your departure flight from Barcelona to an Italian airport, see if you can find a flight to Barcelona from Florence or Bologna, like ellenem suggested. If you end your trip in Florence, getting to Rome or Bologna is closer than getting to Milan. In the event of a strike, trains may not be running between Pisa and other cities.

Or course a volcano could ground all planes for several days. And Spanish air controllers could go on strike. Buy trip insurance.

travelinjj

Thank you all for the information and recommendations.
Just to clarify, we have purchased round trip tickets from the US to Barcelona.
We also plan to return to Barcelona the day prior to our depature.
Great suggestion on visiting Parma and then Modena for the day trip form Bologna.

Mimar

Zeppole, it's not just strikes. I've had 2 trains break down and a third delayed by a suicide on the tracks. Italy seems to have a high frequency of "issues."

janisj

And in any case -- the OP didn't mean returning to Barcelona the same day as their flight home. S/he clarified that in his second post.