Hi everyone!
My husband, daughter and I are going to Italy beginning of July. Here is what I have planned so far. Any comments/suggestions/tips are most appreciated! Just to give a little info about us I am in my mid 40s, hubby in mid 50s, daughter 14. We love eating good food, drinking and shopping and also live music, festivals. The main goal of this trip is to relax and not try to cram in too many museums/sightseeing but to experience some of what Italy has to offer at a leisurely pace. We also enjoy doing things that are not "touristy" and discovering places off the beaten path.

Day 1 (Mon.) - Arrive Milan around 3 p.m. after check-in walk around Galleria Vitorio Emanuele
Day 2 (Tues.) - Visit the Last Supper and Duomo - shop; P.M. - Ballet at La Scala
Day 3 (Wed.) - Visit friend in Varese via train - p.m. Brera District ?
Day 4 (Thurs.) - Day trip to Lake Como via train
Day 5 (Fri.) - Train to Rome; Borghese Gallery; walk around area near hotel - Spanish Steps & ?
Day 6 (Sat.) - Visit Forum, Colisseum, Pantheon
Day 7 (Sun.) - Stroll or bike ride through Via Appia Antica
Day 8 (Mon.) - Train to Florence; taxi to villa - relax at villa - perhaps a cooking lesson at villa
Day 9 (Tues.) - Comp. shuttle to Florence
Day 10 (Wed.) - Visit countryside ?
Day 11 (Thurs.) - Return home from Florence airport

Hotels:
Milan - Carlton Baglioni, Via Senato 5
Rome - Hotel Majestic, Via Veneto 50
Tuscany - Villa Mangiacane located in San Casciano 12k South of Florence

Questions:
Milan -
My daughter loves fashion. Are there any interesting designer workrooms or schools/museums that she may be interested in?

Varese -
What should we see there? I haven't found much information on this city. My husband is visiting an old childhood friend. My daughter and I may want to do something on our own. Can anyone please make suggestions?

Lake Como -
We have the day to wonder around. I was thinking of Bellagio or is there somewhere else that everyone prefers?

Rome -
We plan on arriving before noon. Although not mentioned, we will visit some piazzas and fountains of course. One thing I would like to squeeze in since we are not doing much sightseeing in Rome is the Villa d'Este in Tivoli. It is 30 min. by train I understand. Any thoughts?

Tuscany -
We really don't see the need for a car since there is the shuttle service to take us into Florence and we can just hire a taxi for the airport. The last day, however, we would like to visit another city or town. Since we are close to Florence we could go there and catch a train somewhere or if someone knows the area where we are staying maybe they could make a recommendation?

Thank you to everyone in advance!!!

I realize I'm being opinionated, but I think you're going to too many places and you're going to spend lots of time on trains, lots of time finding your hotels and checking in, lots of time packing and unpacking, and lots of time getting tired of shlepping your luggage. If it were up to me, I'd skip the Tuesday you're spending in Milano and your visit to Lake Como, and I'd spend the extra two days in Rome. What I'd see during the extra two days: churches (search this forum for suggestions), the Ara Pacis site in Rome near the Tibur, walking around in Trastevere and the old Ghetto, the Campo d'Fiori area, Largo Torre Argentina (look it up in Wikipedia), and some of the many museums with Roman antiquities. You'll have a good time if you follow your original time, but I think you'll have a better one if you minimize internal travel in Italy as much as possible.

I would also suggest more time in Rome; I would definitely trade a day trip to Lake Como for a day in Rome!

For your time outside of Florence, consider renting a car. That way, you can spend a day or two taking leisurely drives through the countryside, visiting interesting little hill towns.

I would also skip Como and add a day to Rome. I have been to Rome a dozen times and love the city. Each time I visit the Colosseum and Pantheon and discover something new. I have also been to Como a few times and also Bellagio and though it is pretty, I am personally not drawn to the area.

The fashion in Italy is fantastic and a stroll along the main shopping streets in Milan should intrigue your daughter. Perhaps a separate post about your desire to find out more about fashion in Milan would be best as it is such a specific request.

All of Italy will be mobbed with tourists in July so I suggest booking your Borghese tickets ahead of time. We used the Roma pass last trip and I called to reserve entry times, and we also bypassed lines at the Colosseum.

I'm assuming you have tickets to the last supper already. Also - just be flexible on some of your plans as there tend to be one day strikes at various museums, etc (there was one the day before we went to see the Last Supper and all of those people were just out of luck); I'd trade a day at Como for another day in Florence personally - or take the train from Florence to Pisa to see the leaning tower. Have you looked at train schedules to see how long the various trips are? rome to florence can be 2 or 4 hours plus the time to get to the station, get oriented, get to your hotel/villa and you've easily shot a half to 3/4 of a day; Milan to rome can be up to 5 hours in length plus the pre and post transit time. Its probably too late but any reason why you are going Milan to Rome back to Florence? it seems a bit more logical to do milan, florence then Rome at the end.

For you daughter's fashion fix...
She will love people watching in Milan. The residents of Milan far and away get the best dressed award compared to all other cities we've been to in Europe. The designer shopping area is roughly within the borders of these streets:
Corso Vittorio Emanuele
Via A. Manzoni
Via Della Scala
Even if you can't afford to buy anything it is so fun to check out the scene and the clothes worn by the shoppers in this area.

Also in Milan, make sure to go up on the rooftop of the Duomo (the main cathedral.) The view of the city is great but the main reason is to see the incredible sculptures and carvings.

I agree with everyone else to reduce your Milan time and add more days in Rome.

I'm going to Italy in a few weeks also. I just got my Last Supper confirmation yesterday. DEFINITELY check into it sltx. Go to the selectitaly website.
I'm going to Rome at the beginning of the week and I plan to get a Roma card. Do you skip some museum lines with that? I'm also thinking of doing the hop on/ hop off bus my first day along with some non-reservation type things (ie Spanish Steps/ Trevi Fountain). Are shops open on Sunday?

I don't understand the comments about changing hotels too many times . . . three hotels in 11 days doesn't seem extreme to me. Also based on the interests you mentioned, I think you've balanced your choice of activities well.

In Rome, aside from fountains and piazzas, you might stick in a church or two--it's a quick way to see some great art and architecture without going into museum overload. For example, near your hotel you might visit Santa Maria della Vittoria (Bernini's Ecstacy of St Teresa), and near the Pantheon you might enjoy the amazing ceiling at San Ignazio (put money in the box to switch on the ights).

I agree that Milan>Florence>Rome make more geographical sense, but I suspect your flights are set, so Milan>Rome>Florence it must be.

My Michelin Green Guide for Italy mentions Varese, but mostly mentions that there are other things nearby that are more interesting, like Sacro Monte. It refers to Varese itself as a "pleasant modern town." If you do separate from your husband and his friend, stroll the center and visit shops, especially a supermarket, which can be an interesting cultural study. If your husband's friend is like most Italians, I suspect you will be treated to a great lunch.

For your daytrip to Lake Como, I suggest you get an early train to Varenna-Esino. From there you are a quick ferry ride across to Bellagio. If you like then you can hop across to Tremezzo and Villa Carlotta. You can return to Mian by train from Varenna, or you might enjoy riding a boat (fast and slower options available) south all along the lake to the city of Como and catching a train to Milan from there.

I agree that you are going to a lot of places in a few days; some people like that, but I like to spend a little more time in each place we go.

Also, Rome is very interesting, but in Summer it is very hot, so you swelter if you go out during the day. I would pick another time to visit Rome.

Milan is excellent for viewing fashion and for shopping. Florence is also very good for shopping, and has a lot to see and a lot of good food and wine. Also, there are some very attractive day trips you can make from Florence. My impression is that there are not a lot of transatlantic flights out of Florence, so you might look for another place to fly home from, which brings me to Venice, a lovely place with more than its share of music and art, and some good shopping (our most treasured item from Italy is some Murano glasses). Also, there are a lot of flights home out of Venice, although often with an intermediate stop.

My suggestions would give you more time in fewer places, but keep you in the more temperate north of Italy, which you should consider for a July visit.

Enjoy your trip.

I can't thank everyone enough for your responses. I have already looked up some of the places suggested. We have booked our tickets for the sights except for Last Supper. Their web site is useless and I can never seem to call early enough before they are closed. I was planning on asking the concierge at the hotel for assistance? We are using airline miles and had to play around with dates and cities to get what we got. I would have preferred a flight into/out of Milan and Rome. Venice will have to wait until the next trip! We are from Texas so I can't imagine the heat will be much of a problem for us. We will definitely wander into churches and thank you ellenem for some suggestions and for the information on getting around Lake Como. Also, sjj some of the places you suggested in Rome are something right up our alley. Strikes at museums! Wow! That was definitely the first I've heard about that. I have already prepared myself for transit strikes but not museums. We don't get too stressed out if unforseen circumstances change our plans. Now if you tell me there are wine, food or gelato strikes then we may have problems!

Also - be ready for train strikes - that could throw a wrench into your plans as well. We love italy, have been several times so far and not had any interruptions (except a rental car that died on us) due to strikes.

True about strikes. Trenitalia went on strike while we were on a train from Milan to Florence SMN. Just stopped the train and told everyone they had to get off! Luckily we were already at Firenze Rifredi and caught a cab the rest of the way.