Florence or Milan for 4 nights
 

My wife and I will be visiting southern Europe next summer. Itinerary starts with 3 days Bavaria, 3 days Salzburg, 5 nights Venice and then Florence and Milan. I have 7 days to spend between these two areas. We enjoy hiking but also architecture and culture. Would you spend 3 nights at Milan or Florence. I will have a car and enjoy seeing the countrysides in the vicinity of the cities. Thanks for your help.

Any time I have to choose between Milan and Florence, Florence wins. But I'm not sure I understand your question. "I have 7 days to spend between these two areas." "Would you spend 3 nights at Milan or Florence?"

What happened to the other 4 days/nights?

Florence, especially if you're interested in Renaissance art and history, can easily fill three days, and the countryside of Tuscany lies all around.

Milan, of course, has the Last Supper, and should you do decide to go that route, get your reservations ASAP.

Since you enjoy hiking and art, try Florence for two days, get up early and drive to the Cinque Terre to go hiking for the last day.

If the third day in CT doesn't fit into your schedule, take a day trip on your way in or out of Florence to one of the nearby Tuscan towns for a good trek.

Not sure about taking a car into Florence. My driver was concerned that she would be fined (heavily!) by driving me to my hotel near the Ponte Vecchio (it turned out to be okay, but she was only in the historic city limits for about 15 minutes). However, there was NO place to park at the hotel, so you should definitely consider your hotel based on their ability to provide parking for your car.

Hi Z,

Florence definitely.

Why Milan?

I would add the time to visiting the Salzkammergut near Salzburg, Lake Constance, or Bavaria.

((I))

Sorry for the confusion, I should have been more specific. I have 8 nights to spend starting in Florence till I fly out of Frankfurt. The last night in Frankfurt is booked. Where would you stay?
Jeff

Are you planning on spending some of your 5 days in Venice driving around the Veneto? Or is your car going to just sit unused in an expensive garage for those days? You also don't want to drive into Florence. Traffic is bad, there's no reasonably priced parking, and there's no need to have it, as you can't drive around the historic center anyway. You can walk across it in about half an hour. It really was a small town back in the Renaissance. Anyway, you should think about structuring your trip so you can avoid paying for a car when you are not using it.

By the way, the train to Frankfurt is a good way to get back to your departure point -- OR you could change your departure to Milan and then spend a day or two there before you leave for home. The train to Milan from Florence is also a snap. Only a couple of hours, as I recall.

Charnee

Hi

I would also go for Florence. My wife and I went there in July this year and we stayed 4 days in the city before we moved into the Chianti district. Here is my Florence trip report with pictures and links: http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Thanks for all your input. I have decided to stay in Florence for 4 days and then in Lake Como for 3 before heading up to Zurich and then Strasbourg to Frankfurt.
Jeff