My wife and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary in Italy...we arrive in Pisa on the 14th of June...I am holding reservations in Florence for the first 3 nights but not sure what to do after that ?? I fly out of Milan on the 20th....we were thinking of the following:
*Cooking Class in Tuscany
*Lake Como
*Venice
*Milan

I can alter anything on the trip except the departure from Milan on the 20th....I know you experts will have some suggestions....Many Thanks

Danny,

In a similar situation a few years ago, we found a local travel agent who made wonderful arrangements for us.

I don't recall the name but the location is easy to find. Along the river bank between the Ponte Vecchio and the Ufizzi. If you reach the Quissisiana de Ponte Vecchio, you will have gone too far.

The head of the agency speaks English fluently and she got us a few days at an Agriturismo near Siena which also had a cooking school. for the last night, she found us a lovely place in Como within a half an hour drive of the rental car return at the airport.

Have you been to Italy before? If not, you have many possibilities...Rome, the towns of Tuscany - Siena, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, San Gimignano. Cinque Terre is also a possiblity. Do you want to rely on public transportation or will you have a car?

My wife and I were in Italy about 8 yrs ago..we have been to Rome,Venice,Amalfi Coast,Florence and a few hours in Sienna....my itinerary is WIDE open all I have confirmed is into Pisa on the 14th and out of Milan on the 20th....Should I just get a hotel near Milan airport and skip the city ??

Travelfan...we will not have a car

Just for clarity

June 14-arrive Pisa; sleep ?
June 15-?
June 17-?
June 18-?
June 19-?
June 20-depart from Milan

You have five actual nights. Plus, you probably need to be somewhere near Milan airport the night before your departure.

Maybe three nights Cinque Terre (since its near Pisa) and two nights Milan?

Danny,

I guess the question that pops to mind for me is when on the 20th your flight leaves from Milan. If it's late in the day, then I'd suggest that you'd have enough time arrive in Milan late in the day the day before and to see the worthwhile parts of the city before heading to the airport.

1 scrambling day is not worth it for Venice. Plus the travel time would make it a questionable choice. I don't know the Lake Como area so I'd suggest the cooking class. Mrs. K and I spent 8 happy days last June exploring Firenze and environs so IMHO, you don't necessarily have to change locales prematurely at all.

HTH
K

everyone... We will be coming from London so we should be OK and ready to go when we land in Pisa .... Our flight leaves Milan at 11:30am on the 20th.... I agree that Rome or Venice is too much hassle

Since you have been to the other cities before, I think the cooking school in Tuscany would be a great thing to do.

Staying at a hotel near the airport is great. There is a bus at the airport that will take you to the train station in Milan and back again. This way if you stay at the airport, you can still see the city.

I guess the next question is is there anything in particular in Milan that you want to especially do or see?

If not, it seems to me it's down to either the cooking class or Lake Como (assuming other better-informed Fordorites than I think it doable). I'm partial to more Firenze but then again, I'm not making any pretension of being unbiased that way. I'm not a fan of the 'how-many-things-can-we-do-or-places-can-we-visit in-a-ridiculously-short-span-of-time' approach to travel.

Do you have to be in Florence the first 3 nights? From Pisa you could go to Cinque Terre first, split the time between there and Florence.

Then to Milan on your last day.

[I wish some Fodorite would find a heretofore undiscovered charming little town---with great accommodations---within a short drive of MPX! Milan always makes the trip more difficult despite the great flight choices.]

I really like Florence, but it will be extremely crowded in June so I wouldn't recommend staying there the entire time. I'm going on vacation at the same time that you are & thought about going to Florence but decided against it as it will be hot & crowded.

If you go to Florence, get up early & enjoy it before everyone else wakes up & take a nap during the most crowded part of the day. Depending on where you're staying, you may want to bring earplugs for the noise.

Varenna on Lake Como would be a nice option. I loved Varenna. It's beautiful. It should be gorgeous in June. Once you're in Varenna, you can take the ferry to visit other towns.

I just don't remember how to get there via the train. A couple years ago, we went to Varenna from the Milan airport. I was originally going to use public transportation to and from the Milan airport, so it is possible. But I ended up renting a car so don't recall how to make train arrangements.

You could also spend part of a day in Milan. The duomo is lovely & if you can get reservations you can see The Last Supper.

Cinque Terre also could be nice. Haven't made it there - yet - so can't give any specific advice except that it's easy to get to via train. You may have difficulty getting a reservation.

I hope this helps.

you guys are amazing !! I am not big on moving around either .... what about Florence for 3 nights then Sienna..then get a airport hotel in Milan?? I have never been or heard of Cinque Terre...would you pick it over Sienna ?

Sienna and Cinque Terre are two very different types of places. It depends what you want.

Cinque Terre are 5 towns on the sea. You can walk or take the train from one to the other. A lot of people like to hike the trails. The towns are beach areas.

Sienna is a walled city inland. Incredibly historic like all of Italy.

thanks for everyones help...here is what we have decided:

**we are now in St Andrews and arrive in Pisa on June 14th

** we are staying in Florence for 4 nights

** then we go to a B&B in Tuscany for 2 nights for wine tours and a cooking class

** we will then take a train to Milan and stay at The Crowm Plaza and depart the next morning

Sounds a good choice. Enjoy Firenze. We were there this time last year and it's just lovely. I don't know if you've picked out restaurants but I'd highly recommend two in particular:

Tratorria 4 Leoni
http://www.4leoni.com/index.asp

and esepcially
Omero
http://www.ristoranteomero.it/

Omero really was the benchmark meal for our trip between the food, the location and the service. In any case, I hope you enjoy your trip.

K

thx knickerbocker..we have reservations at Tratorria 4 Leoni !!

My husband and I celebrated our 20th last May in Florence, Venice and Verenna on Lake Como. Wish we had spent more time in Florence. We took a cooking class with Accidental Tourist. The best part of our trip. You can check them out on Trip Advisor as well.

We had 3 magical days in Verenna and you can keep busy hopping to areas from the ferry. Really, really beautiful. Verenna is a great little town, but I think I actually like Bellagio better. Don't skip Lake Como!

This thread is dated May 2008 but still some travellers to Italy will find it interesting.