2. DO YOU consider your vacation time valuable? . . .

personally, I would go for the Milan option; you will have had three whole days in Venice plus an afternoon/evening and a morning, you will have the chance to look at Milan [1/2 a day is probably long enough] and you'll be able for enjoy the perks of flying back on Delta AND save $500.

It would kill me to give up one day in Venice for a day in Milan, but I don't have the burden of financial restraint. Even though I tell everyone, "You only live once," I also add, "if you can't afford the pleasure, you'll certainly endure displeasure as you try to dig yourself out from the expense." I just don't think one more day in Venice (or anywhere) is worth the displeasure.

Milan has some fabulous art and great restaurants. What's not to enjoy?

Concur with returning to Milano the previous day. You will have plenty of time in Venice for a first trip.

Milano only gets mixed reviews, IMO, because in comparison with other Italian cities it's not all that different from, say, Chicago in ambiance, is very expensive, has bad traffic, and the crowds can be terrific. As NYCFood Snob points out, there are quite a few interesting things to do there: if I were there for one afternoon, I'd make a bee-line to Santa Maria delle Grazie to see the Last Supper, then walk back to the Piazza del Duomo to see the Duomo and some of the other buildings around the Piazza.

If you really luck out, maybe AC Milan will be playing calcio on the nite of your visit (generally Saturday or Sunday). This year I don't think it's all that difficult to get tickets.

We just did this for our last trip last weekend. We stayed at the airport and took the train in for dinner at Vun (terrific!) and saw the cathedral.

Our observations
- definitely convenient
- Milan didn't really do anything for us as the crowds were horrendous, prices were sky high and we aren't into shopping or art museums

Wish we could have seen the Last Supper but tickets were sold out...be sure to book in advance if you want to see it!

We would do it again for convenience.

Sorry, I fail to see the majesty of Santa Lucia Station, or even walking down the front steps of Santa Lucia Station with the unwashed.

I could spend two weeks in Venice.

Telling someone that 3 days is plenty is a lie.

What a hassle to have to get on a train after a long flight.

You will be tired and stressed.

I am tired and stressed just taking the #5 bus from Marco Polo to Pizzale Roma.

Good luck, no matter what you decide.

My free time is worth more than a few hundred dollars.

Venice is NOT cheap, by the way.


Thin

Thanks for all of your input. As I mentioned, this is just a spur of the moment add on to the two vacations we have already had this year, so we were trying to be financially prudent. We are very aware of how expensive Venice is, but we plan to eat, drink and be merry anyway

Thanks again!

We spent one afternoon and a night in Milan on our way to Sicily. We saw the Duomo which was fantastic - be sure you get to the top. We walked around a bit, had a very nice dinner and all in all enjoyed our few hours there. We always work around Delta flights as well so that we can use/earn FF points. Often we fly in or out of a city that is not on our list of top places to see. We look at it as part of the adventure and we've never regretted making plans that fit our flights instead of the other way around. I think that if saving $500 means you're "stuck" seeing Milan, it's not a sacrifice at all.

Good tip on getting tix for the Last Supper, although in December, crowds shouldn't be as bad. We went in November years ago when they were still restoring the fresco, walked in without a reservation, and found very few people there. We could have sat all afternoon and watched the restorers at work.

We took the train from Milan to Venice and as I recall it was a fairly easy trip and very do-able.

AtlTravelr/DW/Nanabee - Thanks so much for giving me back my perspective! All travel is an adventure - and being anywhere in Italy is hardly a sacrifice. Booking my plane tickets today and then looking into tickets for the Last Supper!

You should price into Milan and home from Venice (or Venice/Milan). You don't have to fly in and out of the same city.

The 19€ fares may or many not still be in existence when you travel. The winter schedules will start second weekend in Dec. and Trenitalia hasn't loaded any fares/changes yet. The Milan/Milan Centrale transport will cost 10€ and take about an hour. Milan/Venice will take 2 1/2 hours (walk up price is 38€ or $51).

Thanks kybourbon. I actually did price the in/out Milan/Venice price difference, and it only saves about $100 on the total fare. I think it is the Milan RT where we reap the biggest rewards. Thank you for the suggestion though.

macksix - I'm taking my own advice on our next trip to Italy. We are flying round trip to Stuttgart because I got business class FF tickets. I could have "paid" 100,000 more miles to get in or out of Italy but it became a kind of game to see just how close I could get to the country we wanted to visit. We will spend a few days in the Alsace for sure and then need to figure out whether to drive across the alps or take a train/plane to somewhere OTHER than Rome, Milan, Venice. Its part of the fun for me to make this work!

Just wanted to update the posting, as I promised I would.
I figure that bullet points are the easiest:

-At the end of the day, we probably saved about $400 US by flying into Milan, and we got to Venice about 3 hours later than we would have on a connecting flight into Marco Polo. We were very happy that we got to see some sights in Milan and we enjoyed our time there. If we were to go to Venice again, I would probably pay the extra $$ to go direct since we don't feel the need to go back to Milan.
-Milan airport is very easy to navigate. When we arrived there was only one non-EU customs line open, so we moved sloooooow. Once they opened the other two, everything was fine.
-If you arrive in the a.m., I strongly advise AGAINST taking the bus/shuttle to Central Station. Traffic was a nightmare. Take the train to Central Station instead.
-Central Station is big, but not complex. Buy tickets ahead of time only if you are sure you will make your train. We missed our originally planned train.
-We felt like one afternoon and evening in Milan was sufficient. We went up to the top of the Duomo at sunset (FABULOUS), did a lot of walking in the fashion district and had a wonderful dinner. This worked perfectly for us, and we were ready to head back to the US in the morning.
-No matter how you get to Venice, make sure to take time to enjoy the journey

macksix: <i>If you arrive in the a.m., I strongly advise AGAINST taking the bus/shuttle to Central Station. Traffic was a nightmare. Take the train to Central Station instead.</i>

I couldn't agree more. In 2009, I arrived in Milan just as you did and took the bus, because there was as yet no direct train to Centrale. My bus got stuck in traffic too and I very frustrated, wishing I'd taken a connecting train (which was then an option) into Milan instead. I took the (then new) direct train in 2011 the other direction to the airport and it was a breeze.

I didn't see your thread originally, but I had to make a similar choice in 2009 about where to fly into to get to Venice. I chose Milan for a similar reason (cheaper), and I used the money I saved (I took regional trains so probably spent less on trains than you did) to stop in Milan and then Parma on the way to Venice. I had the extra days and enjoyed Parma especially, and with the savings the hotels were essentially "free."