My husband and I are leaving Italy on Sat, Oct 5, from Milan Milpensa airport @ 10:15AM. We will be driving from Venice the day before. Where should we spend our last day and night in Italy? Should we stay near the Milan airport? If so what sites can we see on Friday in Milan or on our trip from Venice to Milan? What hotels are recommended?All suggestions will be most appreciated.

Hi Hally!<BR><BR>Several good options. You could spend your last afternoon in Milan seeing the Duomo & The Last Supper. Maybe a little shopping if you are into fashion.<BR><BR>You could also stop in Verona on the way, then just sleep in Milan.<BR><BR>Or, many here will recommend going to Lake Como & driving in to Malpensa early the next morning. Since you have a car, this would be quite easy. No need to spend your last night near Malpensa<BR><BR>Bob the Navigator will probably recommend a lake area visit & he always has great details.<BR><BR>Buon viaggio!

We had the same situation, and have decided to spend a bunch (30,000 per room) of FF miles for a last blow-out night at the Principe di Savoia, which looks like a good hotel for a last blast in Europe. If nothing else, we can wander around and thnk about Madonna requesting the hotel rip up the floor of her room to put in a wooden floor so she could do yoga.

Hello Hally,<BR><BR>Another option would be Lake Maggiore, - which is nearer Malpensa than Como.<BR><BR>Steve

and, if you choose Lago Maggiore, Hotel Verbano on Isola dei Pescatori is wonderful! You will need to make private boat arrangements with the hotel to leave early enough though, so maybe one of the big Stresa hotels would be better.

Topping for Hally; I'm not a driver, but I think several have recommended Lago di Orta as a beautiful place to stay. Is that a possible night-before-flight place? Anyone?

The nearest city to Malpensa airport is Varese, not a well-known resort, but with a few interesting things. In particular you might consider walking the Sacro Monte, a climb that can be done in a couple of hours. Along the path (actually a road) of the Sacro Monte you can look at a serie of chapels all filled with groups of sculptures representing the various Via Crucis stations.<BR>The area is also dotted with XVIII villas.<BR>The city of Varese is not particularly attractive, but it has several hotels and it is only 30 Km from the airport, therefore you might check in at the hotel, walk the Sacro Monte, have dinner, go to sleep and leave to the airport around 8 am the next day.

Coincidentally, my husband and I just returned from Italy yesterday, departing from Milan Milpensa airport on a flight also leaving at 10:15 a.m. We spent our last night at Villa Malpensa, a hotel just outside the airport (Terminal 1). It was literally five minutes away, but was located in a park and was very nice. You can check it out at www.hotelvillamalpensa.com. I don't know how much you want to spend (it was 170,00 euros a night). We were returning from southern Tuscany and wanted to be close to the airport. In our case, we wanted a place to relax before leaving the next day. The hotel has a pool and a restaurant, and it met our needs. Keep in mind that the hotel is a drive from downtown Milan, as is the airport, so once you are there, it may be difficult to get anywhere else in Milan, especially when you consider the Friday rush hour traffic.

Also, remember that there are two trains every hour and a couple suse every hour as well that go from Milano to Malpensa. Proabably your best option if you chose to stay in Milano is to take either the train or the bus at 7.30 or 8 am.

Hally,<BR><BR>Since you will be departing on a Saturday morning and Malpensa airport is on the west side of Milan, you can stay in either Orta de San Guilio on Lake Orta (or) Stresa on Lago Maggiore.<BR><BR>Of the two, Stresa would probably be a little easier drive because it is only a three minute run to get on the autostrada from hotels at the north end of the beachside roadway.<BR><BR>From Orta, you have about a twenty minute drive on two lane roads before you hit the autoroute. Additionally, if you stay at any of the lakeside hotels in the town of Orta, you will need to factor in some additional transit time because these hotels are in pedestrian-only areas and you will need to walk to get to your vehicle.<BR><BR>Although we love Orta, given the hour you need to be at the airport---Stresa would be a shorter drive and less complicated drive.<BR><BR>We also love the Hotel Verbano on Isola de Pescatori (Shown on the ferry schedules as Isola Superiore -- if my memory serves me right); however, I would consider it as a late lunch or dinner option on your last day rather than a last night stay. (I would be extremely worried that the private boat arrangement for a pre-7:00am pick-up might cause you needless stress on your last morning---plus getting up much earlier than you would need to do if you stay on the mainland.<BR><BR>I can recommend to you the Hotel Royal in Stresa. Very refined hotel in a converted villa, water-facing rooms have a view of Isola Bella (magnificent at night), moderately-priced, free parking within the villa's gated grounds, and a one block walk to the ferry dock to the Borremean Islands. <BR><BR>We stayed at this hotel in late May and loved it---much more intimate than the monolith hotels further down the beach road. <BR><BR>Spending you last afternoon visiting Isola Bella and Isola Pescatori might be a nice finish to your holiday.<BR><BR>If you are considering Lake Como instead, I would only consider the south end of the lake because all roads around the lake are two lane and can get quite hectic on Friday afternoons--plus, you may have a more difficult time gettting a one-night room stay in that area on a weekend.<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Thanks for all your information. It is very helpfull. I will do a little more research and make a final decision.