I'm sure this has been asked before, but....We will be visiting Florence and Rome the first week in October (yes...in 2+ weeks)and will then head to Milan for our flight back to the States. We tried to not over plan this trip. Between Rome and Milan we have four unplanned days. We have been to Venice and Val D'Orcia and would like to see something new. We are not opposed to driving and have done it before. We'd like to see the lake area but perhaps there is something else on the way or a bit further like the Dolomites (It would be sightseeing..no hiking). Is it best to just pick up a car in Rome or take a train somewhere and pick up a car elsewhere? Any suggestions for restaurants and hotels in the $150-$300 along the way would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help...Fodorites are always the most helpful.

I went to Rome / Florence about that time last year. Can you clarify what 4 days you want help with? Is it the 4 days in Rome and Florence that you need help with or the Milan (I assume you mean Lake Como) days?

Well the Cinque Terre could be a neat area for that time and fairly close to Milan via Genoa - also a really neat city to stay a few days. Take trains all the way - but book trains NOW from Rome to La Spezia where you usually change for trains to Cinque Terre towns. Or yes take train to a place like Chiusi from Rome and pick up rental car and drive few days thru Tuscany - hitting hill towns and ending in perhaps Pisa - return car see Leaning Tower and train to Milan via Florence. Anyway for lots on trains check www.trenitalia.com; www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

Northern Italy and Lakes District can always have funky weather in October or it could be fine.

Thanks so much for answering, The comment about funky weather is concerning. Last time we were there in October it rained everyday...took weeks to dry out my shoes! As I said, I tried no to over plan this trip and now I may regret that decision. We are really open to any suggestions of directions to go from Rome. Maybe there's something we haven't thought of. Our only constraint is getting back to Milan for our morning flight home.

I'm one of the few that actually prefers Lake Maggiore to Lake Como. Look into Stresa and the Borremeo Islands. From there, you an easily get to MXP in about an hour for your flight home. This is my go-to place to relax and decompress on a vacation in Italy.

Do you have 5 nights/4 full days? And the 6th night would be in/near Milan?

Umbria or Emilia Romagna. Four days isn't that much time when you include travel time, so I wouldn't venture outside of the area generally between Rome and Milan because of the time required to get there and then get to Malpensa. Getting to the Dolomites, Lake Como or Maggiore, and the CT would take at least half a day. Getting to Spoleto or Bologna would take less than 2 hours.

Without knowing more about your interests, it's hard to be more specific. For Umbria, you'd want a car, but you could explore ER by train from Bologna.

Bologna is a really neat city and good base for easy day trips to say Mantua, Parma - two really also nice cities.

I too favor Lake Maggiore over Lake Como - or really hard to judge but if I had my druthers and could only pick one it would be Maggiore and Stresa - neat smallish town right across from three Borromean Islands - each of three with different delight on each - frequent boats from Stresa and yes short drive or bus ride from Malpensa Airport.

We're going to take your suggestion and head to Lake Maggiore. It seems like the most sensible location for our limited time and puts us near Malpensa to head home. Now...to find a hotel ..
Thank you so much for all your help. Any other suggestions are welcome.