My wife and I will be using Gate 1 tours flying into Milan Malpensa, Italy (MXP) on March 21st, getting a rental car, driving to Montecatini Italy (which is 30 miles NW of Florance) and staying at Hotel Minerva Palace. We leave there on March 27 to stay at the Ibis Milano Malpensa Aeroporto to stay one night and fly out on the 28th.
I think we would take the train to Florence one day, easier than taking the car (we could also drink). Need ideas for 1 day in Florence
I think we will stop in Milan on the 27th on our way to the second hotel. Need ideas for 1 day in Milan
We have been to Pisa, Pompeii, Lucca, Orvieto, Rome and Venice.
I would appreciate any advice on places to go, things to see, and places to eat. We have driven in Europe and Italy before.
We like old churches and other historical sites. Also small towns.
We would like to tour a winery.
One thing I have thought of is to visit Brewery San Quirico which is a 5 hour drive from our hotel.
We like exotic craft beers and this brewery was recommended by a friend of mine. My thought is we could see the Italian country side during the drive there and back, the worst thing that happens is we pay for a room to spend the night.

One day in Florence is barely enough for the Uffiizi, the Duomo and the Palazzo vecchio; and where tickets are required, you probably should reserve ahead of time.

Wow, you must love craft beer to be willing to spend 5 hours driving each way to go to a brewery. Do you like art, architecture and history? If so, one day isn't really enough for Florence, but you're close enough to go in more than once.

All of northern Tuscany is at your doorstep. San Miniato if you like churches. We spent a nice half day in the town. The Garfagnana is an interesting area full of attractive little towns. Bagni di Lucca. Barga and Vagli di Sopra are also great stops. Isola Santa is gorgeous but the Parco Alpi Apuane driving is twisty and hilly.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cert...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Not sure of your route but the awesome Certosa di Pavia - an ancient monastery - could be on your route - the brothers also brew up their own potent alcoholic something.

Bologna to me is one of the most underrated large cities in Europe, especially for foodies. But a day in Bologna would be sweet. Parma also caught our attention as a neat city for a day.

Are you really driving 4 hours after landing at Malpensa?? Assuming you'd be coming off an overnight flight, that's a high-risk plan. Why not train from Malpensa to Florence, stay 2 nights, and then rent the car as you're leaving. Or train from Florence to Montecatini Terme and rent the car there.

If you need ideas for Florence, you have to give some indication of your interests.

Rather than drive into Milan, I'd go first to Malpensa, turn in the car, check into the hotel (or at least leave the luggage), and then take a taxi or the train into the city center. Driving into Milan requires knowing where all the ZTL boundaries are, how to get in and out without receiving a citation, and parking in a place where there's no risk of your car being broken into.

Montecatini to San Quirico is about 2.5 hours each way, but that's on the fairly boring autostrada. If you really want to enjoy the Tuscan countryside, you should drive the secondary roads in at least one direction. That would take at least 3 hours one way. Obviously, if it's raining, this may not be the best day trip idea.

Birrificio S. Quirico is open 10:30a to 1:00p and 3:00p to 6:00p. Plan your arrival carefully.