Italy Tour help with itenerary
 

I will be touring Europe at the send of September and beginning of October. If anyone could help with lodging suggestions or sights to see please let me know. Here is itenerary I was thinking:



Sat Sep 27
Venice

Sun Sep 28
Venice

Mon Sep 29
Milan

Tue Sep 30
Milan

Wed Oct 1
Milan to Montreux Switzerland for Chocolate Train.
Thur Oct 2
Florence

Fri Oct 3
Florence

Sat Oct 4
Rome

Sun Oct 5
Rome

Mon Oct 6
Rome Depart home

Any suggestions?
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You are doing a lot in a short trip. Have you thought about skipping Milan and doing 1 extra in each of Venice/Florence and Rome. Milan itself is worth at most 1 day in a tight schedule like this. If you're there, think about going to Lake Como too. It's a beauty.

In Venice, try to stay in Venice and not the surrounding areas. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it. Make sure you go to Piazza San Marco in the evening. Without loads of tourists and pigeons, it actually is a lot more romantic.

In Milan, as long as your hotel is close to a subway station, you're fine. We just stayed a the Excelsior Gallia, next to Stazione Centrale main train station. Great hotel. Milan's hotels are more expensive during weekdays than weekends too.

You seem to have 9 nites in Europe. It will be hard to do justice to the 3 art cites in that time. I would drop both Milan and Montreax and save yourself a day of train travel.

Hi,

I agree with Bob, Do Venice, Florence and Rome.

Do Venice, Siena, and Rome. Since this is a "taste of Italy" trip, I couldn't imagine going to Italy without seeing one of the smaller towns. Daytrip into Florence if you have an urge to see David or the Uffizi or Piazza Michelangelo's view.

Hi RAR,

I should have expanded my suggestion.
From Florence you can do daytrips to Fiesole, Siena, Orvieto, and Lucca and Pisa.

Better?

Fiesole isn't really a "daytrip" as it's just a short bus ride from outside the FS station. Pisa/Lucca (see both in 1 day, not much to see in Pisa but the tower) and Siena are great daytrips. Orvieto isn't a bad idea to stop at while going from Florence to Rome, as it's pretty much midway between the two.

That being said I'd still stay in Siena and experience the wonderfully mellow night there. Siena is just SO medieval that a night there wandering the streets for me is an amazing experience .. much nicer than the frenetic nights in Florence, especially before seeing Rome and having to absorb Rome's energy (not that I mind, I love Rome's nightlife). But I guess it's up to the guy taking the trip :)

Agree with Ira aand Bob

Milan was a giant let down for us. It is a very dirty city. All of the buildings are covered in graffiti and smells like urine, and there is doggy doo everywhere. The Last Supper is there but besides that I wouldn't spend too much time visiting. How about Verona or Lake Garda?

If you want to enjoy your trip even more, do it in reverse (Rome Florence, Venice). Rome is very cosmopolitan and therefore very busy. Florence slows things down and in Venice, they come to a stop. You can feel your blood pressure lowering at each city.

Skip Milan and the Choc train. They're OK, but not worth shortchanging really prime destinations like Rome and Venice.

It would be like coming to the USA and spending 2 days in New York, then 2 days in Pittsburgh, then a train ride to Cleveland, 2 days in Wash D.C, and 2 days in San Francisco. There really are neat things to see in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, but not at the expense of cutting the other cities. (Well, maybe Pittsburgh and Cleveland aren't the exact equivalents of Milan and the Choc Train, but you get the idea).

I agree with the others about Milan - it was our least favorite city because it was big and dirty. Also the beautiful duomo is completely covered due to restoration - so you can't even see the front of it. that was a disappointment to us.