We have 2 weeks in Italy and we thought of Milan and Lake Como. We're planning to go in March as our work allows it. We love hiking, architecture, art, and dining. Is it too cold to go then? We could possibly change the date.

What is too cold? 40s-50s with maybe a bit of rain (13 days a month)? Later in March warmer - you will have the lake practically to yourselves vs mob scenes in places like Bellagio in summer.

http://www.holiday-weather.com/lake_...verages/march/

How about Rome and the Amalfi Coast -much nicer weather and in other ways IMO too.

Milan is great at any time of the year; I prefer it in the winter myself. It can be very hot and humid in the summer. We have several friends who live in Milan, and they come to Le Marche for the summer.

As for Lake Como, I agree with Palenq that the Amalfi Coast would be preferable at that time of the year. I'm not even sure you'd have a great choice of hotels in March on Lake Como. Things are just beginning to wake up in March, even on the Amalfi Coast.

Consider Sicily - a trip around the island, maybe fly into and spend a few days in Palermo (architecture, art, and dining, and hiking since you walk a lot while in town) then hit the road - Segesta, Trapani-Erice, a night in Marsala, on to Agrigento with the fabulous archeological museum next to the "Valley of Temples", and over to the east Coast, fly out from Catania?

Mellow in March, real interesting, full of character.

March can (but must not) be rainy everywhere in Italy.
If the weather is fine, the lakes (Orta, Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo) are beautiful and towards the end of the month, almost every place will be in flowers.
Lake Como boats will begin to run on March 26th, those of the other lakes 2 weeks later (except car/passenger ferries and boats around Stresa which run all the year round).

If the weather is fine, the lakes (Orta, Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo) are beautiful and towards the end of the month, almost every place will be in flowers.>

and if not it could be a wash out - 14 days of some rain a month and if boats are not running when they are at Lake Como just not as nice.

I think you should change the date. If you stick to March, maybe you enjoy Bologna rather than Milan, given the way you describe your interests. From Bologna, using the trains, you could see a LOT of wonderful architecture and art, and the dining is great if you like pasta. (If you prefer risotto, stick to Milan!) You could even get in a bit of hiking (do you do any bicycling?) by going out of town to someplace like Brisighella or maybe Dozza, or just walking up to the sancturary that is 666 steps above Bologna. (I forget its name.)

You can check out the museums in Milan and see if the collections appeal to you. From Bologna, however, there is tremendous art accessible, including a day trip to Florence.

To me Bologna is one of Italy's most neglected big cities by would be Italian travelers - few pencil it in here at least between Venice and Florence and Rome.

But Bologna is fantastic-said to have more medieval buildings in its historic center than any other Italian town (I read at least).

A couple of days for the city and a good base to hop to smaller gems nearby.

Bologna is a public trasport hub and therefore a excellent base for day trips to places like
Faenza
Ravenna
Ferrara
Padua
Mantova
Verona
Cremona
Modena
Parma
Milan
Sassuolo
Montecattini
La Spezia
Prato
Lucca
Florence,

but only if you stay at a (rather expensive) hotel close to the railway station.

Why does somebody have to stay at a hotel close to the station? That makes no sense to me at all.

Why does somebody have to stay at a hotel close to the station? That makes no sense to me at all.>

Agree -it may be more convenient and save some time but in general no problem staying a 15-minute walk away or short bus ride.

Milan is also a convenient hub for multiple day trips including Lake Como (and Lake Lugano). With two weeks you could spend one in Milan and go to the lakes on nice, sunny days, and go to other towns (Bergamo, Cremona, Crema, Pavia, Parma, etc.) on days the weather is less pleasant. You have more flexibility this way than if you stayed up on Lake Como, and it is only an hour away by train. The other week I'd stay somewhere else - Bologna is a great suggestion, but Florence is not that far from Milan and a week there will also give you lots of day trip options.

At that time of year the more flexibility you have the better. In summer, when it would probably be sunny almost daily you would be better off doing a few nights in each of more places, but in March the flexibility is important as rain is quite possible.

If you have the option to travel in say late April or May that would probably be better. There is a very tiny window when you can get a good chance of nice weather plus low crowds. Usually you need to choose.

Where do these ideas come from?

There is quite a range of b&bs and apartments and hotels within comfortable walking distance of the Bologna train station, most of which do not fall into the category of "expensive." Just look on the internet. It is very comfortable to walk in Bologna most of the year because the streets are covered, which is one reason I suggested Bologna. It doesn't matter much what the weather is.

What is true is that during some days of the year there are big commercial trade shows in Bologna. Hotels will push up their prices, and so will some b&bs or apartments. Maybe if someone went to Bologna during one of those trade shows, they concluded hotels are expensive.

Taxis are not very expensive in Bologna because you never need to go far between where you are staying and the train station. In addition, because there are so many students in Bologna, the trams and buses run very late at night, and many local lines go to and from the train station continuously. Don't feel confined to staying near the train station if you want to go to Bologna. If you don't want to go to Bologna, then have a nice trip whereever you decide to go!

Thanks for all the helpful comments. We are changing to mid March to 25th of March but I think we'll pass on Lake Como. We have to visit relatives in Nice, so we are thinking of going to Genoa, Portofino and Cinque Terre and Milan. Comments?

DH and I were in Bellagio in March of 2005 (I can't believe how long ago it was):

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ellagio-tr.cfm

We had to watch for winter hours where we visited, and some hotels didn't open until April. We emailed on hotel and never heard back--it was not open. Just be sure your plans are confirmed. We had no problems with restaurants in Bellagio.

We liked to take train day trips and loved being convenient to the station. As age and physical abilities caught up with us, we made proximity to the train more a priority.

We took a cab to the furtherest venue and took our time working our way back.

You're not going to find any flowers in bloom on Lake Como in March. Cold, high winds, and rain, for sure.

No azaleas for sure, NYCFS, but there were some flowers at the big Villa Carlotta gardens. Oh, it is unheated since it was a summer place.

I'm sure there is a winter flower somewhere in the vast acreage of Villa Carlotta. Would I plan a trip to Lake Como in March to see a flower or two? No.

I agree with Dukey1 as to why one would stay near the train station. We always make sure we are not near it.

Since you are going to Nice, why not go to the Italian Riviera between Genoa & Nice? There are beautiful unusual towns to visit. Without a car you can visit Albenga, Finale Ligure, Finalborgo, and Bordighera. With a car you can visit Dolceacqua, Noli, Apricale and Zuccarello. Food in that part of Italy is excellent.