PatPhilli

Hello,

My itinerary is not much different from many of those posted, but I would appreciate your input. I am especially having trouble with logistics for our two-week trip. We will arrive in Milan in October and want to visit Venice, Cinque Terra, Florence, then fly out of Rome. Would someone mind helping me put these cities in the order that is easiest to travel via train?

Thank you so much. This is my first trip to Italy, and I am so excited.

Patty

Intrepid

Will top this for you...I suspect that Florence and then Rome would be the last two. There are fast train connections from Milan to Venice and from Milan OR Venice to Florence and also from Florence to Rome....the tricky part may be where to fit in the Cinque Terre piece..I suspect between Florence and Rome so you don't have to do much backtracking. Assume you are waiting for an answer to make hotel reservations? Have you looked at a map of Italy to see where these places are in relation to one another? that would be a help I think.
There may be a few folks who will try to persuade you to change the whole itinerary but STICK to your guns in terms of trying to see what YOU want to see. It is true that you'll be doing "a lot of traveling" in SOME people's minds but what they feel is "too much" may be just right for you.
You aren't going to get a lot of "depth" in two weeks and that's OK...you can always, hopefully, return another time.
Enjoy your trip.

PatPhilli

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I am waiting to make hotel reservations until I get this sorted out. I have seen where all these places are on a map--I am hoping to avoid backtracking on the train as we travel since we're doing such a whirlwind tour.

Degas

Try this: Milan to Venice to Florence to Cinque Terre to Rome. Cinque Terre is what makes it sticky. Go to the Italian rail site and look at the schedules for yourself.

I'll start the suggestions. Assuming you want to see Rome and not just have it as a departure stop, drop Cinque Terre and save it for another time. For the vast majority of people, there will be another time.

ira

Hi Pat,

How important is the Cinque Terre? How long are you planning on staying there?

If you just want to see the coast, I suggest skipping it this time.

bobthenavigator

I agree with Degas on sequence, but I would consider a Tuscany destination as your 4th rather than CT.

PatPhilli

The reason I chose Cinque Terra is because the footage I saw in a travel movie took my breath away. Should I swap CT for Siena or Assisi perhaps?

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help.

ira

Hi Pat,

Yes, the CT is beautiful, and I will get there one day. However, for this trip, I suggest sticking to Venice, Florence and Rome with day trips out of Florence.

PatPhilli

Using the advice of Degas, I came up with this plan. Please let me know what you think:

Saturday--Arrive Milan
Sunday--Milan (we are honestly only there to see a soccer game and get used to the time difference--ok, and maybe to wander around Peck)
Monday--Venice
Tuesday--Venice
Wednesday--Florence
Thursday--Florence
Friday--Florence
Saturday--CT
Sunday--CT
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday--Rome
Friday--leave Rome

It seems pretty Rome heavy. Experts, what say you?

mmr41

Sounds great. I'm sure you will have a great time. FYI the Genoa- Roma line runs right thru CT. The IC train stops in Viareggio which can easily be reached by train from CT.
You can always return to visit Tuscany and the South on your next visit.
Ciao>

PatPhilli

Thank you for your input! I really want to make sure I see CT because who knows when and if I will be back.

ChatNoir

I'd land in Milan and go straight to Venice the same day.

A long first day. but why have the extra hotel bag drag and the trip to Venice is not that long. That would free up a day to use in CT or florence (daytrips to sinna and San G.)

ira

Egad chat, you suggest bypassing Florence to free up a day anywhere other than Venice?

Pat,

I have been told that in Milan there is an interesting work of art by some Italian fellow, who's name currently escapes me, called The Last Supper, or something like that, that has been recommended as being almost as interesting as a soccer game.

It is located in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

TuckH

I'd like to respectfully submit my Minority Report, disagreeing a bit with some of the others here. Pat, I'm not trying to persuade you as Intrepid suggests, just to offer a word of caution: Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Looking at your (hectic) schedule, I don't see where you've listed 'travel time', 'checking in and out time', 'enjoying a liesurely meal time', 'sleep and relaxation time', etc, etc. These are vital parts that are missing.

Are you traveling by overnight train? If so, how rested will you be when you arrive? If not, which destination will be short-changed?

You ask about what would be "easiest to travel" and I suggest that none of your itinerary is "easy" to travel. At your suggested pace, it'll be hard work and I would think quite stressful.

Forgive me, that's my opinion.

Jackie

I'm reading this thread with interest as I also am planning an aggressive 2 week trip which includes CT. I just checked out all the train times from one major city to the next; it is daunting and that doesn't even count getting into the smaller towns. I think I've concluded I may need to bump up the transportation budget in order to take taxis. Here's a web site I found helpful about train travel. It has links to the train line.

http://www.initaly.com/travel/info/edwin.htm

PatPhilli

Hi,

It's painful, but I guess I am going to have to give up Cinque Terra.

Would a good two-week trip be Milan-Venice-Florence-Rome? Maybe throw in Siena or Assisi for a dose of small-town Italy?

This may get me into trouble, but--is The Last Supper by Da Vinci amazing? We discussed it in art history class a few years back, but the professor spun it more like an experiment gone wrong than a masterpiece. Supposedly, Napoleon kept his horses in the same room as The Last Supper.

As I've said before, I very much appreciate your help and your honesty.

Patty

PatPhilli

Regarding The Last Supper, the reason I ask is that my husband only has so much of an attention span for art. Should I wait for Venice to make him succumb? The art history class is what inspired me to visit Italy. I want to balance the trip with his wishes (such as watching AC Milan play soccer).

TuckH

Pat...Again a dissent. The Cinque Terre is along the beautiful coast and I think you need this change-of-pace from the urban environments of the other sites. I suggest you sandwich it in between two other museum-going, city-walking cities and gather your breath there.

Despite my strong affection for Florence (I studied there and met my future wife there) I think you should therefore skip Florence.

Degas

ira, I suggested bypassing milan - not florence. That would add an evening in Venice and one other day to add to either CT or florence.

Here's one way to do it:

Saturday Arrive Milan & train to venice

Sunday Venice

Monday Venice

Tuesday Leave venice late afternoon for Florence

Wednesday Florence

Thursday Florence

Friday Florence(daytrip to Siena)

Saturday Morning train to CT

Sunday CT

Monday Morning train to Rome

Tuesday Rome

Wednesday Rome

Thursday Rome

Friday leave Rome

e_roz

We just did something similar to our Honeymoon but hit Lake COmo first.
I'd say: Land Milan, stay 1 night-be sure to see the Duomo, train Venice 2nights min, train to FLorence 2 nights, then 5 Terre 2 nights and head S to ROme. Try to stop in Tuscany, the small hill towns were our favorite.