We are a family of 4 (2 toddlers) flying into Milan for a 10 day visit in late April. We do not want to spread ourselves to thin by traveling to multiple destinations, so are interested in either basing in Milan and driving and taking trains for day trips, or dividing our time between Milan and one other destination. We love food and architecture, would prefer a warmer climate, and are clearly interested in destinations where our 2 and 5 year olds will be entertained. So, looking for suggestions as to whether we should spend some of our time at one of the lakes, or whether we should try for Venice as a second destination, or perhaps a smaller town that might be interesting to visit for a few days (to offset busy, crowded Milan). Any suggestions would be appreciated. For the kids, we would love some parks, zoos, playgrounds etc... to break up the time for them. Any thoughts and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We are fairly well traveled and so the trains and/or cars should be fine for us and the kids. Thank you.

I have no experience traveling with toddlers, so I don't know where your kids would be entertained. But I will say you don't want to be basing in Milan for day trips by car. If you "prefer a warmer climate," in late April you should probably go south rather than north to the lakes.

I had read that the lake region, while north of Milan, was rather mild. It would be less preferable for us to take day trips by car and we'd prefer to divide our time between 2 cities. That being said, do you have a city or town that you would recommend?

Do I presume that you are flying to Milan on award miles? Milan in April and warmer climate don't seem to go together.

Presuming that you would probably be taking an early morning flight out of Milan, I would go straight to somewhere else upon arrival in Milan if your Milan arrival is early in the morning. You probably cannot check into hotel/apartment until later in the afternoon anyway, so why not travel to another city and spend last few days in Milan.

Venice would be a fun place for children. There is also no car traffic to worry about.

I am not a fan of small town with toddlers unless I know before hand something compelling for my children.

I think you need to check the weather in that area in April--I have had snow in April at Lake Como. And, Milan is not user friendly for driving---I would rethink your entire premise.

Thanks for the comments. Allow me to provide further details. Yes, we are flying on awards thus the late April plans. If we were to base the entire 10 days in Milan, we would prefer to use trains for day trips out of the city... it sounds like driving in and out of Milan is clearly not advisable, so we would only consider renting a car if we based out of a small town for half of our trip (and use the car for that portion of the trip only). Starting elsewhere and ending in Milan sounds like the best idea. I have already spent time in Venice and agree it would be a good choice, but was hoping for other ideas besides Venice. We would enjoy a small town as we enjoy immersing ourselves in "non-touristy" areas to sample local life, cuisine, etc... we actually enjoy just walking a city, enjoying the architecture, visiting small shops and seeing how people live in other countries. We really do not need 10 days of big tourist attractions, especially with the kids). In regards to warm weather... 50s and 60s Farenheit is fine for us, we do not need to go swimming. How far south (and where) would you feel we need to go to experience this? I thought we might find this in the lake region based on my research (weather.com), but it sounds like you are all not agreeing with this.

Here is historical weather data for all of Italy. To me Milan is Chicago, Venice is Baltimore, Tuscany is NC. I would look at the Ligurian coast that time of year--only a 3 hour drive from MXP. I would also look at Stresa on Lago Maggiore for perhaps 3 nites at the end--just an hour from MXP.
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/c...p3?c=IT&refer=

"... we enjoy immersing ourselves in "non-touristy" areas to sample local life, cuisine, etc..."

As much as I love the area, the above sentence does not convince me that you should go to the lakes where the primary focus is on tourism. Ditto most of the often-discussed Ligurian coast towns (although the food would be better). I suggest a small town in Umbria or Tuscany/Chianti. The temps wouldn't be much (if any) warmer, but you'd have a better chance of sampling local life and excellent food. You'll have to do some research to find a town that appeals to you, and there have been many threads and trip reports here on staying in small Umbrian or Tuscan towns. Many prefer Chianti and southern Tuscany. I prefer the small towns of Umbria in the Bevagna/Montefalco/Bastardo area. I would choose to stay IN a town; others like to stay in an agriturismo.

I would much rather be in Milano in late April than Chicago.

You can get extremely lovely -- even hot -- weather in late April in northern Italy, including lots of flowers around Lago di Como. Be aware that April 25 is very important holiday in Italy, so if you are traveling around that time, you'll need to nail down your hotels and train tickets in advance.

There are areas near Milano that have palm trees, lemons and olive oil, although anytime in April one is at the mercy of sudden cold snaps and a greater likelihood of rain. But one is Limone sul Garda on Lago di Garda.

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/lombardy/limone.html

Another famed microclimate area is Lugano.

Although I would enjoy the car-free atmosphere of Venice with toddlers, I don't think I would enjoy all the bridges, especially if the littler one expects to be carried or is in a stroller than needs to be carried over bridges. Still, the moderate climate of Venice makes it a good late April choice. The city of Genova with its many children's attractions is only a 90 minute train ride from Milano. You might consider basing in seaside and mainly flat Nervi -- which has many spacious, pretty gardens and parks -- and taking the short train ride into Genova for its attractions. Your children may enjoy rides on the funiculars even more than they do the rather disappointing aquarium. I've never been in the children's play museum in the port, but you might want to check that out. And surely the children would want to see the lions at the cathedral in San Lorenzo.

From Nervi, you can also enjoy day trips to such pretty small towns as Camogli, Santa Margherita Ligure or Rapallo (where there is also a cable car ride high into the mountains for great views, and a great gelateria opposite the castle at the seaside). There are many pleasant boat rides available in all these towns.

If you stay in Nervi, don't miss a meal of foccacia al formaggio at the restaurant Marinella on the beautiful seaside promenade. Here is a link to Nervi:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervi

If you prefer something more urban, you might consider Bologna (flat, with many porticoes for weather protection and lots of car-free space, and if you like cycling with the toddlers and boating, consider flat and fascinating Mantova.

Have a great trip. Had you said you were traveling in the first week of May, you would have gotten an entirely different respose. A week can make a difference in Italian weather in the north, but late April is often just dandy. If you want a guarantee of warm weather and clear skies, start out further south (or in Spain!)

Jean,

Forgive me, but I think to send people to now tourist-theme-park Tuscany and Umbrian small towns instead of the lakes or Liguria to avoid a tourist experience no longer is apt. If people want to avoid the touristy, the need to scratch the following off their lists: all of Tuscany with rare exceptions, most of Umbria, all of the Amalfi, Sorrento, le Cinque Terre, Portofino, Venice, Rome, Lago di Como, Stresa, Orvieto, the Langhe, coastal Sicily and half of Sardegna. Amazingly, that leaves most of Italy to visit for anybody willing to pick up a Michelin Green Guide, rip out the above mentioned pages, and then book a trip.

She is back !
Don't you just love it.
New handle but the same know it all attitude.

steps, I agree with you to a point, but there are certainly degrees of "touristy-ness" throughout Italy. We've found some lovely spots in both Tuscany and especially Umbria that just don't get the traffic that many of the places on your list see. The difference (at least to me) between, say, the AC, the CT, Lake Como compared to remote small towns in Tuscany and Umbria is night and day. For example, we watched an entire town in Umbria come to a complete standstill when the small children left school for lunch. The streets were shut down to car traffic, the parents walked in to retrieve their kids, everyone ambled off, and then the streets were re-opened. That, for me, is seeing real life in a small town. In other places that I consider very touristy, we see fewer and fewer local children every trip, and that's when it begins to feel theme-parkish. I would also argue that you can avoid the touristy bits even in Rome.

I could have suggested time in the Piemonte which is rarely mentioned here, but I thought the chances of slightly better weather were more likely going south from Milan.

<<Forgive me, but I think to send people to now tourist-theme-park Tuscany and Umbrian small towns instead of the lakes or Liguria to avoid a tourist experience no longer is apt.>>

I've visited Tuscany and Umbria many, many times and would NEVER describe them as "tourist-theme-park". I think it is wrong to generalize these large, diverse areas as "tourist-theme-park".

milan can have great weather in april. sunny, warm and not cold at all. bring a fleece and a waterproof light jacket in case it rains though. i live in milan by the way.

pavia is a nice place for a day out.
la certosa di pavia is well worth a visit.

you could take a train to venice and have a day trip there. same with como.

milan, well italy in general, isnt very child friendly, the italians all love kids but facilities in restaurants and the like are generally poor. bear that in mind.

have a good time in italy

Milan in April can be lovely and so can Lake Como which is only 25 mins on the train...it's not at all theme park like and you can find some lovely out of the way places in the wee villages...