We are a family of 4 traveling to Italy in June. We are arriving in the am @ MXP and will be renting a car. I am overwhelmed with trying to figure out where to spend two days before our villa rental begins in Southern Tuscany (near Cetona). We will be going to Rome after Tuscany. Some thoughts we have: (1) Florence; (2) Venice (3) Verona (4)Lucca, traveling down to Genoa, along the coast. This is my family's first trip to Italy - we are interested in getting an overview of the country.

I would appreciate any comments from those who might have done any of these trips from Milan. How much time, what is worthwhile for 1 1/2 days (figure the first day is gone due to traveling), how to make the best use of our time before our week in Tuscany. Any other suggestions would be very appreciated.

There are a lot of options. Below are some of them:
- stay in Milan and visit it
- go to Maggiore Lake. Visit the small towns around the lake, visit Isola Bella, some gardens.
- go to Lake Como.
- visit Bergamo

If you decide on Venice or Florence, wait to get your car until you leave whichever city you visit. You cannot drive in either place (Venice is obvious, Florence has no-drive zones in the historic center and the traffic is awful outside them.). Better to take the train from MXP. besides, if you are coming from the US jet-lag will make staying awake while driving difficult. If you have young kids with you I think Venice would be a great choice because of the canals and all. If you decide on Lucca, there are huge walls around the old city on which there is now a circular park where you can walk, ride bikes, etc. And there's also a no drive zone (called ZTL) there, so you can walk around easily and safely.

Every place you mention is lovely, and would work, but I would go to Venice because: You will see some fabulous architecture and archeological sites in Rome (more than in Verona), while in Tuscany, you will probably do day trips to some beautiful villages and small towns (a tiny little bit like Bergamo and Lucca), Milan is interesting, but another big city. Of all your choices, Venice is the most unique, gives a greater contrast to Rome, would be fun for the kids, etc. Second choice for me would be one of the lakes, but all of this depends on where you are from and your personal interests.

I see two excellent options:
1. Lago Orta---see Stresa and Maggiore as day trip
2. Santa Margherita on the coast---but 2.5 drive from MXP

The latter has the advantage of cutting off a big chunk of driving time to Tuscany.