Have to be out of our apt. early on Sat. morning (just s. of Florence) and can do one of two things - drive quickly and arrive at our hotel at Malpensa airport and get into Milan for the rest of the day and evening (Sunday morning flight out)OR take a long leisurely drive from Florence to Malpensa with lots of stops (keep in mind, we'll have had 2 weeks of slow, leisurely drives all over Tuscany),..would appreciate input. Thanks.

Since either way you'll sleep in Milan before the flight you can decide when the time comes, depending on what you learn there and how you feel.

Exactly when are you leaving? Certain Saturdays in the summer can be critical and your drive could be extremely long.

Just keep in touch with what is happening at the airport. Call and ask. The 4 hour strike we ran into wasn't even on the news. If you can't take off at the allotted time, it's much preferable to spend it in Milan rather than sitting at Malpensa. We were told that the strikes are becoming frequent. Ours was air traffic control and everyone else seemed to do a slow up. Banking exchange people told us that strikers are not giving a reason for action or much advance notice beyond a 24 hour period.

If you have'nt already been there on the trip. why not drive fairly quickly to Como, park the car. take a leisurely lake cruise, after which it is an easy drive over to Malpensa in the evening.

we can certainly attest to the strike situation...we arrived in Nice, spent a week in France and then drove to Tuscany for a week. On our return to Nice to get our flight home we were dismayed to learn that Air France was on strike! What a shock! Long story on how it worked out but one never knows.

Tony...what a great idea! Never occurred to me. Would we just "show up" in Como or would we have to reserve ahead for the lake cruise...any specific one you might recommend? Thanks.

I second the motion on a trip to Lake Como -- IF the weather is good. Take the hydrofoil to Bellagio to dine. (Shouldn't be any need to make reservations.) But ask about times between Florence and Malpensa (and Como). Distances always seem to take a bit longer to traverse in Italy.

Doing a search on here, I came across a comment that there was a "good" route and a "bad" route from Lake Como back to Malpensa...anyone know the best route to take?