Milan or Venice??? You decide....
 

Just wondering if anyone can offer any advice on how much time is really needed to experience the best of Venice and Milan.

My husband and I are planning on spending about 15 days in Italy and we have decided to spend approximately 4 in Rome and 4 in Tuscany. That only leaves a little time for Milan and/or Venice and I don't want to visit to both places at any cost, but feel that I was too rushed to enjoy either.

I have heard that Milan is "non-Italian" (whatever that implies) but we would love to see a performance at La Scala and view "The Last Supper". All I really want to do in Venice (at this point)is experience a gondola cruise (of course) and visit the Basilica di'San Marco.

Is there time for both cities or is better to just choose one destination?

Thanks.

Don't you DARE skipping Venice. Period.

....And spend there at least 3 days.

...And besides, 4 days in Tuscany, if it includes Florence, is NOT enough. Florence itself deserves 3-4 days. There is a LOT to see in Tuscany, and I hope you're renting a car....

Hello Little Bella, I will assume this is your first trip to Italy.

When you say you are spending 15 days in Italy do you mean 14 nights? Stating the number of nights in a country gives a clearer picture. When you say 15 days are you counting two of these days for arriving in Italy and departing Italy?

Which airport are you fying into? And which airport are you flying home from? IF you have not purchased your airline tickets yet I would suggest that you purchased an open jaw ticket (also known as a multi-city ticket). You fly into one city in Italy and fly home from another city in Italy so that you do not have to backtrack to the original airport you flew into.

Have you done any research regarding Venice and Milan? Although I personally love Milan I imagine the great majority here on Fodor's would recommend that you make the third area you visit Venice. And if this is your first vist trip to Italy I would also recommend Venice. But why do you think that if you go to Venice you only want to take a gondola ride and visit the Basilica? Again, have you done any research regarding Venice?

Milan is certainly not "non-Italian" Milan is the finacial center of Italy. The northern part of Italy is different then the central and southern part of Italy. Milan is a vibrant and interesting city but it is not loved by a lot of tourist. There are a couple of threads on Fodors right at this moment...Fodorites trying to get tickets to see an opera at LaScala. I suggest that you read these threads.

You do not say when you are going to Italy, how you will be travelling around Italy (train, rental car etc). It is rather hard to answer your questions IMO. BTW, do say you will visit Tuscany. I assume you mean the countryside. Do you plan on visiting Florence?

More information would help in answering your questions. Best wishes to you.

Hi. Thanks for the replies. Indeed, I guess it shows that this is our first trip to Italy.

We will be spending 14 nights in Italy and we are going in late April. Presently, the particulars of our air travel have not yet been finalized. We are hoping to fly into one Rome and depart from Venice or Milan. As we see it, to back track may actually work out to be more expensive than round trip fare.

We have spent some time researching Venice (but I must admit, not as much as I have spent on Rome and Tuscany). Oh, and with our time restraints we are thinking of by-passing Florence and heading from Siena to the smaller towns of the region (we plan to rent a car in Siena).

If you are going to Milan make sure you set aside a day for a boat trip on Lake Como. If it is a sunny day it will equal anything you see in Tuscany. Trains leave regularly from Milan to Como (about 45mins) and then ferries leave regularly for all the villages, but I would suggest Bellagio as a destination. Have lunch there and then catch the late afternoon ferry back to Como. You will not regret it. Incidentally Milan is an excellent place. It has the magnificent Duomo, the Last Supper and La Scala of course and probably the best shopping in Europe in the Montenapoleone area. Then there is Pecks. A food emporium equal to Harrods. Italy is not a once in a lifetime destination!

Hi LB,

You have asked on another thread about a trip from Rome to Pompeii to Siena, which most folks have advised against.

May I suggest that you put all of your questions in one thread so that we can see the whole picture?

At theis point you have

Dang computers!

At this point you have 7 nights for both Milan and Venice; certainly not rushed.

((I))

Little Bella,
To put it simply, in my opinion;
- rome is a 5-night destination,
- florence is a 3 night destination (add 2 if doing tuscan countryside),
- venise is a 4 night destination.
Tuscany might take between 3 and 7 nights, easily, it all depends on what you want to see.
Stating that all you want to do in Venice is to do a gondola cruise and see the Basilica SM proves that you have a lot to read to prepare your trip.
If Milan has 'La Scala', Venice has the 'Fenice'. I would focus on the performance instead of the building.

It seems the best would be to take an open jaw ticket arriving in Rome, departing from Venice. If the airplane ticket is more expensive, just add the trip back from wherever in Italy to your incoming airport and the loss of time.

Happy travels
P

I decide? In that case, in a very short (two weeks) irst visit to Italy, I'd skip Milan and go to Venice instead. I also would absolutely NOT skip Florence--actually can't imagine taking a first trip to Tuscany and skipping Florence. I would not place a high priority on taking a gondola ride when in Venice. But you and I may have very very different interests, so my decisions should not necessarily be yours.

I agree with cmt; skip Milan on this trip and go there later. Milan is a big, big, city. A lot of it was bombed out in WWII and rebuilt as skyscrapers. We certainly didn't enjoy the city at all, but the Duomo is NOT to be missed at some point in your travels.

You will really enjoy Venice... and you will need at least 3 days to soak up the beauty and quaintness of Venice. There is so much to do there and also so many areas to just walk around and enjoy all that Venice has to offer.

Milan was a very busy and industrial looking city to me.

Venice is one of the most amazing places in the world, so don't miss it. If you can fit in oneor two nights in Milan, though, do it. Then catch a train for Venice (it's about a 2 or 2 1/2 hour ride). If you want to see the Last Supper while in Milan, make your reservations before you leave the States. Google "Santa Maria della Grazie" and it should get you to the site to make the reservations.