Northern Italy itinerary (Venice, Verona, Milan) -- suggestions welcome
Mar 8th, 2005, 08:55 AM
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Northern Italy itinerary (Venice, Verona, Milan) -- suggestions welcome
All -
Would love your expert assistance. Let me know what you think about the following itinerary for the last week in June 2005. I already have hotels booked, but am afraid we might be trying to squeeze in too much. I cannot change the flight dates. This will be my third trip to Italy with my husband, but we have never traveled to this region.
Friday -- arrive Venice afternoon
Saturday -- Venice all day
Sunday -- Murano and other islands
Monday -- Early morning train from Venice to Verona. Spend day/night in Verona.
Tuesday -- Spend day in northern part of Lake Garda/night in Verona. Should we leave Verona at night for Milan so we have a full day there?
Wednesday -- Instead of an early morning train from Verona to Milan, should we arrive the night before? Planning on spending the day site seeting, shopping, we have a 6:30p reservation to see The Last Supper. Possibly tickets to opera at La Scala in the evening?
Thursday -- Morning depart Milan.
Would love your expert assistance. Let me know what you think about the following itinerary for the last week in June 2005. I already have hotels booked, but am afraid we might be trying to squeeze in too much. I cannot change the flight dates. This will be my third trip to Italy with my husband, but we have never traveled to this region.
Friday -- arrive Venice afternoon
Saturday -- Venice all day
Sunday -- Murano and other islands
Monday -- Early morning train from Venice to Verona. Spend day/night in Verona.
Tuesday -- Spend day in northern part of Lake Garda/night in Verona. Should we leave Verona at night for Milan so we have a full day there?
Wednesday -- Instead of an early morning train from Verona to Milan, should we arrive the night before? Planning on spending the day site seeting, shopping, we have a 6:30p reservation to see The Last Supper. Possibly tickets to opera at La Scala in the evening?
Thursday -- Morning depart Milan.
Mar 8th, 2005, 11:15 AM
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Hi Karen, because I love Milan I would personally train from Verona to Milan Tuesday at the end of the day.
Verona is beautiful but I think you are spending enough time there.
Waking up in Milan Wednesday morning would be more relaxing, at least for me. And Milan is a wonderful city for sightseeing, shopping etc. I hope you get those tickets for LaScala, that would be wonderful.
Have a beautiful trip. I think you will really enjoy it. Northern Italy is wonderful (as is all of Italy).
Verona is beautiful but I think you are spending enough time there.
Waking up in Milan Wednesday morning would be more relaxing, at least for me. And Milan is a wonderful city for sightseeing, shopping etc. I hope you get those tickets for LaScala, that would be wonderful.
Have a beautiful trip. I think you will really enjoy it. Northern Italy is wonderful (as is all of Italy).
Mar 8th, 2005, 11:20 AM
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The only tricky part about going to Milan that night is do you really want a time committment of getting back from a full day exploring Lake Garda, to Verona to catch a train to Milan? Where is your luggage all day?
Or are you talking about renting a car for the day and driving from Verona to Lake Garda then driving on to Milan that evening? That would work.
Or are you talking about renting a car for the day and driving from Verona to Lake Garda then driving on to Milan that evening? That would work.
Mar 8th, 2005, 11:21 AM
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Thank you LoveItaly for your response.
So one night and two days (one in Verona, one at Lake Garda) is enough? If so, then I think I will make the switch and head to Milan earlier than planned. Will have to check train schedules to see if it's possible to spend the day in Lake Garda, come back to Verona to get our luggage, and then train to Milan.
Or maybe the alternative is we rent a car? Check out of the hotel in Verona, drive to northern part of Lake Garda, and then continue on that night to Milan checking in late to our hotel? Hmmmm....
So one night and two days (one in Verona, one at Lake Garda) is enough? If so, then I think I will make the switch and head to Milan earlier than planned. Will have to check train schedules to see if it's possible to spend the day in Lake Garda, come back to Verona to get our luggage, and then train to Milan.
Or maybe the alternative is we rent a car? Check out of the hotel in Verona, drive to northern part of Lake Garda, and then continue on that night to Milan checking in late to our hotel? Hmmmm....
Mar 8th, 2005, 11:34 AM
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While I loved Lago di Garda... what about skipping it and heading from Verona to Stresa? Then you get the 'lake' piece in, and you're closer to Milan already? There is a shuttle from Stresa to the airport, but then you miss your time IN Milan...
It's just a thought. I don't love it, but its a thought. Sorry, I'm not as helpful as I would like to be on this one! Trav
It's just a thought. I don't love it, but its a thought. Sorry, I'm not as helpful as I would like to be on this one! Trav
Mar 8th, 2005, 11:45 AM
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Hi Karen, personally I would not drive a car into Milan. Nooo, you do not want to do that, taking the train would be so much simplier.
I don't have a train schedule in front of me but my thinking was if you took the train from Verona to Milan (about a 90 minute trip) you can leave your luggaage at the hotel during the day while you visit Lake Garda.
To make it simple, once you get to the train station in Milan just take a taxi to your Milan hotel.
Anyway, that is what I would do. And yes for me the one day enjoying Verona and the next day for Lake Garda would be fine. In fact I have done that.
I don't have a train schedule in front of me but my thinking was if you took the train from Verona to Milan (about a 90 minute trip) you can leave your luggaage at the hotel during the day while you visit Lake Garda.
To make it simple, once you get to the train station in Milan just take a taxi to your Milan hotel.
Anyway, that is what I would do. And yes for me the one day enjoying Verona and the next day for Lake Garda would be fine. In fact I have done that.
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Mar 8th, 2005, 12:03 PM
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Thank you everyone for your input. So much to think about. Right now it looks like these are the options:
1) Verona->Lake Garda->Verona->Milan
2) Verona->Lake Garda->Verona, and go to Milan the next day.
3) Verona->Milan->Lake->Milan (this option may just work, since there are trains from Desenzano del Garda late into the evening.)
Is Garda the closest lake to milan if we went with the third option?
1) Verona->Lake Garda->Verona->Milan
2) Verona->Lake Garda->Verona, and go to Milan the next day.
3) Verona->Milan->Lake->Milan (this option may just work, since there are trains from Desenzano del Garda late into the evening.)
Is Garda the closest lake to milan if we went with the third option?
Mar 9th, 2005, 04:22 PM
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I highly recommend you visit Sirmione when you go to Lake Garda. It is the most amazing little town. You have to walk through a crenalated castle to get into the town, no cars allowed. Walk all the way to the tip of Sirmione on Lake Garda; you will come to the ruins of Catullo (sp?). A very special place!!
Mar 10th, 2005, 03:16 PM
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Karen--you won't have time to go to Murano and the other islands with only 2 days in Venice. We spent 4-1/2 days in Venice our first time there and never left the main city--and still didn't see everything we wanted to see.
Mar 11th, 2005, 07:22 AM
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Hi Karen,
If this is your first trip to Northern Italy, I would concentrate on Venice, it really has to be seen to be believed, especially in the summer! Milan is lovely for a city break but to be honest for sightseeing there really isn't that much to do - you could do it in an afternoon (La Scala, the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the Castello Sforzesco are other highlights apart from the Last Supper, but are all extremely close to one another!) Maybe at the expense of an extra day in Milan spend that day in Venice seeing everything you couldn't pack into the first day!
Verona is a place close to my heart, and is such an atmospheric, beautiful city that I would suggest spending your whole trip there(!!), but one day is ample to see the main sights (Arena, Castello San Pietro/Teatro Romano, Juliet's House, the Duomo and Sant' Anastasia), as everything is at ambling distance!
Lake Garda is beautiful, but for just a day I would recommend Sirmione rather than Desenzano. It is I believe still on the train line from Milan to Verona and is by far lovlier than Desenzano.
The Lake closest to Milan is Como (George Clooney has a house there!), but as it is not connected so well by trains maybe it would be better to leave this out until the next time that you can have a more leisurely stay, perhaps staying in Milan as base and venturing out for day trips to Lake Como, Pavia and Vigevano which are my favourites! Something for you to plan for next time
Just a wee warning though, bring plenty of mosquito repellant! You won't need it in Verona but Venice, Lake Garda and, surprisingly, Milan are teeming with them in the summer.
xverso xxx
Incidentally, if you have any questions or need any suggestions about anything in Verona, please let me know and I'll be happy to help you!
If this is your first trip to Northern Italy, I would concentrate on Venice, it really has to be seen to be believed, especially in the summer! Milan is lovely for a city break but to be honest for sightseeing there really isn't that much to do - you could do it in an afternoon (La Scala, the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the Castello Sforzesco are other highlights apart from the Last Supper, but are all extremely close to one another!) Maybe at the expense of an extra day in Milan spend that day in Venice seeing everything you couldn't pack into the first day!
Verona is a place close to my heart, and is such an atmospheric, beautiful city that I would suggest spending your whole trip there(!!), but one day is ample to see the main sights (Arena, Castello San Pietro/Teatro Romano, Juliet's House, the Duomo and Sant' Anastasia), as everything is at ambling distance!
Lake Garda is beautiful, but for just a day I would recommend Sirmione rather than Desenzano. It is I believe still on the train line from Milan to Verona and is by far lovlier than Desenzano.
The Lake closest to Milan is Como (George Clooney has a house there!), but as it is not connected so well by trains maybe it would be better to leave this out until the next time that you can have a more leisurely stay, perhaps staying in Milan as base and venturing out for day trips to Lake Como, Pavia and Vigevano which are my favourites! Something for you to plan for next time
Just a wee warning though, bring plenty of mosquito repellant! You won't need it in Verona but Venice, Lake Garda and, surprisingly, Milan are teeming with them in the summer.
xverso xxx
Incidentally, if you have any questions or need any suggestions about anything in Verona, please let me know and I'll be happy to help you!
