lhenry1998

We are going to Italy for the first time, and are torn between Rome and Milan. We love to shop, but also like a little sight seeing. We want excellent Italian food as well.

madamtrashheap

How many days do you have for either destination? That might determine where best to spend them.

However, they do have shops in Rome, in fact plenty. You could spend a whole day roaming (no pun intended ) via del Corso with side trips to via Condotti (labels, labels, labels) and the Galleria Sordi/Colonna (stunning decor as well as shops/cafes).

As for food, it's hard to go wrong, but remember that food is regional in Italy so what we know as "Italian" food outside Italy isn't necessarily always what you'll find in the country - in fact it will be better!

Plus you will have sightseeing galore to chose from - so my pick, even without knowing your timeframe, would be Rome as it's your first time in Italy, it has all of your requirements and food.

Rastaguytoday

Milan - highest quality leather, shoes.... My wife, the fashionista, says "it must say Made in Italy, Milan is better".

Best food - Emilia Romagna. Not a tourist area. West of Bologna.

Get an open jaw ticket - fly into Milan out of Rome or vice versa.

I personally love Venice. Florence is good for shopping, my wife can find what she values in each of these towns.

If you go to Florence, visit Siena.

Check your guide books to find emilia romagna cooking in whatever city you're in. Try the squash ravioli, to die for.

pauljohnson2012

First of all you should know that Milan is very much the business capital of Italy, whereas Rome is more of center for administration. Milan is a great place to work and to party and is ideal to the day trips to the sea and even to the pre-Alps for a day of skiing. The city has great concerts, theaters and museums. While Rome has everything Milan has to offer and more. I feel that Rome is more Italian than Milan so i prefer Rome.

Loco2

You don't mention many details like where you're coming from or how long you'll be there... like others have suggested getting an open jaw ticket means you can arrive in one place and then depart out of another without having to retrace your footsteps back to your point of origin. I personally love Florence and Venice and think they're unmissable.

Trenitalia is fast and efficient - booking tickets as soon as booking opens (90 days ahead or thereabouts) will give you the best prices. "Mini-fares" will give you heavily discounted travel, so work out your route and buy point to point tickets for yourself and your daughter. Happy travelling!

qwovadis

My wife and I go annually headed there in 2 weeks
Rome way better for sightseeing intercontinental.com
on top of Spanish Steps $180/nt bidding priceline.com
for us last May. Milan go a lot on business better shopping
Duomo Fort Leonardo "Last Supper" about it for sightseeing.
So of the 2 Rome always the eternal city for us.
www.ostia-antica.org a do not miss 1 euro on the metro.
eurocheapo.com/rome other great tips.

Happy Trails!

flanneruk

This is a total no-brainer.

Milan is better, at least around Via Sant Andrea, for very cutting edge fashion. But only a bit better than Rome's Via Condotti. For the bog-standard Italian cliche designers, like Armani or Versace, there's no difference.

For everything worthwhile (except opera, but tickets for La Scala are difficult to get), however, Rome's lightyears ahead as a place to visit. And it's impossible to get much more than a taste of the city in five days. Rome's the real cradle of our civilisation: it's got far better local cuisine and much jollier street life, and thousands more good churches, museums and archaeological sites.

If one of a couple's in Milan on business, there's enough to keep the other occupied for five days, even if they share my view of gawping at frock shops with near-identical branches in every "upscale" mall from Las Vegas, through Dubai, to Shenzhen. And Milan's a much more comfortable place to live.

But unless they're both out and out philistines (or have a specific interest in the Brera or the Poldi Pezzoli), there really is no point wasting time in Milan when you're so short of time in Rome.

mamcalice

If this is your first trip to Italy and you are going merely to shop at high-end fashion establishments, go to Milan. If this is your first trip to Italy and you are going to experience the culture, food, shopping, heart of Italy, go to Rome. In my experience there is no comparison. Rome is a fabulous place to visit. Milan is a place to visit to conveniently get to other places in northwest Italy and to see the Last Supper.

You don't say much about where you will be going in Italy. Will all of your time be spent in either Rome or Milan?

TDudette

Flying into Milan and out of Rome is good advice if you have enough time to see both cities. For me, 2 nights in Milan would cover Duomo, Last Supper, quick run through the Galleria V.E. and La Scala. If you are shopping, you'd need more. Reservations needed for Last Supper btw.

But I totally agree with mamcalice about Rome! So much to see!

How many days do you have?

zeppole

Be aware that at least one person in this thread is deliberately trying to mislead you.

I think you may have a wrong impression of Milan and of Rome. And a wrong impression of "Italian food." Reading this thread, there is an amazing amount of misinformation about Italy's regions, so it hard to know where to start to correct the misimpressions.

You don't say when you are going on this trip, but even if you are flying frequent flyer miles and have all your hotels on points, it would be a shame to blow such a wonderful opportunity to vacation in Italy and end up feeling you wasted it because you relied on a social media shout-out to plan your trip.

I suggest checking out several books from the library, and reading a few websites about shopping in Italy. Also look up on the web "typical dishes of Lombardia" (for Milan) and "typical dishes of Rome" and see which Italian food you'd rather eat.

GlobeTrotta18

Why not both? The train ride between is 3 1/2 hrs and gorgeous. With an open jaw ticket, you don't even have to return the to other city.

Mimar

And you can get open-jaw tickets with frequent flyer miles.

BigRuss

Three things: (1) it is VERY difficult to find a bad meal in Italy. You have to try.

(2) Milan is FAR superior to Rome in one thing: football teams (even with Internazionale in the dumps). Other than that, from your perspective it seems much of a wash on shopping.

(3) From a sightseeing perspective, Rome is one of the world's great cities. Milan doesn't have that reputation.

lhenry1998

We will be flying in from Paris and could fly into either city. The reason I suggested Milan, was that we wanted to see Lake Como.

lhenry1998

Also, Venice has always sparked my interest, but is it not worthy of a first time visit?

bardo1

Venice is of course worthy of a first time visit but it all <b>depends</b> on how long you have:

If you have about 14 days - see all three

If you have about 10 days - see Rome and either Milan or Venice

If you have about 7 days - see Milan and Venice

If you only have about 4 days - just pick one place

lhenry1998

We'll have 5 days to spend in Italy, but can be more to accommodate another city.

Mimar

Venice is very worth a first time visit. In fact, I would put Rome and Venice as the top two on my Italy must-see list. Milan is well down that list. Lake Como is beautiful but maybe about 5 on my list.

Can you possibly fly into or out of Venice? Or even Pisa?

Florence_Guide

Well, maybe you should make a stop in-between milan and rome: Florence, the craddle of Renaissance, where classical world (ancient greek & roman culture) met new hopes of making a "new man" just before the discovery of america (an italian discovered it, but was a florentine, Amerigo Vespucci, who named it...), the centre can be discovered just walking...Florence is smaller than Rome, but more beatiful..and safer as well..Siena and Pisa are just 1hour away from Florence (by coach and by rail)So make your choice and enjoy your time Welcome to Italy, to Florence
W Florence!

bobthenavigator

I am waiting for the day that Zeppole does not spend her time being critical of others posts. It must be lonely always being superior.