Short Driving Trip
 

We have decided to drive on October 9 from Rome north. We must end up at Malpensa in the morning on October 13. We are picking up a car at Rome's Termini. The last time we did this, we picked up our car at Fumicino. How difficult is it to get out of Rome and on the highway? We need a midpoint stop for one or two nights. We've been to parts of Tuscany but never to San Gimignano (which seems to be half way). From there we will drive to Lake Maggiore before heading to Malpensa. It doesn't seem to make sense to go back to Milan being that Malpensa is north of the city. A few questions... 1) Do you have a suggestion for a place to stop and stay at the midpoint? Our flight leaves MXP at 11:00 in the morning on the 13th. Is it possible to leave early from the Lake and return the car and get there in enough time to make our flight? I'm not sure of traffic in that area. Or should we just stay at an airport hotel?

And a totally different question.....suggestions for a bar and restaurant within walking distance of the Spanish steps?

Any other for us would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for your help!

If you've had experience with big city driving, I don't think driving north from Termini would be that difficult.

Considering you'd be driving nearly half the length of the country, I assume you intend to stick to the autostrada as much as possible. I myself would find that kind of boring and would probably not go north of Malpensa. I would rather travel secondary roads and explore small towns far from the autostrada.

Such a short time, and all of it on autostrade? Doesn't sound like any fun to me. And no, I would not go to Maggiore and hope to get back to Malpensa on the same day as your flight. Not being close to the departure airport on the day of departure, to me, is one of the riskiest things people contemplate, but then, I learned the hard way .

Why not stay in San Gimignano? You will be there in the evening and morning when crowds are less, and drive somewhere nearby in the afternoon. The interior of the Duomo in SG is one of Tuscany's greatest art treasures. I would go tomorrow to see it again. Also, SG has the reputation (true in my somewhat dated experience) of being a great town for restaurants.

I'm sorry that I can't speak to the rest of your questions, but I might spend two nights in Tuscany, before moving on.

I would follow the advice of those questioning a decision to see things on your day of departure. I always like to keep it simple on those days - stay near the airport or IN Milan and take a train. Our last trip to Italy involved a flight out of Malpensa and while Milan was not to our liking, the transportation from Milan to Malpensa was exceptionally easy. We stayed near and left Milan via train from the Cadorna station.

You could think about spending a night in Orvieto, which is on your route from Rome to Milan and then spend another night in SG.

Silly question, but do you need to drive? You can take the high speed train from Rome to Milan and save considerable amounts of time. You could then spend a couple nights in Florence with a day trip to SG or spend some time in Bologna which is also on the route.

Personally I would avoid the Spanish Steps unless that is where your hotel is located. I was very much underwhelmed, but that is just my opinion.

Have fun!

Thanks to all who are trying to help us with our poorly planned trip. We leave tomorrow for Milan (that was the airport with a non-stop from Miami and the lowest fare). We'll be there a day to catch our breath and the next day we take the high speed train to Florence. After three days there, we train to Rome to meet some friends and some limited sightseeing. I totally agree with the Wormin Rome about the Spanish Steps, but that is where our friends are staying. I made reservations for the restaurant Life which gets excellent reviews. We've been to Rome many times before so I don't mind that we're only there for two nights. We pick up a car at Rome termini and head to San Gimignano for 3 nights at La Collegia (We felt that Orvieto was too close to Rome and didn't cut off enough time for the second half of the drive.) Having the car there allows us to leisurely visit some smaller towns. We leave there the day before our trip home and head to Milan to drop the car and for an overnight at the airport.
As I said, this was not one of our better planned trips but I think it will work. Thank you for all your thoughtful suggestions. I hope this works. I'll stop whining now. Really? How bad can 10 days in Italy be??? https://www.fodors.com/community/ima...ojis/1f609.png