In March we will be visiting our daughter who is studying in Florence. We would like to get a couple days of skiing in; however, she only has 2 days off to ski with us. Is it realistic to leave Florence on a Thursday afternoon and ski on Friday and Saturday? Can anyone recommend a place to stay, ski area to go to, a guide or tour company, and means of transportation for this excursion? We are a family of four and are all advanced skiers. We are flying out of Milan on Sunday, so is this trip realistic? We would even consider only 1 day of skiing just for the adventure. Any information would be appreciated?

I am not a skier but train time from Florence into Switzerland (Brig) is only 5 hours. With the resorts in Italy and Switzerland, I am sure that you can find some good skiing.

There is a cute land named Garfagnana. It is in the northern part of Tuscany, close to Emilia,
Alta Garfagnana in winter is very ok to ski.
I do not ski but I know the Hotel IL CASONE because I went there last summer because of my job.
Look at its website www.hotelilcasone.com .
If you appreciate also the good food, do not miss mushrooms.
You can arrive by train commuting in Lucca but from the station of Castiglione Garfagnana to the hotel, located at an hamlet named Casone di Profecchia, you have to request to hotel to pick you by their car (and the same to come back !).
Anyway, IMO, not possible a day trip from Florence, but at least 1 overnight.

Vincenzo

Drew,

My very first trip to Europe was a ski trip to the Dolomiti, staying in Cortina d'Ampezzo and skiing all over. We had a wonderful trip, the scenery was incredible. The skiing itself was such a different experience than our resorts in the US. We loved the endless runs down entire valleys and skiing from village to village. The Sella Ronda and the Paso Falzarego (SP?) were awesome!

We went mid-March, which is nearly the end of the season for them, but lucked out with a big snowstorm right before we got there.

From Venice, it was about a 2.5 hour drive via bus to Cortina. As Vincenzo says, there are other mountains closer to Florence.

Courmayeur (all levels including advanced) or Cervinia (not particularly good for the advanced skier but good enough for 2 days) are also good options and it is easy to get to Malpensa on a Sunday from both.