I'm a 36yo female and am planning a solo trip to Northern Italy this coming October for 2 wks. I'm thinking of going to Venice, Lake Como, Tuscan hill towns and Cinque Terre. Considering Cortona and any other nearby towns. I enjoy walking the streets, scenery, charming towns, rustic ambiance, hiking, bicycling, food, culture and unique shops. Any suggestions on how I should navigate my trip would be helpful. And how much time should I spend at each location? Any other suggestions are appreciated as well! Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Rosalba
Can I assume you will have a car? Tuscan hill towns are sometimes not in reach of a train. Let me suggest a quick trip to a local library for Rick Steeves CD's on Tuscany - and the hill towns of which Cortona is one. We did that last summer and the small hill towns up on top of the mountains are breathtaking. You are going in oct - good call, we went in July and was very hot!!!
Have you ruled out Florence? You didn't mention art as one of your interests. I loved Florence and it is relatively reasonable to stay there.
I wasn't too enamoured with La Cinque Terre. As I said it was July when we were there and so was everyone else. Extremely crowded and hot. Oct would be better I guess. Another factor that probably influenced my feeling about it was that we "saw" 4 of the 5 towns in one day. Would definitely advise against that regardless of the time of year.
You are in for a wonderful experience. Italy is incredible. Only advice is that you not try to crowd too much into the two weeks - just relax and smell the wine!!
Shrink

Como lake -i stayed in a small place called Varenna-enough 2 days (i stayed 4): take botello (8 EURO per trip) to any side of the lake, visit Bellagio (foggy pond with fish, cozy restaurant outdoors, hot-pot-italian way), visit Como town-famous Silk Store, old church close to the lake, walk about 10-12 minutes, eat some gelato, observe the mountains around. Venice- 2 days is enough-you might start coughing -too humid, don't fall in a water at night-many staircases go down without fence, water is deep, 2 meters at least, very cold.Buy masks from vendors away from main port, there is also an exhibition with huge glass horse inside.Gondola ride cost me 130 Euros per 55 minutes-i left my Canadian boyfriend after that ride....! Singer costs even more.Visit 3 islands from Venice:Murano (glass, crystall, mirrors factory/store), Burano (croche tableware, best gelato to try, multi-coloured houses), torcello-old chapel, old garden with sculptures hidden by the plants)Florence is all about architecture, history, Il Duomo, Accademia, giant David, yellow river, Palazzo Veccio where one senor was killed from the balcony (remember Hannibal Lector?)-young people sitting in front of Il Duomo on Friday night watching women pass byTuscany:no way to travel except by car with guide-check Luca from Hills and Roads-i had a blast on his tour for 2 days!Sienna: i didn't like it except Baptistry.Uncomfortable town.Next go to Rome.

There was monastery-type hotel for nuns next to Vaticano museum -only EURO 60 per room! At night curfew applies-come back early!And no boyfriends! both must have wedding rings if you want to stay there!Compare to 250 EURO in other, normal hotels.

Rosalba, have you been to Italy before? If so, what were your previous stops and what did you like about them? Do you plan on renting a car? Are you thinking of early or late October (can make a big difference in northern Italy)? If you are going, you really will only have 12 nights "on the ground", correct?
Just a couple of peramaters to help us help you!

Cortona is really not in Northern Italy, so I think you need to first get your hands on a good map and identify where it is you most want to go. There are many beautiful small towns in northern Italy that you might enjoy visiting, without the need to go into southern Tuscany. Also, consider going to Verona or Mantova.

http://www.thermaesport.it/menu-en/e...sy-bike-rurale

http://www.frassanelle.com/holidays-...ean-hills.html

If cycling is high on your list of things to do in Italy, you might want to invest in this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-.../dp/1740593154

Wow...thanks for all the suggestions! Yes, I will be renting a car in Tuscany. @ Shrink I will definitely pickup that Rick Steeves CD on Tuscany...thx! @ Aura - lots of great info there..thx!
@ekc Last time I went to Italy was 16 yrs ago to Rome and Sicily. I'm planning to go the 2nd wk in Oct and will try to give myself 2 extra days for flying. @ Zeppole yes- i am considering Verona...thanks for the sites!