My husband and I (early 60's) are planning a trip to northern Italy in May 2011 and would appreciate suggestions for an itinerary. We definitely want to see Venice and Florence, and are interested in Lucca, Sienna, the Cinque Terre, and perhaps a visit to one of the lakes. Comments on these or other towns of interest would be welcomed. We can't do a lot of long walking (for example, the whole of the Cinque Terre) but are pretty energetic and are at ease with fast-paced trips, as we like to see as much as we can without it all being just a blur. We do want to visit the major museums and cathedrals but are also interested in seeing some beautiful countryside. We can fly into one city and out of another (probably Milan and Venice). We did a wonderful trip through Switzerland this past September and loved traveling by train but have traveled in England and Scotland by car. Please feel free to offer comments as to pros and cons of trains vs car in Italy. If you can suggest good hotels and restaurants (hotels preferably under $150 night double but know it will probably be more in Venice and possibly Florence) that would be helpful, though I will post again about those once the itinerary is set.

Thanks so much for sharing your expertise and experience! I look forward to your replies. For me, a large part of enjoying a trip is in the planning!

I love the loop in the north:

Venice--3
Florence-3[ day trip to either Lucca or Siena]
Rural Tuscany--3
CT---2
Lago Como or Maggiore--3
Fly home from MXP

You could reverse it but I hate to fly home from Venice.
Good luck--hard to go wrong in north Italy.

Thanks so much - looks very "do-able." Just curious why you hate to fly out of Venice? Venice is the place I am most determined to see as long ago my husband and I had planned to go for our 20th anniversary and instead we had our son (on purpose; not by accident!). It will be almost 22 years later that we are realizing this dream, and I am hesitant to be jet lagged there. Luzern was out first stop this fall after arriving in Zurich, and I was definitely not "all there." It was about day 3 or 4 that we were finally recovered and in the travel groove. I'm afraid we're not as "nimble" as when we were younger!

If it took you some time to recover after flying, then I would definitely give yourself an extra day or two at the beginning of the trip. If you are limited to 14 days, then I would strongly suggest that you only go to only 3 or 4 places.

Many U.S. visitors to Venice find that the timing of flights departing Venice for home are very (to extremely) early. Check your options flying into and out of Venice and Milan and decide what you're comfortable with.

I like Bobthenavigator's mix, but I would stay everywhere longer. If you can make it a 3-week trip, great. If not, I'd drop one of his destinations and choose between the Cinque Terre or one of the lakes.

Exactly !

My take on this is different, which is that Lago di Como and the Italian Riviera are really completely different from each other in character, scenery, food and culture. About all they have in commo is that both have water views. If you are coming to Europe for a vacation, then creating an itinerary that is a "mix" of "some art" "some water" "some scenic driving" then you don't need two water views. But if you are coming to Italy to tour Italy, and sample its different regions and see specific things, then Lago di Como and the Italian Riviera can't be swapped out for each other, any more than Venice can be swapped out for Napoli if you want "some cathedrals."

You are right not to want your trip to be a blur, and I don't know all that you want to see in the art cities, so it's hard to know how much time you should spend in any one place. For me, lunch in Lago di Como is enough and 2 days in Florence is short - changing it, but you might be just the opposite!

It's not too easy to recommend unless we know how long you've got to spend in the region. However, you can stretch or contract the time spent in each place to suit your availability. How about:

Venice 3 nights
Lake Garda (to include Verona) 3 nights
Florence/Siena 4 nights
CT/Pisa 3 nights
Milan 2 nights

Bob's itinerary is right on (that's why he's the "navigator") but especially is you have more than two weeks and can add a few days to some or all of those locations. Three weeks would be perfect.

But what no one has addressed is your question of car versus no car. You obviously don't need or want one in Venice or Florence (or the Cinque Terre). The only place you would really want one is rural Tuscany, everything else can be done by train. So your options are: a) just get a rental for a few days for that portion of the trip and go back to trains for the rest. b)get a longer rental after you leave Florence and find a place to park it for the Cinque Terre portion. Or c)do the entire trip without a car and visit several Tuscan towns as day trips from Florence (obviously needing to spend longer in Florence if that is the case).

Trains in Italy are almost as good as in Switzerland. They used to have problems with running late, being old and shabby, etc but in recent years I've found them to be great. There are many levels - the regional ones are slower and cheaper, but there are plenty of fast, modern trains as well. You can easily cost out the difference by checking prices on the Trenitalia site (but do be aware of the same route being different prices if you take a slower vs faster train) and comparing to car rental. There are tolls, and gas prices are not cheap. It all boils down to which mode of transportation you prefer, both are doable for this area.