We are taking the train from Nice to Venice and would like to spend a night or 2 somewhere along the way to break up the journey. Could anyone recommend a charming town with points of interest for a family with 2 teenagers? Florence is a consideration. Thanks!

What time of year?
With kids, I would do Lake Garda. The train stops at Desenzano and from there you can get to other lake locations by ferry.

Desenzano is four-fifths of the ride, but I agree that Garda would be excellent for a family. Maybe two nights there and rent a car to really see all the lake has to offer.

Florence is WAYYY out of the way. Without actually checking the timetables, I would say that Nice to Venice is 6 hours (3.5 to Milan, 2.5 to Florence; no train change necessarily required) - - and Nice to Florence will be well over 5, with 2.5 still to Venice.

Milan itself is not a bad other choice. I have stayed at San Remo, but it is barely an hour out of Nice.

Best wishes,

Rex

When are you going? If in late spring or summer, I too would suggest Lake Garda, but I personally think it would be too gray and depressing before about the end of April. I wouldn't worry about the fact that it is most of the way to Venice. Frankly, there's no reason to do a stop at all, but I understand your desire to get in another destination.

Thanks for all the comments! We are going to be there in mid-July. From Venice we are heading to Zurich by train to spend a few nights and fly home. I just thought it would be nice to experience the flavor of a northern Italian small town. Our daughters are 17 and 19, so they are up for anything. Maybe we should just get over to Venice and stop somewhere on the way to Zurich. We have 1 night to play with. I so appreciate any insights! This is getting to be an all-consuming venture!!!

I hve roughly looked through your varios posts - - and this is a heck of a lot of train travel, cobbling together for destinatons which are rather far-flung. It's rather like Minneapolis to St. Louis to Pittsburgh to Chicago. Is your air travel already purchased into Paris and out of Zurich?

If not, I would suggest re-thinking Nice or Zurich and try to fly home fro Nice or Venice or maybe even Salzburg (which is so much nicer than many parts of Switzerland, and especially Zurich -- which isn't even as interesting as Pittsburgh, IMO).

I would fly the longest stretch - - on volareweb.com from Paris to Italy, and then backtrack to Nice for departure - - or skip Nice and depart from Venice/Austria after exploring north-eastern Italy +/- southern/western Austria. No shortage of small town possibilities in transit - - and cut down your train time from its current 20+ hours to eight or less (plus the 90 minute flight from Paris to Italy).

I assume you have already set your major travel connections in concrete and cannot consider some of the itinerary deviations suggested by Rex. That being the case, there are still lots of places to stop along the way from Nice to Venice. One classic small city that I particularly like is Cremona. Bergamo is also interesting. I have no idea what train connections you are considering, but there are also many other really small towns along the rail line between Milan and Venice that would make fun stops for a day or two just to wander around. Good luck.

I think your Daughters would like Milan . Its no small town but they would enjoy the trendy shopping and Fashion of Milan .Its one of the citys the kids hear about all the time on MTV

Your comments are all so helpful! Yes, our flights have been booked since last Sept. flying into Paris and back from Zurich, which is the only itin. that would allow us to see as much as possible. The Nice stop is for our college age daughter, and our Venice stop is the request of our daughter graduating from high school. They have never been to Europe and we thought they might enjoy the beauty of Switzerland in addition to France and Italy. We have 2 nights to play with between our stay in Nice and Venice. I'm not crazy about the long train rides, but at least they see the country-side. Logically, Milan is on the way as a train connection point, but isn't it a bigger city? I think I will look into the Cremona/Bergamo areas which would allow us to see Milan too. I am questing for small town charm for a variation. Thanks again for all your advice!

Still not too late to fly PAR-VCE, then train VCE-NCE, then fly - - easyjet.com - - NCE-GVA, and train through Switzerland.

And yes, Milan is a big city, bigger than Venice, Nice and Zurich combined. Still it has a nice enough "inner core" that is nothing like an American big city.

thanks Rex...great idea training GVA-ZRH! Do you have any recommendations for hotels/areas to stay in around/in Milan or should we stay in a smaller town and just visit Milan? Thanks again!

Even though it's out of the way and lengthens the trip, I think your original idea of Florence is a very good idea, but only if you can stay more than one night there. It would contrast with all your other destinations, and teenagers will appreciate its historic significance.

For just one night, Bergamo (especially la città alta part) would be ideal. It's a short ride from Milan by frequent train service, and it's very beautiful. It's also a good place to stretch your legs, because there are scenic, relatively short walks in the countryside that you can easily take from one of the funicular stops, where there are maps of suggested walks. I spent too little time in Cremona, but I think it is very much worth visiting as well, and I'd like to go back. However, check the train connections carefully before deciding on Cremona to make sure that they're not too inconvenient for you. Though I've never been there, I've also heard that Pavia would be an interesting place to spend a day, and it's also not far from Milan by train. In the same province (Pavia), there's also Vigevano, which is worth visiting at least briefly to see its famous square.

For whatever it's worth, I hated Milan when I was 16. I spent a few days there when I was 25 and found many of the sites interesting. Lately, I try to avoid spending much time there because I just don't like it, but that does not mean that it's not worth a serious visit.

Thanks for your thoughts, cmt. We much prefer the smaller villages over the larger, big cities. I'm going to research Florence, since I would love for the girls to see that area, but sounds like Bergamo will be a close tie. Thanks again.

I second the Lake Garda suggestion, and I second the Bergamo suggestion as well. They are apples/oranges though, so read up on both and make your call from these two.

Enjoy!

another thought..what about taking a train from Milan to Bellagio and basing from there to see the surrounding sights? We won't have a car and and want to take advantage of our time to see the sights. I understand you can get around by ferry/boat...is there enough to do besides take in the beautiful scenery? Appreciate any insights!