Hello,
I will be visiting Italy for the first time in January, but only for 7 days. I will arrive in Milan and rent a car. I'm not really fond of huge cities such as Milan or Rome, but could do something like Bologna or Florence.

The thing is there's so much to see and so little time that I cannot make up my mind: I'm tempted towards a snowy holiday in the Dolomites (e.g. Bolzano/Val de Funes) or Aosta/Alps but also tempted to drive south to Florence/Perugia/Asis. A third alternative would be driving east through Verona to Venice.

What would you recommend? Is it safe to drive in Italy in winter, especially the mountains?

Thank you, any suggestion will be greatly appreciated!!

"Is it safe to drive in Italy in winter, especially the mountains?"

It depends on the driver. Are you experienced driving on mountain roads in winter? Or at least driving in winter?

You could also take trains to pretty much anywhere and don't worry about driving and all the hassle of renting a car.

I was once lucky enough to spend two weeks in Reggio Emilia in February (for work), and I recommend it if you want a smaller town to stay in. The weather was jacket-cool but not freezing. If it were me, I wouldn't attempt to drive in the Alps, but I'm sure there's transportation there from Milan or Bologna.

I travel to see things that I can't see in my own country, so that would rule out the mountains for me. A combination of Bologna and Florence would be a great way to spend a week, with a day trip to Ravenna from Bologna, and to Siena from Florence. All of this can be done easily by train. It would also be a great time to visit Venice - no crowds. Although the aqua alta they've been experiencing this year may well be a deterrent, you can't plan on that. If you do decide to go to Venice, just don't rent a ground floor apartment, and you'll be fine.

I wouldn't drive in the Dolomiti in winter unless I had chains and a big emergency kit and a lot of experience driving in winter in the mountains (I don't). And I wouldn't drive into any big or medium-sized cities, either, at any time of year. There's not only the ZTL problem, but parking is tiresome and expensive.

The train system is more than adequate for any one of these trips.

Florence, Bologna, and Venice are three cities I wouldn't travel to by car. I am a long-term resident of Italy, but when I visit these cities, I leave my car at home and take the train. You can't take a car into Venice at all, and I think it's insane to drive in Bologna or Florence, unless there's a pressing reason why you have to. For example, we once drove into Bologna when we were bringing some furniture to a relative.

On major routes, the train is faster and cheaper. Even on less important routes, it's often a toss-up.

If you're visiting rural areas, a car makes a lot of sense, but not in a city, where you run the risk of accidentally straying into a limited traffic zone (ZTL) or mistakenly driving in a bus lane, or parking where you're not supposed to. If you do, the fines will arrive after some months have passed, with the car rental agency charging a hefty processing fee directly to your credit card.
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Winter. Only 7 days. No way would I rent a car. I'd take a train (to just about anywhere). You mention Venice, Verona, Florence and Bologna and any one (or two) of those would make for a nice one week trip. And if you really want an even smaller town there are day trip (again, by public transportation) options from all of them.

And if mountains are a big interest of yours you could actually just stay in Milan and day trip to Lugano - only one hour from Milan - (gorgeous lake half in Switzerland with fabulous mountain views, funicular to mountain tops), to Lake Como (mid lake region only 1 hour train from Milan) - the top half of the lake is surrounded by mountains, or Bergamo - a smaller city less than one hour from Milan with views to the mountains.

Or Lago Maggiore. Not sure if the funicular is working in winter, but certainly fabulous mountain views.

Hi, please consider that Firenze and Perugia are more than 3 hours driving so i would try to stay in the northern area.
You didn't mention Mantova, Verona and all that part of Veneto (eastern). Simply lovely and food is exquisite!

I can really recommend the northern Italian lakes near Milano: Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, ... especially when the sun is shining they are tremendous.

" Or Lago Maggiore. Not sure if the funicular is working in winter, but certainly fabulous mountain views"
Along the Swiss shore of Lake Maggiore, all funiculars are running all the year round. Locarno, protected from Northern winds by more than 2000 metres high mountains, has a much milder winter climate than Stresa etc. anyway.
The Stresa - Mottarone funivia is closed in November only.

Thank you all for your answers. I think I will cancel Florence, Perugia, Asissi and stay in the North.
I already have the car, so I will be able to do a lot of sightseeing and scenic drives....as long as I'm not required to put chains, I have no experience driving through the snow.

Which towns or cities in North Italy do you recommend. Will I get into trouble due to the ZTLs in Verona? Trento? Bolzano?

"Will I get into trouble due to the ZTLs in Verona? Trento? Bolzano?"

I don't know about "trouble," but nearly every Italian town/city has a ZTL and certainly the 3 you mention.

Snow in Bolzano would be very rare but not impossible. Overnight frost wouldn't be unusual.

Why do you want a car? You don't need one for Verona, Trento or Bolzano and yes, they all have ZTLs and yes, if you even accidentally drive into one you will incur large fines. You could always stay on the outskirts but then you'd need public transportation to the city center sites. If you use the train you can find a hotel right in the center and probably walk to everything. I would only rent a car if I wanted to visit several small villages that don't have good train service.

Having said that, I did have a car when I based in Bolzano (we were doing day trips into the mountains every day, thus the car. The one day we went to Trento we left the car in Bolzano and took the train). So there are some hotels outside the TZL that are walking distance to the center. About 20 minutes if I recall.