Thanks for the detailed info. I will have a look at some books and see what we want to do. It's been about 3 years for me since Ive been to all those cities, so I need to brush up. Tickets to change would be about 200, considering the train may cost us almost that, I may fly into Venice instead of Milan. Just contemplating the 1 night in Milan to 2 in Venice or do 2 in Milan and head to Florence. Florence and the surrounding area is def one of my favorite places. I think 2 in Florence and 3 in Rome is ok, just need to sort the front end. We will be doing 1 night the day before in Madrid, after our long haul from DFW.
Thanks
Originally Posted by
sc flier
chanp,
I would suggest no less than 1 afternoon and 1 full day in Florence. bdemaria's suggestion for a morning train to Florence satisfies this goal if it is followed by a late afternoon or early evening train to Rome on the following day.
We did a fairly aggressive schedule for our recent trip (3 Rome, 4 Tuscany/Florence, 3 Venice, 2 Lake Como, half day in Milan). While planning, I realized that I needed to focus more on how many days we were in each city rather than just on how many nights. A late arrival into a city, 2 nights in the hotel, and an early morning departure would only provide for 1 actual day of sightseeing there. IMO, that's not enough for Venice or for Florence.
Similarly, if any particular museums interest you, verify which days they are closed. Many museums are closed on Mondays, and so this day is not an option for the major museums in Florence.
3 nights is not too much in Florence. Florence is also a good base for fairly inexpensive day trips on the train out to other places such as Pisa or Siena. And day trips like that mean that you don't have to haul all your luggage around, too.
One option is to head straight to either Venice or Florence on the afternoon of arrival into Milan. The train takes around 2 hours for either city. The train station in Florence is just a few blocks from the Westin. (Walk or take a taxi for around 10 Euros with luggage.) In Venice, you'd take a 25-minute ride on a vaporetto to the Danielli.
Or you might could get tickets to see the Last Supper in Milan that first afternoon. If interested, call directly to check availability. (The website cannot be trusted to show all availability.)
Technically, you could spend the first afternoon seeing a couple highlights in Milan and still take a train that evening to Milan or Venice. But you need to judge how much you and your parents really want to do on that day of arrival. An 11:15am flight arrival should hopefully not have been too tough on your sleep schedule for the flight over.
Rather than depending on FTers to tell you how many nights to spend in each city, I'd suggest looking at just about any guidebooks (or their websites) for Florence and Rome to get an idea of what sights and itineraries they suggest in each city. We don't know exactly what interests you and your parents. Museums? Churches? Food? Countryside? Bar hopping? Etc? There is fantastic art in Florence, but if that particular type of art doesn't interest you, what's the point in planning for those museums?
Before getting too far into your planning, be sure to verify hotel availability for all possible nights. With the Grand Hotel, Florence closed for renovations right now (reopening in May 2011 as a St Regis), demand might be a bit higher for rooms at the neighboring Westin.
No matter which city you are in, plan for a good bit of walking and/or standing. If you need to take taxis or buses around to reduce that amount, then plan accordingly in your budget of time and money.
Just a few of the options to consider for hotel nights:
1 Milan + 2 Venice + 1 Florence + 3 Rome
2 Venice + 2 Florence + 3 Rome
1 Milan + 3 Florence + 3 Rome
3 or 4 Florence + 3 or 4 Rome (with a day trip or two from those bases)
3 Venice + 2 Florence + 2 Rome
If it's even an option, would the cost be unreasonable to change your arrival city from Milan to Venice?