Originally Posted by
pavlovb
My wife and I are taking advantage of cheap flights in and out of Milan ....
We plan on standard sightseeing for one day at each city but would prefer a more leisurely trip taking advantage of good food, wine, locale and culture.
Is Milan +cost of train +lost travel time that much cheaper than an open jaw e.g. Rome Venice (and flying out of Venice is very cool, you can take a boat to the airport!)?
Your itinerary sounds good, except I think 4 nights in Venice is too many and would trim it and add the extra day(s) to Rome, there is so much more to see there. IMO 2 nights in Venice is enough for the main sights, 3 are plenty.
I would spread the sightseeing over the whole time you are there rather than trying to cram it into a single day (if that's what you mean), it can be pretty exhausting otherwise. A sight or two in the morning then relax the rest of the day.
Finally I would consider B&B/inn style accommodation in Rome over a traditional hotel, you will get more space, modern decor, and a significantly lower price. I would use e.g. Booking.com's map to scout the area for well priced and well rated places.
Enjoy the trip, a great time of year to be in Italy!