Anonymous wrote:I love Florence. Milan is boring.

+1000

Don't spend a lot of time in Milan and maybe skip Venice.

Even if you're not into museums, Florence is a great town to just walk around in, shop, enjoy the views, and get gelato. You should be sure to visit the Ponte Vecchio (bridge with shops), walk up the Duomo, Piazza Michelangelo (for the views), Boboli gardens.

It's also a good base to do a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano, (and Pisa - but I found Pisa boring, but some people really want to see the leaning tower).

You must be kidding....

Florence has the Uffizi Gallery. It has Santa Croce- the burial site of Michelangelo, Gallileo, Machiavelli, Rossini....
Florence was where the world's banking and financial system was created in addition to having a major role in the Renaissance. Some of the most historical events in THE WORLD have taken place here.

I swear some of you people are so pretentious and just concerned with what you post on Facebook that you are completely ignorant. But yeah, you are so much smarter than people in the midwest. Go stay at your cheesy hotels in Croatia so everyone can see how "exotic" you are

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, I would do Florence and drop Venice. I hate Venice. It is so overrun as a tourist trap. Or go to Venice for 1 day and then spend the rest of your time in Rome.

This

I feel they are both overrun, but Venice almost takes on a Disney esque type of feel. Going in April, because wife has never been. I have been 15-20 times and could really go without it.

a


Will you people please get over yourselves? You need to see Venice in your lifetime. Forget what it's become- focus on the amazing history of the place for god sakes. There is no other place in the world like it.

Agreed, and I am anti-Disney. That's said, I'd skip Milan and Pisa.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, I would do Florence and drop Venice. I hate Venice. It is so overrun as a tourist trap. Or go to Venice for 1 day and then spend the rest of your time in Rome.

This

I feel they are both overrun, but Venice almost takes on a Disney esque type of feel. Going in April, because wife has never been. I have been 15-20 times and could really go without it.

a


Will you people please get over yourselves? You need to see Venice in your lifetime. Forget what it's become- focus on the amazing history of the place for god sakes. There is no other place in the world like it.

I agree with dropping Milan but it sounds like you're set on it (haven't been to Bergamo). Depending on how long you're there, you could pop up to Como which is a couple hours away I believe.

Definitely don't skip Florence even if you're not into art. Walk across the ponte vecchio and check out boboli gardens for sure. The duomo is fun to climb as well if it's not too crowded. There's also a great indoor/outdoor food market that's cool to see. and eat all of the gelato!

Venice I liked but didn't go when it was super crowded. I just think it's so different and interesting it's worth seeing even if crowded though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, I would do Florence and drop Venice. I hate Venice. It is so overrun as a tourist trap. Or go to Venice for 1 day and then spend the rest of your time in Rome.

OP, here again. I’ve heard mixed things about Venice too. We’re going in the spring so hopefully Venice isn’t too bad. Since it’s our first time to Italy, maybe it will all be fascinating?

We are flying in and out of Milan. I would probably be fine with staying in Milan/Bergamo the whole time and maybe going to Lake Como and into the mountains. If anybody has Northern Italy recs, please share.

Our then 10 year old daughter loved Venice, and we went back when she was 15 (and she loved it again). Go on weekdays and stay in one of the less touristy neighborhoods.

We also went to Florence when she was 10. I'm betting she remembers nothing about it.

I love Florence. Milan is boring.

Drop Venice and Pisa - huge tourist traps. Nothing really there very interesting.
Keep Florence, add Siennna

We LOVED Venice so much and thought it was magical (but we also love Disney so maybe that's why according to pp). Florence was great too. We did 3 nights in each, but probably could have done just 2 nights in Florence. The part that I really loved in Florence was our AirBnB, which was extremely quiet on the inside but basically was on this busy pedestrian street with shops, restaurants, etc. right around the corner (like 2 minute walk) from the Duomo. Visiting the area around the Duomo at any time of day, but especially at night, was amazing.

I would recommend limiting yourself to two cities if you’re only there for a week (with day excursions from your two home bases). Otherwise the packing and moving from city to city is too much.

If you want to use Florence as a base for day trips in Tuscany, you should really go to Siena. It is amazing and a short trip from Florence.

We adored Florence - stayed at the hotel grand Minerva which is centrally located and has a rooftop pool with stunning views. We did a few museums and day trips to Tuscany and Venice - Venice was so over crowded, took a lot of the fun out of it. Loved Tuscany and spending an afternoon at a winery. Florence was the perfect home base and as others said, had great food, and just really nice streets to wander around.

Anonymous wrote:Here we go again with the “overrun with tourists” trope.

I love Italy.
I would not stay in Naples and do day trips as Naples is my least favorite and I thought one day was plenty..

+1. I traveled all throughout Italy via train during a summer working abroad. The ONLY place I did not like was Naples lol

Here we go again with the “overrun with tourists” trope.

I love Italy.
I would not stay in Naples and do day trips as Naples is my least favorite and I thought one day was plenty..

We went a few years ago, flew in and out of Milan. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but it was okay. We did 3 days in Florence and I could have done at least one more day. I would have loved to have gotten lost there and just walked around more.
I will say, spread out your museum days. My DH and I really enjoy art but we even got art fatigue.
My suggestion, eat the bore in Florence. I still Dream about the bore ravioli I had there.
DONT SKIP FLORENCE.