Things to see/do in Milan and Northern Italy ?

Question

I am in Milan for a couple of days in March 2008. I want to take my wife somewhere nice and beautiful. I do not have loads of cash, but am quite happy to travel by train to the surrounding areas. Any advice on transport links and places to go would be great. I have read that Milan itself is a bit grim and very expensive......Please help !.

Answer 1

Go in the nature!

Go to see "Isole borromeee in Lago Maggiore", wanderful!

http://www.borromeoturismo.it/scripts/ho...

Try Mottarone, Arona, Stresa, Varese, como Lecco.

All beauty places at last 1hour from Milano.

By.

Answer 2

Get a car and go up into the Dolomites - the coolest mountains in the world.   There's  the Lago de Garda which is a huge alpine lake with some quant little towns around it.  Then there are dozens of nice little highways winding up thru the mountains.  The scenery is gorgeous and the people tend to be friendly.

Answer 3

The only touristy places I can think of are around the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele and the art gallery Pinacoteca di Brera. If you want to see something beautiful, I suggest taking a trip out to Lake Como. Renting a car is not very expensive in Europe. Check out the rates at EuropeCar, Avis and Hertz when you arrive at the airport.

http://www.comolake.com/index.php?lang=e...

About the Mr. X above who suggested "to see and do Italian girls" let me assure you that he's only dreaming and bragging. Italian girls are not easy especially not for those who don't speak italian.

The last poster suggested Dolomites and Lake Garda. These are nice places but quite far away - 3 to 5 hours by car. For that distance you're better off going to Venice.

Answer 4

It's a short train journey (about 40 minutes) to Como where you can visit the historic town and beautiful Lake Como.

In Milan itself the Duomo is free and absolutely amazing and you should wander through the Victor Emmanuel II mall to the La Scala.  You can also walk through the castle grounds for free and there's a lovely park on the other side

Answer 5

Definetly go to Lake Como.  Try to find a boat tour.  You must go to the Villa die Balbinello (sp?).  It is breathtaking.

Also if you are there for a while..take a train to Portofino or any of the Cinque Terre.  Really any of the coastal towns are beautiful and a good day trip.  It will take you about 2 or 3 hours to get to any of them.

I lived in Genoa for 6 months.  I love the city, but skip it unless you have loads of time.  Go to a small coastal village.

Answer 6

What does "a couple of days" mean?

You visit Milan in about 2 days and you won't have time to go elsewhere.

If you are going to stay there some days more you can go by train to Como. From Cadorna station a train leaves every 30 minutes towards Como, it takes quite a lot, about 1 hour, but it's worth (and the train stops direct at the lake). In como you can visit the city, which is not very big and very tiny, and you can take the "funicolare" (a sort of train) which takes you to a town, Brunate, you can see the city and the lake from.

I think Turin is a bit too far, a train takes about 2/3 hours to get there.

If you want another nice city you can go to Pavia, but the train doesn't leave from Cadorna station but from the Central station. It won't take too much, I think about an hour or less.

Pavia is very nice, not big and not noisy.

Or you can go to the sea if you like, to Genova. The train leaves from Central station and it takes I think 2 hours. You can see the old city, the old harbour and the famous aquarium (the price is quite high I suppose). There you can eat the "focaccia", which is a sort of very large and thin baked bread with oil and salt. It's fantastic.

Enjoy your trip!

Answer 7

Milan is a grey Business city, but does have some interesting things and places to see. Before you leave it take a look at the Duomo (Cathedral, with Art shows nearby and the "Galleria" shopping mall); the Castello Sforzesco (Art shows);  have an evening at la Scala (Top World theatre) and take your wife along via Montenapoleone (Top fashion street). In March Spring should be near so travel to Como and the Como Lake, or Arona and the Lago Maggiore,  great little places, with the chance to boat it out at a low cost. Another attractive town is nearby Bergamo, the old city on the hill is a treat and you can reach it by an inexpensive "Funicular" from the “new” city. You'll find that Train travel is far from expensive and you can get a Tourist ticket  (husband/wife) through your Travel Agent. Nearby Turin is also worth visiting, with the Royal Palace and the Cathedral. That should just about fill up your days.

Buona permanenza

Answer 8

Turin!!! It's a wonderful city and it's near Milan... you can take the train... it's very fast and confortable!!! Here there are many things to see... monuments and museums... better than anywhere else....

Answer 9

Ask people from Italy and Milan! go to http://www.wayn.com and join the community. I use this for my holidays and the information I get is great from the people who are here

Answer 10

Oh, I see you have a wife,I was going to say you could see and do the local italian girls,but i'm sure your wife wouldn't approve,pity,that's my best input i'm afraid.Free as well.

Answer 11

I'm from Rome. Any time I've been in Milan it was for job. Anyway, if you go in Milan just for a couple of day you'll not have time to visit a lot, expecially in the surroundin areas. But, in Milan there is the most important paint of Leonardo Da Vinci. Did you read "The Vinci Code"?

I send you the links!

Answer 12

Milan is wonderful.First of all the symbol of Milan, the duomo,.Second, the art gallery of Brera, Santa Maria delle Grazie with the last supper of da Vinci(reservation obligatory), castello sforzesco, the Sempione parc.Museum of Scala di Milano, and then you can do an excursion in the lake of Como..

For information:

www.trenitalia.it