Italy - Milan vs Naples

[expatjen]

Hello travel friends, 

I'm heading to Italy next May for 12 days. I'm trying to decide if I should dedicate time to exploring Naples (Pompeii) or go north of Rome to hit Milan and possibly Turin.  I'd have about 3 days to explore either destination in combination with 3 days in Florence and 5 days in Rome. 

If you've been to Naples and the surrounding region, did you like it? Would it be a better place to explore vs. Milan? 

I've been to Italy multiple times (Rome, Venice, Milan, Sardinia), but my partner has never been, so he's keen to visit Rome, Florence and 1 other destination. 

I'd appreciate any insight! 

Mahalo 

[mrsd2006]

Haven't been to Milan, wasn't crazy about Naples. What about the Amalfi Coast area? Positano, Capri, etc. You could hit Naples for a day and see Pompeii then head towards the coast.

[expatjen]

mrsd2006, I do love the idea of sipping aperol spritz's overlooking the coast

[mrsd2006]

Jul 18, 2024 14:46:54 GMT -5 expatjen said:

mrsd2006 , I do love the idea of sipping aperol spritz's overlooking the coast

You can't beat that!! We stayed a few days at the Belmond Caruso in Ravello, which was magical, then a few days in Positano at Villa Rosa. 

[dutchgirl678]

From Florence you could do a day trip to a nearby city like Siena or Lucca. I have only been to Turin for business but I wouldn't necessarily visit it for sightseeing, same with Milan. Amalfi Coast is really nice. You could stay in Sorrento and visit Pompeii from there as well as Capri and other cities on the Amalfi coast. 3 days is not a lot though.

[expatjen]

Jul 18, 2024 14:50:46 GMT -5 mrsd2006 said:

Jul 18, 2024 14:46:54 GMT -5 expatjen said:

mrsd2006 , I do love the idea of sipping aperol spritz's overlooking the coast

You can't beat that!! We stayed a few days at the Belmond Caruso in Ravello, which was magical, then a few days in Positano at Villa Rosa. 

I'll check them out! Thanks  

[expatjen]

Jul 18, 2024 15:00:58 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

From Florence you could do a day trip to a nearby city like Siena or Lucca. I have only been to Turin for business but I wouldn't necessarily visit it for sightseeing, same with Milan. Amalfi Coast is really nice. You could stay in Sorrento and visit Pompeii from there as well as Capri and other cities on the Amalfi coast. 3 days is not a lot though.

I wasn't too impressed with Milan - I was also there for work, so I mainly saw the inside of conference rooms.  

Turin was on the partner's list only because of football (soccer), so good to know it's not that great for sightseeing. 

I'll check out Sorrento as a base, thanks!

[majesty318]

I only went to Milan once, and it was 24 years ago.

I have been to Naples twice in the past couple years and I absolutely LOVE IT. Pompeii is amazing and there will always be new things to see. Naples is cheap and authentic with delicious food. You can also easily go to the Amalfi Coast from there and various day trips to other sites/ ruins.

[mrsukyankee]

I love the area and towns/cities around Florence. I would entirely spend time around there (I enjoyed it much more than Rome).

[cheekywife]

Jul 19, 2024 15:40:28 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I love the area and towns/cities around Florence. I would entirely spend time around there (I enjoyed it much more than Rome).

+1 for this. rome is great but florence and tuscany will always be my favorite part of italy. two places in 12 days would be enough for me. 

[expatjen]

Thanks for all the feedback!

We're thinking of flying into Rome and staying the night (as our flight would land close to 8pm). Then next day take the train up to Florence - spend 4/5 nights in Florence and then make our way back to Rome for the remainder of the trip (so another 6/7 nights in Rome).

The partner wants to do a day trip to Pompeii from Rome - has anyone done this? Is it an incredibly tiring/long day?

Also, has anyone done the Colosseum night tour? It sounds fun and different.

[dutchgirl678]

From Rome for a day trip also check out Ostia Antica. It is similar to Pompeii but only 30 minutes by train. You can go to Pompeii but it takes more time (70 minutes on the fast speed train to Naples and 40 on the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii) www.seat61.com/places-of-interest/day-trip-to-pompeii.htm

[majesty318]

Jul 20, 2024 15:34:39 GMT -5 expatjen said:

Thanks for all the feedback!

We're thinking of flying into Rome and staying the night (as our flight would land close to 8pm). Then next day take the train up to Florence - spend 4/5 nights in Florence and then make our way back to Rome for the remainder of the trip (so another 6/7 nights in Rome).

The partner wants to do a day trip to Pompeii from Rome - has anyone done this? Is it an incredibly tiring/long day?

Also, has anyone done the Colosseum night tour? It sounds fun and different.

It is really hard to get tickets for the night tour. They release I believe 30 days in advance - I literally set my alarm for 2 AM US time to try to get tickets when they released at 8 AM Italy time, and I couldn't get them. We finally managed to get tickets for the night tour in Italian. We don't speak Italian, but I can understand a little bit. It was very cool and also beautiful to see at night (see pics). They run a lot more tours in Italian than in English so I think it is worth doing even if you can only get the Italian tour.

Pompeii from Rome is totally possible if that is your only option. I think it would be worth it if the alternative is not seeing Pompeii. But I have done Pompeii from Naples (which is obviously much closer) 3 times, and that is exhausting. So from Rome will be even more tiring. At least in May it shouldn't be a million degrees.

BTW one of my top sites in Rome - coopculture.inera.it/en/poi/domus-aurea/ - ruins of an ancient palace, all underground now. Only open on the weekends and you have to prebook.

Attachments:

[expatjen]

Jul 20, 2024 20:46:48 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

From Rome for a day trip also check out Ostia Antica. It is similar to Pompeii but only 30 minutes by train. You can go to Pompeii but it takes more time (70 minutes on the fast speed train to Naples and 40 on the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii) www.seat61.com/places-of-interest/day-trip-to-pompeii.htm

Oh, thanks for the recommendation. Iʻll definitely check it out

[expatjen]

Jul 24, 2024 8:31:24 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

Jul 20, 2024 15:34:39 GMT -5 expatjen said:

Thanks for all the feedback!

We're thinking of flying into Rome and staying the night (as our flight would land close to 8pm). Then next day take the train up to Florence - spend 4/5 nights in Florence and then make our way back to Rome for the remainder of the trip (so another 6/7 nights in Rome).

The partner wants to do a day trip to Pompeii from Rome - has anyone done this? Is it an incredibly tiring/long day?

Also, has anyone done the Colosseum night tour? It sounds fun and different.

It is really hard to get tickets for the night tour. They release I believe 30 days in advance - I literally set my alarm for 2 AM US time to try to get tickets when they released at 8 AM Italy time, and I couldn't get them. We finally managed to get tickets for the night tour in Italian. We don't speak Italian, but I can understand a little bit. It was very cool and also beautiful to see at night (see pics). They run a lot more tours in Italian than in English so I think it is worth doing even if you can only get the Italian tour.

Pompeii from Rome is totally possible if that is your only option. I think it would be worth it if the alternative is not seeing Pompeii. But I have done Pompeii from Naples (which is obviously much closer) 3 times, and that is exhausting. So from Rome will be even more tiring. At least in May it shouldn't be a million degrees.

BTW one of my top sites in Rome - coopculture.inera.it/en/poi/domus-aurea/ - ruins of an ancient palace, all underground now. Only open on the weekends and you have to prebook.

Good advice for the night tour - thank you! 

My partner really wants to see Pompeii, but perhaps I can convince him to stay relatively local to Rome with all these cool recommendations!  

[wildrice]

Jul 24, 2024 19:52:54 GMT -5 expatjen said:

Jul 24, 2024 8:31:24 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

It is really hard to get tickets for the night tour. They release I believe 30 days in advance - I literally set my alarm for 2 AM US time to try to get tickets when they released at 8 AM Italy time, and I couldn't get them. We finally managed to get tickets for the night tour in Italian. We don't speak Italian, but I can understand a little bit. It was very cool and also beautiful to see at night (see pics). They run a lot more tours in Italian than in English so I think it is worth doing even if you can only get the Italian tour.

Pompeii from Rome is totally possible if that is your only option. I think it would be worth it if the alternative is not seeing Pompeii. But I have done Pompeii from Naples (which is obviously much closer) 3 times, and that is exhausting. So from Rome will be even more tiring. At least in May it shouldn't be a million degrees.

BTW one of my top sites in Rome - coopculture.inera.it/en/poi/domus-aurea/ - ruins of an ancient palace, all underground now. Only open on the weekends and you have to prebook.

Good advice for the night tour - thank you! 

My partner really wants to see Pompeii, but perhaps I can convince him to stay relatively local to Rome with all these cool recommendations!  

I was supposed to go to Pompeii from Rome a few months ago. There ended up being a train strike that day that meant I couldn't be certain I'd get back to Rome and catch my flight the next day, so I ended up skipping it. But anyway, I was supposed to take a high speed train from Rome to Naples, then take a different train to Pompeii. I think the total trip would have been 2ish hours each way, which IMO is doable even if not ideal. It sounds like you could easily spend a coupe of days at Pompeii, but it also should have been doable in a day if you are ok with not seeing every inch of it. I think personally if you have the time, I might take a train to Naples early 1 day and then spend the night that night, then back to Rome the following day. That would give you a little more of a relaxed time there and shouldn't be too strenuous.

I also loved Siena so if you want to add a third stop somewhere with Rome and Florence, I would recommend it! We just did 1 night there (different trip than the one in my first paragraph, too) and while it was probably enough to see the sights, I think we could have easily spent 2-3 nights there to just enjoy it, too. 

In case you are considering it, I think Pisa is skippable. I've been twice (both with groups where it wasn't really an option not to) and while it's cool to be able to say I was there, we saw so many other much more interesting and beautiful places elsewhere. 

[expatjen]

Jul 30, 2024 11:19:37 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Jul 24, 2024 19:52:54 GMT -5 expatjen said:

Good advice for the night tour - thank you! 

My partner really wants to see Pompeii, but perhaps I can convince him to stay relatively local to Rome with all these cool recommendations!  

I was supposed to go to Pompeii from Rome a few months ago. There ended up being a train strike that day that meant I couldn't be certain I'd get back to Rome and catch my flight the next day, so I ended up skipping it. But anyway, I was supposed to take a high speed train from Rome to Naples, then take a different train to Pompeii. I think the total trip would have been 2ish hours each way, which IMO is doable even if not ideal. It sounds like you could easily spend a coupe of days at Pompeii, but it also should have been doable in a day if you are ok with not seeing every inch of it. I think personally if you have the time, I might take a train to Naples early 1 day and then spend the night that night, then back to Rome the following day. That would give you a little more of a relaxed time there and shouldn't be too strenuous.

I also loved Siena so if you want to add a third stop somewhere with Rome and Florence, I would recommend it! We just did 1 night there (different trip than the one in my first paragraph, too) and while it was probably enough to see the sights, I think we could have easily spent 2-3 nights there to just enjoy it, too. 

In case you are considering it, I think Pisa is skippable. I've been twice (both with groups where it wasn't really an option not to) and while it's cool to be able to say I was there, we saw so many other much more interesting and beautiful places elsewhere. 

Regarding Pompeii... we are aware it's going to be an extremely long day, but he's determined  

Siena sounds (and looks) lovely - I'd be keen to see the architecture. I'll keep it on our "maybe" list. 

I've been to Pisa and it was ok - very crowded and touristy. My partner has no real interest in Pisa or Venice, so we'll probably skip those this trip. 

Anyone have Rome or Florence restaurant recommendations? We love to try all cuisines - we tend to do mid-range (price-wise), but are never opposed to spending money for a wonderful dining experience. We're not big drinkers, but do enjoy a prosecco or cocktail with the occasional dinner. 

[mrsukyankee]

In Florence: Cucina Conviviale. It's a bit out of the way but I really enjoyed it. We also enjoyed Il Cernacchio for lunch (fabulous sandwiches). Ristorante Braceria Auditore was a good steak restaurant.

[dutchgirl678]

Florence: Quatro Leoni was amazing. It is on the other side of the river, but worth it.

[expatjen]

dutchgirl678, mrsukyankee,
Thank you! Will put those on our list of places to eat! YUM

The pizza at Cucina Conviviale looks delish.

And the meats at Quatro Leoni look amazing!

We're most likely staying at the Westin in Florence.

As for Rome, we're strictly a Marriott/Starwood family, as that's where all our points are, but there are so many choices in Rome - last time I was there I stayed at an airbnb in Trastevere, but we're looking to burn some points, so Marriott hotel it will be.