One Week Trip
Italy is such an incredible country with many top tourist destinations. We had found an affordable round trip flight to Milan and couldn’t pass it up. This is the itinerary we came up with for the week. From the US, many flights to Europe are red eyes, so that constitutes the first day. The flight back was in the morning. So ultimately, we had 5 days to explore. We really crammed in a ton! Hope this itinerary helps in your own journey!
Getting to Milan
Our direct flight to Milan left from the United States at 6:25 PM and arrived at 8:10 AM. From the airport you can take the Malanpensa Express for 13 euros one way to Centrale Terminal for trains. To do this, follow signs to train terminal in airport. The machines to buy ticket takes cash or credit card. Your credit or debit card must have a pin to purchase through the machines. Make sure to validate you card before getting on. The ride to the Central train terminal is about a 50 minute ride. Another alternative is to take a shuttle bus for about 60 minutes from airport for 10 euros. We stayed near the Central Train terminal for convivence. If you prefer to stay in other area you can easily grab the metro from the Central Train terminal.
Getting around
Within Milan, the Metro Milan is cheap and easy to use! It costs 2.20 euro per 90 minutes can go on and off as many times in that time frame. The machines only give change up to 9 euros so make sure to have small bills. There are daily or multi-day passes available if going to be in city for several days. Can also buy a 10 pass use.
Our trip involved going to Bologna, which we did by train. Fast trains take about 1 hour. Slow local train 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes depending on stops. Downtown Bologna is about 20 minute walk from the train station.
From Bologna, we did a day trip to San Marino (the 5th smallest country in the world) via train to Rimini and bus from Rimini to San Marino.
We elected to do a day tour to Lake Como, Tirano, and the Bernina Express to St. Moritz in Switzerland. It was the best use of time on our tight schedule but if your itinerary allows you can take a train to Como from Milan and then boat/ferry between cities along Lake Como.
Six day itinerary
Day One- milan
Flight from United States left day before at 6:25 PM and landed at 8:10 AM at the Milan Airport (MXP). After getting through customs we headed into the city via the Malanpensa Express which for 13 euros one way brought us to Centrale Terminal. We stayed at hotel close to the train station. We dropped our bags but couldn’t check in yet so we explored around the area and found a place to grab some food. We then got alert we could check in early! We gladly went back and took a much needed nap before planning to head out to explore. After our nap, we headed to the Duomo. We passed by the Teatro alla Scala, walked through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and explored the Sforzesco Castle. We had a nice dinner and went back to the Duomo to see it at night!
DAY TWO-Milan and Bologna
Today after having breakfast at our hotel, we headed to the iconic Last Supper. We booked these tickets well in advance and strongly encourage any visitor to do so as they book out quickly. We paid slightly more to get the guided tour and thought that was well worth it. To get there we took the metro and walked. We allotted some extra time and thus were able to explore Santa Maria delle Grazie basilica. After this we headed back to our hotel to pick up our bags and take the train from Milan to Bologna. We booked our train ticket day before and because it was due to rain all afternoon and cost of booking last minute we elected to take the slow train which was about 3 hours ride. We had dinner reservations in Bologna which was great! It was pouring so we didn’t do as much exploration and we headed to bed early for our big day trip to San Marino.
DAY THREE-Rimini and San Marino
Today we woke up early and headed to the train station to go from Bologna to Rimini. The train takes 1-2 hours depending on which you book. On arrival in Rimini you can purchase a ticket for bus to San Marino which takes about 50 minutes. San Marino is the 5th smallest country in the world and is a UNESCO Historic Center. It boasts beautiful cobblestone streets, medieval towers and sweeping views (on clear days!). After exploring the Basilica, Towers, and the adorable streets we headed back to Rimini. There we purchased our tickets back to Bologna allowing for some time for us to explore Rimini. Here we saw the Malatestiano Temple, Arco di Augusto, Palazzo Garampi, Piazza Tre Martiniri and Ponte di Tiberio. Back in Bologna we had another epic dinner
DAY FOUR-Bologna
Today was the day to explore Bologna. We had already been on a little bit of a culinary journey with amazing dinners the nights before. Bologna is known for its cuisine. But now we were going to explore some of the top sites! After breakfast, we headed out to walk the longest covered walkway in the world. Leading from downtown up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. It was a great little workout and well worth the trip up. After that we headed back to Bologna to the Piazza Maggiore, Basilica di San Petronio, Fontana del Nettuno, the Two Towers, Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano and the Finestrella. We took train back to Milan in the late afternoon.
DAY Five-Epic tour- Lake Como, Bernina scenic train, and St. Moritz Switzerland
Realizing we were tight on time and the logistics of doing train into Switzerland we elected to do a day tour. When initially planning the trip we thought of spending a few days up in Lake Como but substituted it out with the trip down to Bologna, Rimini and San Marino. The tour picked up near the Central Train station- convienent again! The bus drove with its first stop at Lake Como. There we got a boat ride and were able to see some of the classic towns along the lake. The weather was sunny and perfect! After exploring Lake Como we headed to Tirano Italy where we got a brief tour of the downtown and the church and had some free time to buy food, drinks, souvenirs before heading to the Bernina Express train. The train ride is stunningly beautiful and landed in St. Moritz. We got a brief walking tour and then had some free time to eat or explore more. We then got back on the bus back to Milan and had our last nice Italian dinner.
DAY SIX-Milan back home
We had a late morning flight back to the United States. We were able to have breakfast and then head back to the Central Terminal in Milan to take the Malenpsa express back to the airport. That takes about 50 minutes so make sure to allot the correct time. After the direct flight back and customs we drove home. It was a packed trip but it was so incredible!
