We are taking a 17 day trip to Italy in early June for my family of 5. It will be me, my wife and our three children from 12-19 years old. I’m the only member of my family that has been to Europe before. I have been to Italy several times and many other countries but the last time was 25 years ago. Please critique or offer suggestions.
Milan is the most time crunched and hectic part so I created a dedicated post.
We arrive in Milan on the first day around 1:30pm local at Linate and we are staying near the San Babila Metro stop so we plan to take the M4/Blue line from the airport to the hotel. It will be about 5-10 minute walk from the Metro.
Our room will not be open for check-in until 4:00 unless we get lucky and they are empty. My plan is to drop off luggage and then head out for free roaming towards il Duomo and the Galleria Mall. If we can get in to the Duomo (Wednesday) we will do an informal tour and then spend time getting a meal or window shopping. I want this to be non-structured so that we can each deal with the time zone adjustment.
Once the rooms are available I will go back to the hotel and get us checked in unless they offer a service to get the luggage moved for us. It is a small hotel so I will check ahead. If we can stay out of bed until dusk I think it will help us adjust better.
The next morning we have some options and want to schedule something not too early but I don’t want them to sleep in too late. This is my main question - what to do this morning?
- Get coffee - I think they are looking forward to this
- Not planning to do The Last Supper/ Santa Maria delle Grazie since I did not get tickets in time
- Leonardo daVinci Science & Technology Museum
- Sforzesco Castle - Maybe this is better to see the outside at night?
- Other suggestions that would be 1-2 hours
We will need to get a train ticket from Stazione Centrale sometime during the day, noon or later. We are staying the next night in Vicenza and may stop in Verona on the way although it is a market day in Vicenza. I plan on catching the Metro with our bags to get to Centrale.
It will be about a 2 hour train trip so I want them to rest on the train. We may be on the train for lunch. Would you recommend the food on the train or to grab something to eat to take on the train? Is food allowed in the coaches or only in the dining cars?
Thanks!