7 days in Tuscany, and Cinque Terre

Pommieb

New member
7-Day itinerary for Tuscany, Cinque Terre and Milan

Seeking your kind advice, comments and recommendations for our 7-day trip this June.
We're a family of 3 (2 parents and 12-year-old daughter), hiring a car from Milan Airport, for the whole trip.
So far, the plan is:
Day 1
Fly into Milan early morning.
Drive straight down to factory outlets at Serravalle.
Go shopping for a few hours.
Drive to La Spezia. Overnight at B&B or hotel.
Day 2
Dedicated to Cinque Terre only. Can only spare one day for CT due to shortness of whole trip unfortunately.
Heard that taking a boat gives the best views of the CT villages. Also read that many paths between the villages are temporarily closed. What would be your recommended itinerary for sampling the delights of CT in one day. We have to be very selective, I guess. Our interests would be sightseeing, photography and shopping?
We intend to leave the car at the hotel in La Spezia and take the boat between villages. Is this a good idea? We read that car access and car parking are problematic in the summer season.
Stay a second night in La Spezia (is there a more convenient location?). Ideally the hotel will be located close to the harbour, with free parking! (But we haven't booked any accommodation yet).
Day 3
Drive to Pisa for sightseeing, then on to Siena. Need a central base in Tuscany for 2-3 days. Is Siena the best choice?
Day 4
Day trip to Florence by car, admiring the views along the way.
Visit Duomo, Accademia and Piazzale Michaelangelo in Florence.
Day 5
South Tuscany including Val d'Orcia
Day 6
Chianti and north Tuscany.
Day 7
Drive back to Milan.
Visit the cathedral.
Overnight at an airport hotel for early departure tomorrow.
Day 8
Depart Milan airport.

Do you think this schedule is a bit ambitious? We would be happy to receive your advice.
 
Ambitious

Buongiorno,

ambitious...maybe a bit but i guess it really depends on how active you are on vacation :cool:

Instead of La Spezia you could look at staying in Levanto, everytime I have gone to CT and overnighted I stayed in this little town. a bit smaller than La Spezia - so you get a different feel. Parking was not a problem and it has both train and boat connections directly into CT. I would train it in and visit a few of the towns via train (its not necessary to hike them) and then take the boat to return to Levanto.

If you were looking to make a base somewhere convenient then I would suggest looking around Montespertoli or Gambassi Terme

http://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/montespertoli/
(Le Torri or Agriturismo Montalbino)

or

http://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/tenuta-quadrifoglio.html

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
Levanto

Grazie mille, Donna Denise. Levanto would be a better choice than La Spezia as it would reduce the length of the drive from Milan on the first day.
 
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