5 nights in Tuscany from Milan: Itinerary and Home Base

sthombs

New member
Hello,

My husband and I will be travelling to Italy for a week at the end of May. We are flying in and out of Milan (arriving in the morning on a Sunday and departing the following Saturday morning), so we have just five nights/six days to explore Tuscany.

This site is wonderful and I now have quite a few ideas of must-sees- probably too many, actually! I'd love some help fine-tuning our plans prior to booking any rooms anywhere.

Right now, we are considering having brunch in Milan on the day of our arrival and then driving down to Lucca, where we will stay for two or three nights. We envision relaxing and wandering/biking around Lucca for a good 24 hours before deciding to start day tripping anywhere. (It's a long flight followed by a decent car ride to get there.)

While Lucca is our home base, we're thinking a side trip to Pisa (Pisa wasn't originally on our must-see list, but we assume we should do it since we'll be so close?) and Cinque Terra (on my husband's must-see list). Are there any other must-do's in easy driving distance of Lucca?

We also would like to visit Chianti and Siena or other towns you'd recommend as day trips nearby. Which town should be our home base for the next 1-2 nights?

For our last full day (Friday), we plan on driving back up to Milan and spending the night there as our flight the next morning is quite early. Where should be plan to stop along the drive to break up the four hour trip? Parma or Bologna or somewhere else? We would plan to leave the Chianti/Siena area in the late morning, have a leisurely lunch somewhere, and then get to Milan late afternoon/early evening to have time to tour around a bit.

We are not planning on visiting Florence as we have in the past and we know we just don't have time.

Any suggestions about our itinerary? I'm especially wondering about Cinque Terra and when it is best to fit in that day trip (or if it is even possible).

Thank you in advance!
 
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