| What city should I visit in northern Italy for two days?

What city should I visit in northern Italy for two days?

compstond asked:

In my study abroad program, I have a four day weekend in Europe coming up and want to travel somewhere. I will be spending the first two days (Friday and Saturday) in Nice, France and want to spend the other two days in northern Italy while I am close. However, I am unsure where in Italy to go.

The cities I am considering are:
- Genoa (because it is so close and a French/Italian riviera tour sounds fun)
- Milan (because it is so big and I could probably find plenty to see and do here)
- Florence (because I have heard it is beautiful and has a lot of art)
- Venice (because it is a big tourist spot, although this also puts me off)

Having said this, I am open to any other suggestions. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Comments

5 Responses to “What city should I visit in northern Italy for two days?”

  1. mtaylo1 on April 4th, 2009 6:09 pm

    Definitely between Florence and Venice - both manageable size with tons to see. In your case I would probably say Florence since distance seems important to you and it is much closer. There are good reasons you don’t see many tourists in Genoa and Milan: they are relatively unattractive places and there is little there of interest to the casual traveler.

  2. gemmachiara on April 7th, 2009 3:44 pm

    Okay I am Italian and love it. I have been to Florence and enjoyed the art o much. But Florence can also have alot of tourists. A great city to go to is called Volterra, it is about an hour away from Florence and i sreally small and beautiful, u dont have to stay 4 2 whole days but even 4 a queiet afternoon. I have a house there and it is always so quiet, go an you will ahve a blast

  3. sueet2b on April 10th, 2009 2:24 pm

    what i recommend you to do is definetly visit venice and definetly venice. i mean if you have little time to use, i would skip milan, i mean if you had your options within milan or anyother top city in itlay, i would choose the other city. milan is a dirty, ugly, place, i mean yeah its with momuments and all but its not clean, historically well kept city like florence. so my advice SKIP milan, you wouldnt like it at all, i know. second genova, is a nice are, its really dirty, i mean dog shit everywhere, trash here and there, but i guess all ports are like that. if you have time, its not bad visiting it. but the top ones i recommend is, Florence and Venice and if your going that far down to Florence, visit the town of San Gimignano which is about 1 hour away from florence and the only access is by bus not train. its a real real real cool little town still stands today with the city walls in the middle of nowhere in the countryside. that you DEFINETLY love to see.

    hope it helps!

  4. pierluisa on April 13th, 2009 9:49 pm

    If you want shopping, Milan is the place to go (it’s NOT THAT dirty!!!!)

    If you want Art, either Florence or Venice are great, but I find Venice more peculiar and romantic.

    I don’t particularly like Genoa, although I was born there, but they have a great Aquaìrium!

  5. jetgirly on April 16th, 2009 12:27 am

    You should definitely look into Torino (Turin). It’s very close to the France/Italy border and recently hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics. If you’re interested in art and architecture, it’s got FANTASTIC Baroque buildings and it’s at the forefront of Italy’s contemporary art scene. There is a park in the city center with waterfront nightclubs that are open nightly in the summer, and there is fantastic shopping along Via Roma (everything from Louis Vuitton to H&M). Torino is also home to the National Cinema Museum, which is interactive and housed in a beautiful domed building (the Mole Antonelliana which appears on two-cent coins). The real advantage of visiting Torino is the authentic, non-touristy feel, good prices and proximity to France (meaning more sightseeing, less traveling). I lived in Torino for two years and have a website for visitors, check it out below!