6 Italian cities in 6 days. Sounds crazy? Here's how we made it!

You only have a week in Italy and want to see as much as possible, what to do?
As you guessed from the title, this post is about the time we managed to visit 6 Italian cities in just 6 days! Indeed, in such a short time we went to Verbania, Milan, Bologna, Venice, Florence and Rome.

 We obviously think Italy should be seen without rushing in order to be really appreciated.
However, our little trip turned out completely fine and we had 5 exciting and intense days,

The reason we decided to take this challenge is that 2 friends of ours from Hong Kong, that we met studying in the UK, came to visit us over the Easter holidays.
They had never been to Italy and had only a week so we wanted to show them as much of our country as possible. Here's how we did it.

DAY 1 - VERBANIA 

After picking our friends up from the airport of Milan Malpensa, we spent the day in Verbania, our hometown.

Verbania is a town on the Western side of Lake Maggiore. Gardens and parks are the major tourist attraction here but usually people just enjoy walking by the lake and sitting in one of the many bars and enjoy the view. It is not a particularly popular destination among travelers planning a trip to Italy but we think it's absolutely worth visiting it!
Apart from it, there are a lot of beautiful towns and villages by the lake which are perfect to enjoy a bit of La Dolce Vita and the 3 islands on Lake Maggiore can also be visited on a nice day.

We spent a very chilled day there, walked by the lake, did a bit of shopping, had a nice aperitivo and visited the main place of interest such as the Church of San Vittore.


DAY 2 - MILAN

The following day, we took the train to Milan.

Train from Verbania-Pallanza station to Milan Porta Garibaldi = 1h 34min

If you have the chance to go by car, do watch out for the Congestion Charge area (Area C)! 

That's the restricted traffic zone in the center of Milan, the access to it is limited on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 7.30 to 19.30, and Thursday from 7.30 to 18. To enter during these times, you muct activate an entrance ticket of 5 euros.

The best option is definitely to park outside of the city and then get the metro.

Milan has so much to offer! From history and architecture to shopping. However it is totally possible to see its highlights in a day.

WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T MISS IN MILAN: 

• The Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) is the symbol of the city and dominates the main square. Entrance is free but you should by a ticket to visit the terraces. 

• The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is situated right next to the Duomo and it's pretty impressive, just walk around and admire the mosaics but keep in mind that shops and coffee bars in there are pretty expensive!

• La Scala Opera is still not far from the Duomo square and is surrounded by other importand buildings such as Palazzo Marino and the City Hall. Here you can visit the museum and view the theatre from the boxes.

• The Brera District is an amazing place to wander around near La Scala. It's an artsy neighborhood with traditional bars and restaurants that are perfect for a tasty break.

• The Castello Sforzesco was home of the noble Visconti family, you can visit it for free and then walk around Parco Sempione, one of the biggest parks in Milan.

• The Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio is the church containing the crypt the patron saint of Milan. Before entering it there is a beautiful portico and in the church there is a beautiful golden altar and stunning mosaics.

After visiting as much as we could, we took the train back to Verbania.

Staying in Milan overnight would have also been a good alternative though as it's so close to the other cities we wanted to see! 

DAY 3 - BOLOGNA 

Bologna is the place where we were born, where our childhood home still is and where we often go to visit relatives. It is an amazing city and its location is perfect and so close to other main cities! 

We went there by car from Verbania which took around 3h, alternatively it is really easy to reach it by train from Milan.

It was a such a sunny day that we really didn't want to visit museums so we just walked around and finished the day with one of the best aperitivos ever in the University Quarter.

Bologna is home of many traditional dishes such as the tortellini, mortadella and tagliatelle with bolognese sauce. At every corner there are shops displaying local products so we always get stocket on food before going back to Verbania. Tamburini is our go-to place for tortellini.

The Piazza Maggiore is incredibly lively and surrounded by little streets that made us want to get lost. The Basilica di San Petronio, the main church, is the tenth largest church in the world.

Right next to Piazza Maggiore, the little Piazza del Nettuno hosts a spectacular fountain with a nude bronze statue of Neptune.

Everytime we go to Bologna we also enjoy visiting the Sala Borsa, the former trade center, that is now a library with a transparent floor display of archeological excavations.

We spent the night in Bologna.

DAY 4 - VENICE

How could we not visit Venice? We took the train from Bologna which took 1h and 30 min and had plenty of time to visit most of it.

The city itself is so pretty and we thought that having only a day to see it, it was best to avoid wasting time queuing for museums (it's soo touristy!). 

However, if museums are essential in your visit, do take advantage of the San Marco Museum Plus pass which includes all 4 museums in St. Mark's Square at only 13 euros and is valid from the 1st of April to the first of November!

WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T MISS IN VENICE:

• The Ca' d'Oro is a magnificent palace where it is possible to find the most important paintings of the Italian school.

• The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute is a beautiful white church, home of many renowned masterpieces and with a terrific view on St. Mark's Square.

• Rialto is the oldest bridge in Venice, close to the shopping area with many restaurants and the local market. 

• St. Mark's square is where the real vibe of the city can be felt! Just sit at one of the many bars and enjoy the view and the live music.

• The Doge's Palace is one of the landmarks included in the San Marco Museum Plus Pass. It is an ancient Gothic building with majestic staircases, gold mosaics, marble floors and the opportunity to walk through the Bridge of Sighs.

After visiting Venice, we took the train back to Bologna.

DAY 5 - FLORENCE

Florence is our favourite city in Italy, hands down! There is something very special about it. The train journey from Bologna took about an hour. One day in Florence is actually not much but it's still enough time to understand what makes the city so great.

Starting from the station, we walked til Piazza della Repubblica and then sat down in Piazza della Signoria to admire the beautiful architecture. We visited the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore got to the top of the Cupolone to see the city from up above.

We had a burger to die for at a small corner burger shop (it costed us € 12 but we'll never forget how good it was!) and a true gelato afterwards that we enjoyed while walking towards Ponte Vecchio. 

We took probably 1000 pics of the bridge and the evening came. Looking for a place to have a drink, as it was St. Patrick's day, we ended up in an Irish pub (yep, very traditional ;) ), had a few pints and won fashionable Guinness hats. 

We spent the night in a hotel in Florence, near the station.

DAY 6 - ROME

On the last day of our trip we woke up early and took the train to Rome which took 1h and 30 min from Florence.

I know it sounds crazy to see Rome in a day, but we already knew what we absolutely wanted to see and went straight to the main landmarks! 

We started with the Colosseum, then explored the Forum and walked over the hill until the Pantheon. After admiring the ceiling of the Pantheon, we headed to Piazza Navona to sit down and chill.

After lunch, we threw a coin and made a wish (that came true!) at the Trevi Fountain and headed to the Spanish steps before taking the train back to Milan and then Verbania. 

Obviously we decided to go back to Verbania because they were flying back from Milan the following day but spending the night in Rome and flying from there could be more convenient! 

Hope our experience was interesting to you and will help you out when planning your trip to Italy!

Feel free to follow us on Instagram and drop us a DM if you need any tips when planning your next adventures!