Northern Italy Itinerary — 6 nights in Milan, Lake Garda, & Venice

Cliffs Notes

• Milan — best meals were casual lunches at Loste and Peck Cafe. Good for a long weekend to see shops, art, and sites.
• Lake Garda — go when it’s warm and sunny and spend awhile exploring. It’s beautiful and relaxing. Don’t miss dinner or lunch at the very special Lido84.
• Venice — a must see in your life, but it’s overrun by tourists. The best food is Osteria alla Testiere and the best natural wine bar is Vino Vero. Go see a movie premier at the festival if you can.

Long Notes

I go into a ‘Beautiful Mind’ mode when I’m putting together vacation itineraries. I can’t think about anything else, I can barely sleep, I become completely obsessed. As a result my itineraries are some of my prized possessions — even the parts of them that aren’t perfect.

My Northern Italy itinerary was a whirlwind. It was a great trip — but I’ve also included notes about what I’d do differently next time. Sometimes I prefer staying in one place for longer to really get to know it and experience it. That way you can learn more about the local life, hear about local favorite restaurants, and uncover gems that aren’t in the guidebooks. This type of travel comes with the trades offs of seeing fewer things and occasional boredom, but I think a bit boredom can actually be luxurious and just the R&R you need.

However, this was not a trip to test out that theory. This was a trip to test the opposite theory of how seeing and experiencing many new things can make you feel alive and energized. How doing everything helps reduce your fomo. These two trip styles are basically a question of whether meditation or running is more helpful to escape your regular life stress and rumination. Ultimately I think we need both, but this trip was a RUN!

Day 1 — Milan Arrival Day

• Dinner at Paper Moon Giardino — we landed around 6pm, so we checked into our hotel and went straight to dinner. The food wasn’t amazing (we weren’t expecting it to be), but we thought this was a great first night option. It was walking distance to our hotel, had a stylish atmosphere, and it was nice to get fresh air after being on a plane for so many hours. We also loved my mom’s entree which was thinly sliced fish simply seasoned.

Day 2 — Milan

• Duomo Rooftop Terraces — a must see, buy fast track tickets, go during a time of day when it isn’t too hot, and wear your walking shoes.
• Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II — really impressive structure, smaller than I imagined, but worth a quick stop.
• Lunch at Peck deli — Peck is a fancy gourmet grocery store that is fun to wander around. We had lunch at their casual downstairs cafe (in the middle of the store) and our cheese and charcuterie plate hit the spot. By the time we left, every table was full of local Milanese people — definitely a popular spot.
• Shopping — obviously the thing to do in Milan. We didn’t end up buying anything, but we spent lots of time looking at all the pretty shops on Via Sant’Andrea and Brera and the neighboring streets.
• Drinks at 10–11 bar — the bar at Ferragamo’s new hotel The Portrait. Reserve a table outside in the courtyard, order the 10–11 spritz.
• Dinner at Enrico Bartolini*** — I actually wanted to go to D’o (a two star just outside of Milan), but it was closed for a summer holiday. Enrico Bartolini had three stars and was closer to our hotel so it seemed like a good replacement. It’s in a very attractive space and has friendly service. We had a couple fantastic dishes, but it was super rich (took me days to recover) and really expensive. Next time I’d either try D’o or have a simpler meal at this early point in the trip (like pizza, which we never ate but smelled great!).

Day 3 — Milan

• Foundation Prada — cool / weird art museum outside the town center. Worth seeing. We ubered there and back which worked great.
• Lunch at Loste Cafe — shockingly our best meal in Milan. We were supposed to go for breakfast, but we were too full in the morning so we pushed it to lunch, and I’m glad we did! It’s run by a former Noma head pastry chef who was a total character and an amazing cook. Most of the pastries were sold out by the time we arrived (I wish we’d had time to go back early the next day to try them) so we ordered a cinnamon roll and this really interesting salad with celeriac that came with a tasty flat bread on the side (see picture). I wish I could eat this again tomorrow! *Note if I was going back, I’d find him on Instagram and ask for all of his restaurant recommendations — letting him know we’re very open to everything from three start tasting menus to food stalls — I bet he has great suggestions.*
• Pave ice cream — we were too full so we skipped this stop, but it was on our intinerary and the pictures looked cute. FYI if you have a lighter day 2 dinner.
• Armani/Silos Museum — we almost skipped this, and I’m glad we didn’t! The ground floor had a photography exhibition and the upper two floors have clothing designs from over the years. The architecture and the curation is really beautiful.
• Drinks at E/N Enoteca Naturale — cool natural wine bar. We didn’t have reservations, so we had to sit inside, but I definitely recommend making reservations for one of their courtyard tables. I’d also recommend walking here from the Armani museum to see the scene on Naviglio Grande. A bit overwhelming and touristy on a warm summer night, but fun to experience!
• Dinner at Langosteria — this wasn’t amazing, but served our purpose perfectly. We were having dinner with a relative we hadn’t seen in a long time, so needed an option where it would be comfortable to talk. The food was pretty good but the atmosphere was a bit odd (it’s a long skinny restaurant and it seemed to have a lot of English speakers). I’d try something else next time, but I’m not complaining. We needed a light night!

Day 4 — Lake Garda Arrival Day

• Car transfer to Lake Garda — took about 90 minutes. *Seeing Lake Garda made me want to come back to spend more time and explore all the picturesque towns. I would stay here a whole week instead of one night. I’d split the time between two or three hotels to have easy points for exploring each region around the lake (northern mountains, eastern vineyards and Verona, southern/western towns) — Or I’d just find my favorite and relax. At the very least if you only have one night, I recommend arriving early and leaving late to maximize time swimming and exploring. Also try to time your trip for sunny, dry weather — I don’t think it would be too fun in the rain.*
• Hotel lunch — we were full from all the Milan eating so we skipped lunch, but I saw people eating at Grand Hotel Fasano and Locanda San Vigilio by the lake under shaded trees and it looked lovely
• Lake Garda boat trip — this four hour tour booked by our hotel was a GREAT way to get an overview of the lake and see all the prettiest spots. We didn’t get off the boat and we didn’t swim so we were able to cover more ground. The northern side of the lake is particularly dramatic with the jagged mountains.
• Hotel swim — I recommend picking a hotel that is right on the lake so you can easily jump in. The water is crisp and refreshing and really helps after a hot day in the sun. I could have floated on my back for hours.
• Dinner at Lido 84* — amazing dinner! We had high expectations since it’s #7 on the San Pelligrino list, and it lived up to all of them. We did the 7 course tasting menu and added their famous pasta dish and it was a great amount of food. It also couldn’t have been more fun — it’s a special setting right by the water, the brothers who own it are so different but both so gracious, and we didn’t have a single bad dish. We’re already planning our return visit. It’s impossible to get reservations — my solution was emailing them the entire time we were available and asking if the had any open spot and promising I would plan my whole trip around it. They had one option but warned it was a table with a bad view, and I agreed on the spot! (And then booked plan tickets and shifted the rest of our plans around).

Day 5 — Venice Arrival Day

• Car transfer to Venice — took about 2.5 hours. *Venice is a beautiful city that feels totally unique — using boats to travel, getting lost in winding alleys, looking out over the rooftops and the canals is something everyone must do at least once. However, it’s not a secret, and so there are hordes of tourists everywhere (and very few locals or “authentic” experiences). So just know what you’re getting into!*
• Lunch in Verona — we didn’t make this stop because we were too full from dinner and had to get Venice, but this would have been fun if we had more time.
• Soave wine tasting — this region has some really great wineries. We went to Inama where we learned a lot from a very interesting tour and tasted eight good wines in a conference room. It was perfect for what we were looking for. If you want more of a tourist experience with better atmosphere, Pieropan has a beautiful setting and a brand new award-winning facility. Also, we didn’t have time because it was too far off our route (and in a different wine region), but I was tempted to detour to taste the celebrated wines from Giuseppe Quintarelli. Nex time!
• Film festival — we were already planning to go to Venice for dinner at Le Calandre when we learned we’d be there during the film festival. Getting regular tickets is a weird process that basically includes checking the website daily during the month of August to see when tickets will be released (only a few hours notice) and then clicking wildly to get your ticket. Happily, I secured tickets to the premiere of Priscilla in Salo Grande and (even with the ongoing strike) the actors got waivers to attend too. It was a big, fun scene and the highlight of our Venice stop. Honestly, if the film festival hadn’t happened, I would have preferred to skip Venice entirely for more time on Lake Garda or in Provence— but with it, I’m so glad we went.

Day 6

• Open activity day— it was a Tuesday and the museums were closed (otherwise we’d have gone to Punta della Dogana) so we spent the day wandering, shopping (we really liked the T Fondaco dei Tedeschi mall), and relaxing (I got a massage at our hotel). Oh and of course eating and drinking….
• Lunch at Osteria alle Testiere— the food here was truly first rate. It would be so successful in SF — super fresh fish with interesting preparations, nothing too over the top but just beautifully cooked and seasoned. The only problem is that it’s a foodie tourist haven. You’re squeezed into little tables right next to each other with people from all over the world (except Italy). Not really the atmosphere I’m looking for — still the owner couldn’t be nicer and it’s the best food in Venice, so book far in advance to get a table.
• Drinks at Vino Vero — I love this wine bar. It’s been on a lot of lists recently, so I wasn’t sure if it was going to be overrun by influencers, but it was the one time in Venice where I felt like we were surrounded by Italians. We had a nice glass of natural wines sitting by the canal — unfortunately we were too full to try their cicchetti (which are supposed to be fresh and tasty).
• Dinner Le Calandre ***— I have so many feelings about this one. We didn’t get a fair shot at La Calandre. Their chef was the youngest chef in the world to get three stars when he received them 30 years ago and he’s maintained them ever since. The restaurant was #10 on San Pellegrino’s 2022 list but dropped to the 40s in their 2023 list (still impressive), so I was excited about this meal. However, I was still full from the other two big tasting menus we’d had in the past 5 days plus we ate a big lunch because the food was so good and that was the only time we could get in. I was also tired from our big night out and the journey from Venice to La Calandre (45 minutes by car from the Piazzale Roma — and a bit stressful to figure out how you’ll get to and from your hotel and Piazzale Roma). Then, when we arrived, they sat us at the worst table in the restaurant (facing a bare wall in a small side room) and claimed the people in the main room made reservations months in advance (I had too!). So it was not off to a good start. The amuses they served were delicious, but we decided we were too full to order anything other than a la carte. The meal was a mixed bag — our first courses were amazing and creative, second course pastas were pretty good, my fried rabbit was downright bad, and dessert ended on a good note. Definitely not worth all the effort (and cost!) it took to get there, when we could have had a leisurely dinner at Osteria alle Testiere or eaten all the snacks at Vino Vero. HOWEVER, a restaurant like this isn’t made for a la carte ordering on a full stomach in the corner of a small room. You want to be on the tasting menu journey that they have expertly crafted and prepared a thousand times and won endless accolades for. If I was in the region again, I would gladly give them another try and make a big point about requesting a table in the main dining room and not eating before. I am hoping to do a Dolomites trip or return to Lake Garda, so it might not be long before I’m back!