8 full days in Northern Italy in mid-April. Have some research done, need advice on some other cities.

We will be flying into Milan on April 9th and flying back on April 18th. We will have a rental car for the full 8 days. our budget for lodging, car rental, food, and activities is about $2,000 (flights were already paid for.

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I've been to Italy before but only visited the Dolomites. My biggest interests are hiking, nature, and photography. I'd love to visit the Dolomites again but I know that during mid-April the cable-cars are closed and trails are snowed in. I looked up other great alternatives for hiking and it seems like Lake Garda area might be promising? Anybody have any input on Lake Garda? Or any input on any cities in the Dolomites in mid-April? Maybe some low elevation hikes/areas that would still provide stunning views?

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My friends interests are good food and just walking around cities. She really wants to visit Venice so we have some time set aside for that, but would love input on how much of our 8 days to spend in Venice. I know people can spend months in 1 city but we are thinking of 2.5 days, thoughts on that?

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So I guess my questions are;

• Flying into and out of Milan, we are renting a car. We have to make it to Venice, what city or cities can we stop at along the way that have decent hiking?
• How many days would you recommend in Venice for people that just like to walk around, take pictures, and eat?
• Are the Dolomites a viable option for hiking in mid-April if we were to stop for 2 days?

Submitted September 12, 2019 at 09:36PM by math_n_stuff https://ift.tt/34DL15o