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Overnight stop between Freiburg and Cinque Terre?

Posted by (Kenmore, WA) on

Looking for suggestions to break up a 10 hour train trip from Freiburg, Germany to Vernazza, Italy. We are simply looking for an interesting place to stop overnight, about half-way between, that might let us stretch our legs a bit, have dinner, stay overnight at a reasonable cost, then leave at a leisurely pace in the morning for the second half of the journey to arrive in Vernazza in the early afternoon.

A 10-11 hour day on a train just doesn't interest me or my family. Seems like Lugano is about half-way, and that looks nice enough, but if anyone has ideas about any other "hidden gem" towns or more efficient approaches, I'm all ears!

Posted by
5210 posts

Hubestur,

How about Stresa in Lake Maggiore?

You may decide to stay 2 nights in Stressa if you choose to explore this beautiful lake.

From Stresa you'd take the train to Milano Centrale (MC) then an Intercity train from MC to Monterosso, then a Regionale train to Vernazza.

Check train schedules for train travel in Italy here: http://www.trenitalia.com

Posted by
32202 posts

I agree with Priscilla - Stresa would be a great choice and it's only about a five hour trip from Freiburg. One night will only provide a few hours to look around, so two nights would be better.

Posted by
16893 posts

Lugano works and doesn't seem to add any extra travel time to the trip - each half is about 5 hours. Stresa connections can take slightly longer, depending on departure time, but not a deal-breaker.

Posted by
194 posts

Thanks for the suggestions. We can't leave Freiburg earlier than Monday morning, and we must get to Vernazza by Tuesday afternoon to check-in to our flat. So unfortunately, all we have time for, regardless of how much we'd like to stay longer, is simply an overnight stop.

Sounds like both Stresa and Lugano are about equal in terms of being about halfway on a relatively direct and efficient train route. Given that, seems like the lean might go to Stresa, on the assumption that staying overnight in an Italian town will probably cost less than staying in a Swiss town.

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