Taking elderly parents from Nice to Lake Como via Bernina express from Zurich

Posted by sue (chicago, il, usa) on 12/09/24 06:09 PM

Hello everyone,
I will be traveling in June to Paris and Nice, for 9 days. We will be leaving ORD on June 8th and flying to Paris. We will travel by train to Nice on June 13th and stay until the 17th. I will be traveling with my husband and our elderly but very mobile parents. My mom is dying to get to Lake come and my dad wants to go on the Bernina express. I'm trying to find the easiest and least stressful way to do this. My thoughts are flying from Nice to Zurich on the 17th and spending the night, then taking the train to Chur to catch the Bernina express on the 18th. I would then like to spend 2.5 days in Varenna (Jun 18-21). Since it is such a long train ride to the Milan airport, I thought it best to take the train to the airport the night before and stay at a hotel nearby for our flight out on the 22nd. Our flight will have a layover going back home and I don't want to wear them, or us, out with too much travel in one day. I'm wondering if this is over doing it? I tried to find a flight from Nice to Milan and just do the St. Moritz loop, but there are no direct flights to Milan. Please help with any thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks

Posted by Nigel 🚊🧸

Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England

12/09/24 06:40 PM

34859 posts

according to the Nice Airport information, Swiss fly 3 times from Nice to Zürich on the 17th of June, at 9:40, 14:50 and 19:10, taking 1h15 nonstop.

The train station at Zürich is right in the airport, Nice airport is small and very easy from the city of Nice.

Posted by Lola

Seattle, WA

12/09/24 07:50 PM

17612 posts

What you plan is much better than doing the “St. Moritz loop” from Milan.

But I suggest that you take the morning flight from Nice that Nigel found (9”40 departure), and when you reach Zurich, continue on by train to Chur for your overnight on the 17th. That way you can board the Bernina Express train the next morning, without the extra train time to come from Zurich. That would make for a VERY long day on the train. There are 2 direct trains per hour right from the airport terminal train station to Chur, taking 2.5 hours.

If you want to ride the “official” Bernina Express, with the panoramic cars, there are only 2 a day; one departing Chur at 8:28 and arriving at Tirano 12:49, the other (running in summer only) departing Chur at 13:34 and arriving at Tirano at 17:59 (basically 6 pm). With another 1.5 hours of train ride to reach Tirano, plus connection time, that later train would have you arriving in Varenna pretty late.

Schedule and prices for the Bernina Express. https://tickets.rhb.ch/en/pages/bernina-express

This is the 2024 schedule; 2025 isn’t out yet. For the trains from Tirano to Varenna-Esino, use trenitalia.com or Trenord (the actual train operator).

Chur is a pleasant and picturesque little city, the oldest in Switzerland. There are several hotels within walking distance of the station, or use a taxi to go a bit further afield if you find something you like better.

https://www.chur.graubuenden.ch/en

You should start looking for your lodging in Varenna now; people have reported finding difficulty with spring and summer reservations in the few hotels there, in part because some are not taking bookings until 2025.

I believe Albergo Milano, the hotel we like,, is taking reservations now, so have a look at that hotel. Note that the annex (Casa Rossa), which we like, does not have an elevator, so there can be lots of stairs. I believe rooms in the main hotel can be accessed by lift.

Good idea to stay near Malpensa the night before your flight out. In September we spent a night at Osteria della Pista, in a village 10 minutes away from the airport terminals. They have a free shuttle for guests to both terminals in the morning. It is an old hotel, but the rooms are modern, and our dinner in their attractive dining room was excellent.

https://osteriadellapista.com/?lang=en

Posted by sue OP

chicago, il, usa

12/10/24 01:52 AM

37 posts

Thank you , that is a great suggestion to take the train the Chur. That will cut some of our train time all in one day.

Posted by sue OP

chicago, il, usa

01/11/25 03:22 AM

37 posts

Lola,
Thank you for the great advise. We have booked 2 balcony rooms at Albergo MIlano, and it looks like a wonderful place. We can't wait!

Posted by Laurie

Michigan

01/12/25 02:42 PM

536 posts

This sounds like a wonderful trip for your family! We stayed two nights in Varenna in 2023 on our RS My Way Italy tour. Our stay at Villa Cipressi was really lovely, and there were beautiful terrassed gardens on site. Others will pay to visit the gardens…free for guests to enjoy. We enjoyed beautiful views day and night, walking to the promenade area, exploring gardens, and bountiful breakfasts. I’d recommend this as a place to consider while on Lake Como.

https://www.hotelvillacipressi.it/

There are several great places to stop for an aperitivo between Villa Cipressi and the main town center, as well as abundant choices for gelato, with cushions if you choose to sit on stone steps for the views! :-)

We chose a lake tour that included a visit and tour of Villa Balbianello, which we really enjoyed. There were wedding photo shoots going on while we were there, but it didn’t impact our tour, and the villa was beautiful, with an interesting story behind the last owner of the villa. He led the first Italian expedition to Mount Everest, and there is a room in the villa with artifacts from that trip and others, including a sled, flags, and more. There’s also a secret passage in this villa! Worth a stop, especially if the weather is pleasant for a lake cruise.

https://lakecomotravel.com/villa-balbianello-lake-como/ Note this website has a caution to check later in January for 2025 prices after an update. (As of 1/12/2025).

Enjoy your trip!

Laurie