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4 days after Tor des Geants in September

Posted by (Tennessee) on

I'm flying to Milan in September and then either catching a shuttle or bus to Courmayeur to participate in Tor des Geants this year. After Tor, I'll have Monday - Thursday before flying out of Milan on Friday. I've spent extensive time in the Mont Blanc and Aosta Valley regions so additional time there would be fun but not novel.

With such limited time, is public transportation to/from the Dolomites possible? Any other options in the area for someone who spends most, if not all, of their free time climbing, running, and whitewater kayaking and feels completely out of place in a big city? Sometimes my endocrine system is shot after big races, so very extensive hiking or mountaineering shouldn't be on the docket. Or is this a moment where I embrace and enjoy being out of my comfort zone in Milan?

Posted by
2972 posts

Yes, but if you take a train, it will take 9h 45m and involve five connections. If you rent a car, it will take 4h 45m. You could go to Lake Como and hike that area instead and if you do, I recommend sleeping in Varenna.

Posted by
27192 posts

It looks like it would take you 8 to 9 hours to get from Aosta to Bolzano by train. Bolzano's a city down in the valley, a transit hub for buses going up into the Dolomites. That does seem like a lot of train time, given that you'd have to turn around and travel west back to Milan (taking up to 4 hr. 40 min.) just a few days later.

Maybe you'd enjoy some downtime around one of the lakes; there must be good hiking opportunities around Lake Como, for instance. That would take a lot less time than going all the way up to the Dolomites.

Several people have commented that they found Turin more attractive than Milan, though I don't know that Turin has a landmark equivalent to Milan's Duomo. Alas, I haven't been to the NW corner of Italy, so I don't have first-hand suggestions to offer.

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