Train from Switzerland to Cinque Terre

That is indeed a long journey, like 8 or 9 hours. I would break it up. When are you going? that makes a difference in the appropriate recommendations. There are two routes from Wengen to Milan, where you will proceed to Cinque Terre via Genoa. One goes throug Spiez and Brig down to Milan, and you could stop at Stresa on the lake if the season is apppropriate. Going the other route via Luzern (which is slightly more scenic) you could stop in Lugano or Como. This route is disrupted by construction righ tnow but that should be remedies soon.

I'd go to the Swiss Rail website and try Wengen to Vernazza . You'll find that it is between 8-9 hours. This means if you leave Wengan at 7/8AM, you'll arrive at Vernazza around 4PM/5PM. From April to September, you'll leave in the daylight and arrive at the CT in daylight. Although 8-9 hours seems like a long time, it's not like strenous car/airline travel. I can't speak for Milan-Vernazza. But I've done Wengen to Milan by train twice. My experience was an absolutely relaxing, beautiful trip through the Alps/Lake Maggiore in what felt like an empty train.

Hi Just to let you know we found the train from Milan to Cinque Terra not fun. Only have a Regional/Local and lots of stops and a confusing change in Genoa. The 3 1/2 hr train actually took 4 1/2 hrs but it was worth it. Also station signs not well lite at night and difficult to tell where we were - only lite sign in center of station so stay toward front. Avoid the rainy months - have fun.

We enjoy Hotel Stella d Italia on Lake Lugano if you would like to split up the trip. Ask for a room with the lake view

I would approach this by spending the night reasonably close to Milan to break the journey just about halfway. To avoid what happened To Neil with the slow regional train, aim for the IC train 665 that departs Milan a little after noon. This one goes all the way to Monterosso with no changes, even at Genoa. At monterosso, you change to the regional train for the short hop to the village of your choice. We have done this trip in the opposite direction and it was easy and pleasant. With that train in mind, your best options are probably Stresa, on Lago Maggiore just north of Milan on the Brig to Milan line, or Lugano or Como if you go the Luzern route. Como is probably less than an hour by train from Milan; Lugano a bit farther. The route that takes you through Stresa is probably the simplest, and Stresa is the smallest of these 3 lakeside towns (and probably the least expensive for lodging). If you choose this route, just be sure your train from Brig is one that stops in Strese! Most, but not all do. We actually looked at all these options for our own trip to Italy last June, since we started in Zurich. In the end, we went straight on to Verona to get there for an opera. But had we stopped on the way, it likely would have been Stresa. Lugano felt like a big city (and expensive) to me. But if others have been ther and found a place to like, that is worth considering. Sometimes there are discounted tickets on the SBB website for the Zurich to Milan run that make that route quite attractive in price. ( Coming from Wengen via Luzern, you would pick it up at Arth-Goldau, no need to backtrack to Zurich.)

Patricia, I've done that trip by rail in the reverse direction, and it is possible to make the journey in one day (albeit a bit of a long day). The method I'd use on that trip would be along these lines: > Depart Wengen at 06:41, arrive Interlaken Ost at 07:24 (Travel time 0H:43M - one change at Lauterbrunnen). I'd probably purchase tickets for the trip to the C.T. prior to going to Wengen, as that will be one less detail to worry about on the day of travel. > Depart Interlaken Ost at 08:01, arriving Monterosso at 15:02 (Travel time 7H:01M - 3 changes in Brig, Spiez & Milano - reservations compulsory for two legs). That will get you to the C.T. at just about the right time to check-in to your Hotel and have a "walk-about" before dinner. If you'll be staying in one of the other C.T. villages, it will be easy to use the local train from Monterosso. While it is a bit of a lengthy journey, I often don't mind as it's somewhat relaxing, and I've chatted with some interesting people on long rail trips. I always make sure that I have two bottles of water and also some kind of a snack. As I'm often solo, I can't leave my Packs to go to the dining car, so it's either that or buy the overpriced food that comes around on the cart. On the train suggested above, there's a 30-minute "layover" in Milan, so you should have time to buy a Panini or whatever for lunch. Happy travels!

Ken has it about right. Ken's itinerary minimizes the train connections in Italy. I wish more people could do this trip, realizing how accessible Wengen-Murren is from Northern Italy. Wake up high in the Alps, then 8 hours later you're dipping your toes in the Mediterranean (Cinque Terra) or smack dab in the center of one of western civilizations great urban areas (Florence)- or vice versa.

If you do want to do it all in one day Ken's suggestion is a good one. But that series leaves you with a 1.5 hour wait at Milan before you can catch the 12:05 IC 665 that goes all the way to Monterosso with no changes (a good train to catch). You could leave Wengen 30 minutes later if you like (7:13), and do the same thing, arriving at Milano Centrale at 11:35 and have only a 30-minute wait for the IC 665. That should be plenty of time, expecially for a train coming from Switzerland, assuming you already have your tickets for that train.

You travelers are all amazing. This info really helps with the planning of this journey. We were in Italy two years ago and traveled by rail a bit so feel more comfortable about it for this trip. Thank you.