Looking for recommendations on adding two days to my travel in the Lake a como region. I fly home from Milan after 14 days visiting the villages of Italy. Is this reasonable at the end of this tour?? Thank you all for your input.
Posted by
3 posts
Easy to do. Take the train to Milan and then another train to Lake Como. Varenna was a great location when we did best of Italy tour. We are doing Village Italy in June and hanging an extra night in Milan. Lake Como was fantastic.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Varenna on Lake Como is perfect because it has a train station AND it has ferries that go to different parts of the lake, if you should choose to do so. Also, it's lovely.
Posted by
Cincinnati, Ohio
303 posts
Buy tickets for a regional train from Milano Centrale train station. Try to buy the direct train that takes about an hour. On the departure board it will probably be Milano to Tirano, but the stop you want is Varennna-Esino. Be sure to validate your ticket before you board and sit on the left side of the train for the best views. Right before you arrive at Varenna you will go through a tunnel. Be ready to disembark as the train doesn't stay long.
We stayed at Hotel du Lac which was right on the shore and wonderful. It was a hike from the train station so I would suggest a taxi to whatever hotel you stay. The village is hilly.
Varenna is so charming, and in the mid lake area of Lake Como. The views are breathtaking. The Alps are visible to the north. Bellagio is a 15 minute ferry ride across the lake. Villa Balbianello is beautiful and accessible by boat. We paid for the Varenna Taxi boat to take us on a tour of the mid lake area and a trip to the Villa and a private tour (included in the price of the boat tour).
Be sure to sit at a cafe at sunset, have a glass of wine and pinch yourself. Yes you ARE in this beautiful place.
Posted by
Southwest Florida
905 posts
Varenna hotels can book up fast in prime season. Start looking now.
Posted by
Northern Minnesota
22 posts
We went to Varenna and Venice before the Village tour last May, but you could easily do Varenna after. A few days before the tour is over, your guide will start arranging transport for when the tour is over. You will probably share a transfer to Milan Centrale train station with a few others in your group. As stated above, then get a train to Varenna. We stayed at Hotel Barretta, breakfast was a little lacking, but clean, convenient, and reasonably priced. The problem might be the 2 hour train ride back to the airport. You may want to stay at an airport hotel the night before you fly.