We will be arriving in by train to Milan from Paris.
Milan 2 days
Lake Como or Bellagio 3 days not sure which city to see, and stay. Any recommendations would be helpful.
Cinque Terre again not sure where to stay.
Which city should we fly out from to get back to Los Angeles
Any help would be appreciated
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15187 posts
The best way to see both places by train is to go there by train.
LAKE COMO:
From Milan take a train to Varenna-Esino which is along the Milan=Tirano railway. Just over one hour journey. You can stay in Varenna itself, or across the lake in Bellagio or Menaggio, both reachable in minutes from Varenna via ferry.
CINQUE TERRE
The trip to Monterosso (the largest of the 5 villages) is a bit longer than 2 hours. There are many trains, some require a change in Genova (Genoa) or Levanto.
Train timetables here:
www.trenitalia.com
Use these Station names:
MILANO CENTRALE
VARENNA-ESINO
MONTEROSSO
Posted by
Irving
2962 posts
From Milan’s Central station you can take a direct train to Varenna (1h 15m). When you’re done exploring Varenna you can take a 15-minute ferry from Varenna to Bellagio.
From Milan’s Central station you can take a direct train to Monterosso (3h).
There are nonstop flights from Milan to New York, Atlanta and Chicago.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8150 posts
The flights from JFK, Newark, Atlanta and Chicago O'Hare are into Milan Malpensa--30 miles northwest of Milan's city center. You'd catch a bus to the Milan rail station, and it's a short train ride north to the Lake Como area. The region is incredibly beautiful.
The Cinque Terre is quite congested from May through the Summer. You'll want to find a place to stay promptly. Are you not going to visit Florence and Tuscany while you're so close? It's just an hour on the train from Pisa.
Travelers in Cinque Terre or Florence very often fly out of Pisa Airport to another major European Gateway city like Paris, Heathrow or Amsterdam. You can transfer to a non-stop flight to LAX from those cities
.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11181 posts
For the destinations you want, I would explore the option of doing CT before Lake Como and fly home from Milan to simplify transportation and eliminate/reduce the back tracking