Could use some help - Milan , Lake Como and the French Riviera or Just the French Riviera?

Give Lake Como more time than Milan. Then go to Nice. Two of my favorites.

go where you would like to be. don't expect to find much closed to tourists either place.

do plan carefully around the ongoing protracted French rail strikes, make you are where you need to be for the beginning of the tour.....

Skip Milan and go right to Lake Como (Varenna is nice and easy to get to by train) for 2-3 nights. Then on to Nice or Antibes for the remaining (4?) nights. As Nigel said, stay tuned to rail strike info. You may want to plan to arrive in Paris the night before the tour starts.

Agree: skip Milan and concentrate on Lake Como and the Cote de Azure. We just returned from France and spent 4 nights in Antibes... could have been longer but sufficient. 3 nights in Lake Como area (we prefer Bellagio to Varenna). If you mean THIS August you need to book your lodging ASAP

"Skip Milan"

It is going to be hard for me to disagree with this because I haven't been there (yet, going in September). But how can you give this advice so flippantly without more explanation. I bet that OP had a very specific reason for choosing Milan for 2-3 days. OP didn't ask should I skip Milan because it isn't worth seeing, but will "August" affect the trip. I have 24 hours in Milan and wish I had more.

So, please give more information of why you are suggesting to skip Milan all together. (Duomo Milano, The Last Supper, Risotto al Milanese, Ossobuco, Sforza Castle, Ronandini Pieta)

I think trying to hit Milan, Lake Como and the Riviera within a week is rushing things. I haven't spent much time around Lake Como, but usually visiting a lake means time on ssslllooowww lake boats, so I'd expect 3 nights to be pretty minimal there.

Trains from Varenna to Nice at attractive departure times take at least 7 hr. 20 min., so four nights in Nice would mean only three days, which is pretty skimpy if you hope to see Nice, one or two other coastal spots and one or two hill towns.

If The Last Supper is one of your goals in Milan, check now to figure out how you're going to see it. I'd be shocked if there are any tickets still available from the official ticket agency, so I think you'll need to pay for a commercial tour.

If you decide to stick with all three destinations, I suggest going straight to Lake Como on your arrival day, then hitting Milan before heading to France. The Milan-Lake Como ticket shouldn't cost extra if bought on the day of travel, and Day 1 is usually pretty useless for sightseeing anyway. Then when you're ready to head to France, you'll save a good bit of time by starting from Milan rather than Lake Como.

I second and third choosing more time in Varenna on Lake Como. It is absolutely gorgeous and peaceful. Please, please take into consideration all the strikes in France. I had thought all this interruption would have been resolved before tourist high season, but noooooo. We held our breath as we flew from CDG and into CDG in May. It added way too much stress to what should have been an exciting, highly planned and expensive vacation! Italy is wonderful. I'd spend my time there while France is in transportation turmoil.

Milan's not my favorite big city to explore in the best of times and the heat of August could make it miserable. Air conditioned museums can be a respite in Paris but there are not that many must-sees in Milan. You'll definitely need AC in your hotel (or plan to spend the night taking cold showers). That's why residents tend to head for the beach or the mountains. You should look at booking accommodation soon for the more popular vacation spots.

France has much more to see and keeping the whole trip within France will generally give you more frequent, direct, and slightly cheaper train connections. Trains to Paris or on other long routes in France should be reserved ahead, since they can fill up. (Only 3-4 trains/day run directly between Italy and Paris. Flight options are good on both routes.)

vandrabrud .... why skip Milan.... to me it was like visiting a city really not set up for tourism (unlike Rome which I believe is). If I may - Milan is like visiting Oakland, CA - sure there might be one or two things to see but really it's a working/residential city. I say the same about Genoa. Not really a place for tourists.

Thanks Donna for your reply. If the thread is still open after I return I will come back and give my impressions here.
I am spending one day after a transatlantic flight and one night in Milan and then taking an early train to Varenna where I will start the BoI tour.
I am very much looking forward to both places. I understand that Lake Como isn't the same as the dozens of other lakes that I have visited, however, I just can't imagine spending three days at the lake at the expense of not seeing the Duomo, The Last Supper and the Ronandini Pieta.
I am obviously in the minority here. Only time will tell if I change my mind!

I think it makes a difference that you've visited "dozens of other lakes".

vandrabrud - I thought Lake Como was the most beautiful lake and I include Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe in that mix.

Please do let me know what you think of Milan. I think La Scala is worth a visit since you are going to be there and I'm not an opera person. I love cities, Milan just isn't one of them.

We stayed in Perledo above Varenna and Lake Como for two nights and loved it. Came back to Milan with just enough time to see the Duomo and Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel before taking an overnight bus to Paris. We took a bus because our overnight train was canceled due to the French strikes. Two nights in Como is good and I felt like seeing the Duomo in an afternoon was enough Milan for me.

acraven,
That is a good point. I take my past experiences for granted. I live very near a "Great" lake, vacationed every childhood summer on a lake in Michigan or Canada, and live in a neighborhood called "Portage Lakes".
I am still confident that Lake Como will make me very happy and I do want to see it and spend time there.
I am curious to see what Milan is like especially since it has so few fans. I also really liked Dublin, another city without a lot of fans.

I will post my reaction either on this thread or I will start a new one about Milan after my trip.

In May we spent three nights in Varenna and three nights in Venice prior to starting our Village Italy tour. Varenna was our favorite stay of the three week trip. Throughout the entire trip I saw more than enough duomos (they are all beautiful in different ways). We are lake people and loved ferrying around Lake Como. The only place we went to in Milan was the train station to get us to and from Lake Como:)