We are attending a 3-night wedding in Chamonix Mont Blanc in early July, and we're trying to build an Italian itinerary around it. It looks like there's a scenic train route from Milan to Chamonix via Switzerland, and Milan would be a less expensive airport for us to fly into/out of from the US east coast. (Problem is, we have very little interest in spending much time in Milan.)
We'd be interested in some combination of Como/Bellagio or other lake towns, Genoa, the western chunk of Liguria, or going down and around Milan to Bologna. We've spent time in Southern Italy and seen most of the major Italian cities, but we haven't been to Bologna yet, and that's on our list. We'd like to spend 3-4 nights in two or three locations other than Chamonix (our dates are flexible). We like to go to markets and cook, see art, and enjoy nature -- but we'll be getting plenty of nature-based activity in Chamonix. We love train rides, luckily!
One idea right now is to fly into Milan and go straight to Como for a few days. But annoyingly, I think we have to go back to Milan to get a train to Chamonix, which will take basically a full day of travel because you have to go via Switzerland. Then, we could backtrack (take the same train route in reverse, back to Milan) and continue on for a few nights in Bologna before flying out of Milan. Or, from Chamonix, we could do a bus/train combo to head south from the Alps to Turin and Genoa, and then over to Bologna.
We don't have an interest in Cinque Terre if it will be hot and crowded, but we love water and would be interested in seeing other Ligurian cities (could be Genoa or otherwise depending on trains.)
Alternatively, we could skip Como and Genoa altogether, and just spend more time in Bologna, with some day trips built in (Ravenna, Parma.)
Anyone who's good at train itineraries, please chime in if you have ideas! Thanks!