My daughter and I will be in Northern Italy for a week in mid-August (I know from our last trip there that August is not an ideal time to go, but it's our only option). We are starting with 3 nights in Venice and then 3 nights in Bellagio. We'd love to do a day trip by train to Switzerland (never been there) but don't know which town would make the most sense for just one day. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10709 posts
You could take the ferry to Menaggio, then the bus to Lugano. I did that a few years ago and it was a nice day.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17577 posts
You could take the Bernina Express, or a regular regional train, from nearby Varenna to Pontresina or St. Moritz. See this current thread for information on the trains:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/varenna-to-st-moritz-via-bernina-express
You would have to start by getting to Varenna, so check the ferry schedules to cooordinate that, or look into a car service or taxi.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Bellagio is not the easiest place from which to get to Switzerland, you would need to cross the lake.
It is a Y-shaped lake (upside -down Y), with Bellagio at the end of the peninsula between the two forks of the lake.
1) Ferry across lake to Menaggio, then local bus to Lugano (nice city, a different lake). If you have time you could get a train to Bellinzona and back (3 castles, UNESCO world heritage site).
2) This is almost certainly too long for 1 day, it would require an overnight: Bernina Line, train over the Alps
Ferry across the lake (opposite direction to above) to Varenna. Train to Tirano. Bernina Line train to St Moritz, bus back (different route).
I would not do this if you only have 3 days in Bellagio.
Posted by
Cincinnati, Ohio
303 posts
We took the #30 bus in Bellagio directly to the train station in Como (San Giovanni) where we got on a direct train to Zurich. I think you can also take a direct train to Lucerne which would be the Swiss experience you would enjoy more than Zurich. I think if you explored www.rome2rio you might get some info on that trip.
Posted by
OP
Virginia USA
27 posts
Thanks so much for all the tips. I've read some posts previously at rome2rio but will go back and search for this topic. And yes, we'd love the opportunity to experience the beauty of Switzerland rather than a city, if that's doable in a day trip. We'll see! Thanks to all again.
Posted by
Prior Lake, MN, USA
400 posts
We were in Zurich visiting friends and did a day trip to Lugano to get a taste of "the South" - it had palm trees, not typical for Switzerland :-)
If you have a vision of "Switzerland" in your head
and if that vision includes mountains
look to see what is a reasonable distance away that fits that vision.
Here's a map of the Alps with the international borders marked
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alpenrelief_02.jpg
I just did a search on "italian alps" and had hits on them and "the dolomites" showed up also - I'm ignorant about them.