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Lago Maggiore

Posted by (Lahaina, HI) on

Still planning my 3rd trip to Europe in September. Flying in/out of Amsterdam and will stay there last two nights of itinerary. That leaves us with 7-8 nights open. I would like to know the best route to Rhine valley (maybe one night Rhine and one night Moselle). We will not have a car and like to travel by rail. From there I thought perhaps Annecy, but have been reading about Lake Maggiore and it seems like there are more places to visit in that area with more choices of transportation? I have been to Varenna (loved it) and Cinque Terra (loved it as well). I wish to stay in small villages and love to see the mountains as a backdrop on the lakes.(Lake Lucerne was magical.) If we decide on Maggiore, do we choose Locarno (Swiss) or Verbani (Italy); maybe Turin as a home base? Again, we need to have public transportation easily accessible. If we stay 2-3 nights there, that will still leave us with a couple of days for?

My other thought was to train down to Cologne or Koblenz for a couple days on the river. Then fly to a completely different country for 4-5 days (Spain or Portugal?) Wow - I bet that threw you. My last trip was planned from suggestions on this forum and it was superb. Hoping to get some insight. Aloha

Posted by
14944 posts

You could spend a couple of nights in Stresa right on Lake Maggiore. It has a train station. I suggest touring Isola Bela a small island in the lake itself.

I like Turin but using it as a base for visits to the lakes without a car is not a good idea. Too difficult to get around.

Posted by
74 posts

Thank you Frank for letting me know about Turin. Have you been in Locarno?

Posted by
1090 posts

We were just in Stresa last week. Although it was nice, it is anything but a small village. It is extremely touristy and very large compared to say, Varenna. Lake Maggiore is quite lovely, however. I would pick one of the smaller towns on the lake next time.

Posted by
6880 posts

7-8 nights from Amsterdam does not give you much time to go further than Germany by land.
Possible Rhine valley itinerary is:

Amsterdam-Cologne
Cologne- somewhere on Mosel (never been)
somewhere on Mosel- somewhere in Rhine Gorge eg Boppard
Boppard-Heidelberg (2 nights)
Heidelberg-Strasbourg (2 nights)
Train or plane back to Amsterdam

Or you could do a Rhine-Italy combo as follows

Amsterdam-Koblenz (3 nights)
Koblenz-Frankfurt-Plane to Milan-night in Milan
3 nights on Lake Maggiore (Stresa, Baveno are convenient bases but give a "faded glory" vibe)
Plane back to Amsterdam

It is a strange combo to me though, lots of travel for not much time in each place

Posted by
15144 posts

I would stay in Stresa. Very convenient for the islands and it’s a quaint town.
Verbania is too big and busy for my taste. Verbania, Suna, Pallanza, Intra are towns with different names but they are all like districts of one big city which didn’t seem as quaint to me. Too busy, just like a city.
I think the same thing about Locarno, which, with Arona, forms a big City. Since it’s in Switzerland prices are also double compared to across the border in Italy.
If you are looking for a small very quaint village similar to Varenna, then Cannobio, just south of the Swiss border, might be for you. A bit far away from the islands however.
Your choice.

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