Lake Como or Vienna?

Vienna actually needs more than 4 nights. It is one of my favorite cities for its art museums, architecture, music and history. Not a lot of overlap with what you list. Both places have great food and wine.

Both are terrific. Lake como is very relaxing.
But gd fd, scenery and hiking are everywhere on lake como.

Lake Como, hands down. For the sake of geography; but also the food, wine and scenery. This is still our favorite place there. http://www.borgoleterrazze.com

My wife and I spent 4 nights in Vienna in 2014 and are going to Lake Como Bellagio in 2019. We did visit Lake Maggiore in 2000. Seems like two different worlds. Vienna is full of museums, cathedrals, palaces, shopping and music venues, a high energy city. Lake Como is more dolce vita style with hiking, scenic vistas, and relaxation. Seems like based on your likes it would be Como. While in Vienna we did take their subway to Alte Danube and took nice power walk along the river and through some beautiful recreation areas. You can also take a train or boat to Melk and its famous Abbey for a day excursion from Vienna. But again I would vote for Lake Como based on your proximity to it and what you said. Save Vienna for the next trip and combo it up with Munich and Prauge.

from your itinerary, seems like lake Como would be a very easy option. train to milan, then onto lake como.
depends on the time of year and how much time you have for the whole holiday? also how you are getting around, car/train ?
both times we have been there it was spring, so the gardens were beautiful, with just a touch of snow on the surrounding peaks.
your correct, it would be more of a relaxing time, rather than another large city.
the two destinations are very different, assuming your going to stay at say bellagio or varenna etc. which are small lakeside villages. 4 nights there 'might' be one night too many, if you need to use a night somewhere else.
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hope this helps.

No contest! Lake Como beats Vienna in every category. I am glad we visited Vienna but have no desire to return there while we have been to Lake Como four times and love it there.

Como is way over rated. Crowded and rather uninteresting. Yes it's beautiful, but a lot of places are beautiful. We were happy to leave after a few days and wouldn't go back. Vienna is fantastic.

I agree w Collins advice, save Vienna. We stayed in varenna, and it Is the "sweetness of doing nothing " and enjoying the amazing views. We did a day trip to Bellagio, hip to hip tourists. A day trip to Switzerland sounds better

If you choose Lake Como, avoid the mistake some travelers make of sleeping in the city of "Como"--stay farther north [edited]in the "mid-lake" area, Varenna and Menaggio are popular.

Actually the mid Lake region is north from the town of Como. From Milano Centrale it us an easy and lovely 1 hour train trip to Varenna (stop is Varenna-Esino). Sit on the left side of the train for the best scenery. Varenna is in the mid Lake region, and it is beautiful. The Alps are off in the distance. The villages around this mid lake region are lovely, and there are ferries to take you all over. Be sure to visit Villa Balbianello! Lake Como became my favorite spot in Italy. It is peaceful and serene wth great food and wine.

You're right, I was mistaken to say south when the mid-lake area is north of the city of Como.Varenna or Menaggio were the two towns I had in mind.

We've stayed in both Varenna and Vienna. For us, we much preferred Varenna. If you are in Varenna, make sure to hike up to Castello di Vezio to take in the view of the lake. It's beautiful!

I would definitely go with Lake Como.

My Vienna experience may not be typical, but I found the city rather boring -- and I generally love love love European cities! I think my turnoff with Vienna was that the central (Ringstrasse) area was built in the 19th century with massive buildings set far apart, requiring either hopping on and off the streetcars or else taking a long, lonely slog from one to the next. I'm aware that Vienna also has older areas that are walkable with small buildings and shops and restaurants, but I just did not get the wonderful walking-around vibe that is so typical of European cities and rare in the U.S. (except for Manhattan).

I absolutely loved Vienna, but with your itinerary, I would settle for Lake Como. Vienna is just too far out of the way.