Lake Como or elsewhere near Milan in February question

You are really off-season and I expect much to be closed in the Middle Lakes area ( Varenna , Bellagio, and Menaggio,) Perhaps Como town will have more to offer, but it's not as scenic. Weather can be a major issue where scenery is the main attraction. I do love the Middle Lakes region in the spring. Safe travels!

There are trains departing from Turin Porta Susa to Varenna-Esino taking 2h 30 but require a change in Milan: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html. There is luggage storage at Milan’s train station so you can browse around in Milan late morning / early afternoon and be in Varenna that evening. Another good day trip from Varenna is Bellagio.

Hi again! Just wondering what is the attraction of Lake Como versus, for example, Florence or Bologna or Ravenna for the mosaics? It will be low season, so I would expect some things to be shut, it will be very quiet, and yes colder than later in the year, but I don't think it will be any colder than Turin. When you research hotels, pick one that is right in the heart of, for example Bellagio, so you can walk to restaurants. I'd call and ask them about what's open, hey locals live there who go out to eat, etc!

'Using Lake Como as a launching site, any recommendations on trips to
take'

• What is it you're looking for, quiet & views, chilly walks, no crowds? In case you’d like to join us this Saturday 11AM, PST on a Zoom call to talk about Italy, as one member will be talking about Bologna, Venice & Florence, just respond to this thread. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings/sf-east-bay-hosts-travel-talk-let-s-talk-about-italy-jan-11-online-everyone-welcome

We are flying into Milan and will spend a few days in Turin (delivering son to university). From there we were going to try to spend a few more days in Lake Como. We were worried about the off season/winter season issues and that is why I asked about it. We fly back out of Milan but we can change our flights if we need to. Any suggestions from the group to go to from Turin for 2 to 3 days then fly back? We are open to traveling around North or middle of the country.

Ah, I see, well for a few days it really depends upon whether you would prefer a larger city like Milan, (with hustle & bustle, Cathedral & the Last Supper, if you can get tickets this late), or someplace smaller but within a reasonable distance of MPX for your departure. (You could also amend your title to 'Lake Como or elsewhere near Milan in February?' to see what others might suggest.) And I would pick someplace within easy traveling distance of MPX so you can easily get there for departure.

Here are a few threads I've saved about Northern Italy for future trips - (The first one is a recent trip report including Bologna, which might work for you.) Good luck!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/a-return-to-italy-october-2024
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/day-tours/bologna-florence-and-milan-guide-tour-recommendations-november-2023
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/bologna-to-modena-parma-reggio-emilia
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/parma-cheese-farm-tour-modena-or-parma

Thanks!! I will amend the title as you suggested. Also, we do not have to fly out of MPX. We can fly out of somewhere south of there if it is a better option. Just did not want to burn a bunch of time traveling which is why I was asking about North or Mid Italy.

We will be in central and northern Italy this May. So I can't speak from firsthand experience, but based on my research and planning, you could visit Bologna and/or Florence. And visit Parma and/or Modena along the way. These are easy to get to from Milan via train. Personally, I think these would be better options in February because of weather. If it's bitterly cold and/or raining, you have many indoor options.