We have 4 days in the Lake District. We will have a car. With all of my reading I am still overwhelmed with selecting an itinerary regarding where to stay and where to travel. Any ideas on suggested itinerary. I would really appreciate support. We are open to Como, Maggiore, Lugano.
Many thanks
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16211 posts
You need to decide which lake you want to visit, because with only 4 days you can visit only one. They are not small.
The choices are three:
- Lake Como (with possible visit to Lugano if you stay based in Menaggio, which is only 40 min drive from Lugano). I like Menaggio and the Midlake is the best part of the lake. Also more convenient for Lake Lugano visit. Varenna and Bellagio are often mentioned in this forum, however neither are car friendly due to limited parking. Also you would need to take the car across in a ferry, which is not always allowed in the rental car contract. Menaggio does not have big parking problems and you need no ferry to drive to Lugano from there. You are driving, unlike most people posting here, therefore you need to take that into consideration.
- Lake Maggiore (possible visit to nearby Lake Orta and the town of Orta San Giulio). Stresa area is my favorite for a base. But Cannobio deserves a visit for sure.
- Lake Garda (my preferred area is the north lake). Italy's largest lake. My suggested base is in the north: Malcesine, Limone, Riva, Torbole, etc. are all good.
All the above lakes are beautiful, and my suggestion is to choose the one that most makes sense based on the rest of your itinerary. For example if you are visiting only Venice and the Dolomites, then Garda probably makes the most sense, because the others are a major detour. If Milan or Switzerland is in your itinerary, then Lake Como may make sense. If you visit Piedmont, or if you are flying from/to Malpensa then lake Maggiore may make sense, because it's close to the Milan Malpensa airport.
Each deserves 3 nights at least, so there go your 4 days.