After arriving Frankfurt from the US @ 06:05 we have a short flight to Milan that arrives @ 08:20. I am thinking about staying one (1) night in Milan to visit several sites and thinking about taking the train to either Varenna or Bellagio sometime that same day. Is this way too much to fit in for one (1) day? Grazie
Posted by
USA
291 posts
I always fly business class internationally and am able to sleep on the plane. That being said, I still arrive tired and jet-lagged at my final destination and don't have much energy for a full day of touring. I tend to fade in the afternoon, have an early dinner, and go to sleep early. Although tempting to head to beautiful Lago de Como, for me, that would be a lot of activity for my first day in Italy. You stated you plan to "visit several sites" - the Duomo, tour of La Scala, the not-to-be-missed "Last Supper"? All that, plus a train ride to Varenna with a subsequent ferry to Bellagio sounds overly ambitious for one day after an international flight. Sleep over in Milan, and get an early start to the lake the next day to fully enjoy.
Posted by
Paris
6893 posts
Echoing the post above, if you only have one night in Milan and need to move on the next day, then I don't think heading straight for a Lake Como day trip on arrival is the best idea. You might well be dazed and sleepy.
Posted by
9 posts
Well - we did this almost exact scenario a few weeks ago. Wouldn't recommend it (but we did have 3 kids in tow - I know, we are crazy).
We landed into Milan around 2p after 17 hrs travel, stayed up until 8p and fell asleep. So you will need two nights to do our itinerary. We were up at 6a with jetleg, grabbed coffee/pastries and were at the Duomo when it opened at 8a and was deserted. Then into the museum nearby for a quick stop. We got the speed train from Centro (:35) and were in Bellagio by 10a. We caught a bunch of ferries to make our way north - was gorgeous! But we were tired! We enjoyed our early dinner in Varenna and got the train (1:00) back to Centro and then back to apartment to fall asleep again. We just got local ferry and train tickets as we went, was really easy to do. Then flew out to Greece the next early morning.
Was fun to see, but tiring!
p.s. good luck getting tickets to The Last Supper, it is impossible, don't even think you can get a ticket. Duomo and museum was well worth it!