My husband and I are traveling to Milan for a day, but would like to go to Lake Como and go on the boat ride through the lake. What would be the best route to take?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33582 posts
Where are you arriving in Milan from? Car? Train? Plane?
The answer will be different depending.
Posted by
65 posts
Take the train to Varenna. Ride ferries or water taxi from there to anyplace on the lake.
Beware the station in Varenna does not have a ticket booth or ticket machine. You have to purchase your return ticket to Milan from the travel office behind the station.
Rick
Posted by
OP
4 posts
We are arriving by train to Milan
Posted by
88 posts
We took the train to Varenna from Milan earlier this month. It is easy to do. Ferries are plentiful from Varenna. We actually rented a little boat in Menaggio from AC Boat rentals and went around Lake Como for 3 hours on the boat we rented. (We booked the boat rental online from our Milan hotel room.) We took the ferry back to to Varenna from Menaggio. It was a wonderful day trip from Milan. We ate dinner along the waterfront in Varenna and then took the train back to Milan that evening.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33582 posts
Are you coming south from Switzerland and passing through Como station on the way to Milan? Or coming from eastern or southern Italy?
Do you have enough time to change to TreNord train to Varenna? Or do you just want a short round trip to Como?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Im coming from Bologna, Italy to Milan by train. Want to spend several hours at Lake Como, get on the ferry to see the Swiss Alps and head back to Milan to catch our train back to Bologna in the evening.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33582 posts
You see a lot more of the distant Alps from the northern end or middle of the upside down "Y" shaped lake than from the bottom of either of the legs.
If I wanted to meet your goals I'd change trains at Milano Centrale to the train to Varenna-Esino (destination of the train is Tirano, where the RhB station for the Bernina line is). Walk around Varenna, then take the ferry which is just down the hill from the station. You can either just take the car ferry across the lake to Menaggio and/or Bellagio but I would take a passenger ferry around the middle of the lake villages.
Then either back via Varenna-Esino and retrace your steps, or continue the ferry south, or take the much faster but poorer views hydrofoil to a Como pier then make your way to the station back to Milano Centrale, and back to Bologna...
Other routings are available
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you all for your input. It has been very helpful.