Northern Italy-June 2023

We haven’t been to Brescia, so I cannot comment. But we have been to the opera in the Verona arena, twice, and really enjoyed it. Next summer is the 100th anniversary of the Verona opera festival, so they are going all-out:

https://www.arena.it/en/arena-di-verona/news/100th-arena-di-verona-opera-festival-2023

Four performances of Aida in June, plus one of Carmen and one of Barber of Seville.

Getting to Zermatt from either Brescia or Verona will be a journey of 5-6 hours, with 2-3 changes on the way. June is still early season there, so hotel prices may be lower than midsummer. The weather could be anything. We went the first few days of July and hiked in a blizzard one day and in brilliant sunshine the next. With 4 days there you would have a fairly good chance of seeing the Matterhorn without a shroud of clouds, but of course it is not guaranteed.

Since Zermatt is a must, you may consider going to Stresa (or Baveno) on Lake Maggiore.

You can visit Lake Maggiore prior to heading to Zermatt, or before flying home.
There’s a bus that travels directly from Lake Maggiore to Malpensa Airport.

Keep in mind that you must reserve the bus in advance here:
Alibus-Malpensa-Lago Maggiore

Consider 3 nights in Venice since your husband has not been there. Then you could take the train from Venice to Milano Centrale and then a train to Stresa on Lake Maggiore for 2 or 3 nights. The Borromean Islands are lovely with gardens and peacocks and an interesting palace. Then go to Zermatt from there. I have not been to Brescia.

Thank you for your replies.

Being in Verona for the opera is tempting! To other comments, we may stay 3 nights in Venice, not sure yet. And I have thought about Stresa, as its location would be convenient, and we could relax in a car-free area, I know it's lovely. I think I'm spoiled for choice. To add to the mix, I'd be happy with a few days in Milan, as there are several things we'd be delighted to see there.

Re Zermatt, I know it's unpredictable regarding weather. That's why I allotted 4 days there, but if the weather prediction is miserable for the 4 days, we'll reconsider. Then there's the dolomiti.......

If only I could convince my DH to stay for a month.

Again, thank you for your input.

Following post here as unfamiliar with area and look for recommendations.
Flying in June LAX to Venice. Paris CDG to LAX. Looking for any and all recommendations of things to so in between the cities such as cute Alps towns or pretty beaches . How To best get around etc ..so many options it’s overwhelming so I will consider many .
Cheers

Is your DH’s “must” some beautiful mountain scenery, rather than specifically Zermatt? Then the Dolomites would be a better fit with your Italy destinations, and the weather is likely better in June. We were in the Dolomites for two weeks in September, not our first time, but I had forgotten how stunningly beautiful they are. Not snow-covered peaks like the Alps around Zermatt, but really rugged rocky pinnacles rising above verdant green rolling hills and meadows.

There really aren’t any truly car-free villages like Zermatt in the Dolomites, but staying up on Alpe di Siusi will give you a fairly traffic-free experience.

Or, if a car-free village with snow-covered peaks and glaciers is the requirement, consider one of the car-free villages perched above the Rhône valley near the Aletsch Glacier, with scenery like this:

https://www.aletscharena.ch/en/world-natural-heritage-site/great-aletsch-glacier

The village of Bettmeralp is reached by cablecar from the base at Betten, a 10-minute train ride from Brig in Switzerland. This would be a shorter more convenient journey from Milan than Zermatt, and the village is much smaller and less touristy. To see the huge glacier, you can hike up the ridge behind the village, ride a lift up the Bettmerhorn, or walk to one of the nearby villages ( Riederalp or Fiescheralp) and take a lift up from there.

https://www.aletscharena.ch/en/aletsch-arena/places/bettmeralp

Lola,
Thank you for your suggestion. Going to the Dolomiti is definitely, and option, and one reason that I want to stay either in Brescia, or Verona. I know if the weather is bad in Zermatt, then perhaps we could zip up to Trento and spent our time there. For that reason, I'm actually leaning a bit more towards Verona, now.

to answer ur main question: do you think Brescia is a good choice?

I would stick to Venice, stop over at Verona while on the way to Milan and then head off to Zermatt. Maybe flyout from Zurich instead of Milan?

I was in Brescia last spring just for a day, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was lots to see in the Centro Storico. The fun thing was several piazze, each one a unified architectural style - one with Roman excavations, one fully medieval, one Renaissance, one Mussolini Fascist - it was fascinating to have a whole piazza in a single style.

Bergamo was also a great day trip and you're right, it would be easy from Brescia. I also highly recommend a day trip to Monza. It has an incredible 700 hectare park in the inner city which contains a Savoy palace, a huge rose garden, a Formula 1 racetrack, an 18 hole golf course and limitless fields and walks. And the town has a very pretty central historical pedestrian area around a river.

Thank you for your replies. Good to know Brescia would be a good base. I had done some research and thought it might be a fun, less crowded spot. Lots to think about.

Like dlynch I am following along as Northern Italy is on our list too.

DD thoroughly enjoyed Bolzano and easy to get to Alpe di Siusi by bus for hiking.

Padua has been suggested to me a number of times however I have not been yet.

We are thinking Venice-Alpe di Siusi-Trieste.

Dlynch, if you want to start a new thread, people are always happy chime in 😊

We returned from a wonderful coach tour of Switzerland two weeks ago; in Zermatt we stayed at the Hotel Alex which our bedroom window looked out at the Matterhorn; https://www.hotelalexzermatt.com/hotel/?lang=en.
Our guide said to take the train up to view the mountain at the location right across the road from the hotel as you get a better view from there compared to the cog train up from the train station at $100 Swiss Franc more per person. When comparing our photos, she was right.
Enjoy.

Jeanhol,
Thank you for the suggestion. The Alex hotel looks lovely. I checked our dates, and there is no availability, but it's early, so I will add it to my spreadsheet! It's a little expensive, too. But I love the idea of NOT paying $100 each for the railway up the mountain. Thanks again.

No one else has commented on Milan so I'll say: please go see The Last Supper! It was the most stunning art we saw in Europe, and in such a nice setting. No hordes of tourists like the Mona Lisa or Sistine Chapel, at least when we were there.