I will be traveling from Switzerland (bern) to Italy in mid-October- is it worth it to arrange one night in either Varenna or Stressa, or should we just go straight to Venice? Opinions appreciated as to stopping overnight, and which location is preferable, in your experience.
Thank you,
Shelby
need a tad more info to give a better answer... how long do you have in Venice if you don't stop? Have you been to Venice previously?
Car or train?
Are you starting from the city of Bern, or elsewhere in the Canton?
Travelling alone or in a group?
Have you visited either of the lakes, or Lugano, previously?
I've only been to Stresa, so can't comment on lake Como. But I imagine based on my experience that 2-3 nights would be better. Also I've only been in May, so I can't say how nice the gardens in the Borromeo islands are in October. The beautiful gardens are the reason to go to Maggiore, IMHO. So based on the time of year you are going and the lack of time, I personally wouldn't spend a night at either lake.
If by train, Stresa is the obvious choice as the train from Bern to Milan will drop you right there, and there are frequent regional trains to Milan for the continuation on to Venice.
russell,
As Sam mentioned, if you're coming from Switzerland then Stresa would be the obvious choice as you'll likely be travelling right past it on the line that goes through Domodossola. For the trip to Venice, it's only an hour or so from there to Milano Centrale and then an easy trip via Freccia high speed trains to Venice.
If you decide to visit Lago di Como you'll first travel to Milano Centrale and then take the Regionale to Varenna-Esino, which will also be about an hour (although you may have a short wait for the trains, as they only run about every two hours as I recall). On the way to Venice, another hour back to Milan and then the Freccia to Venice.
The travel time will be close in either case, except for the trip TO Lago di Como, which will add an extra hour or so to go to the lake (as opposed to being dropped right at the town on the way from Switzerland, which is the case with visiting Stresa. On the trip to Venice, the time is approximately the same. Note that your destination station in Venice will be Venezia Santa Lucia.
Thanks so much for your feedback.
