This is a last minute trip, but we will be in Rome on October 15-17th, and have booked a River Cruise (Rick's trips were sold out) that leaves from Basel on October 20th. We were thinking of going to Paris from October 13-15 before Rome, and Lake Como after Rome and before Basel.
We were looking for recommendations about Lake Como, getting there from Rome, and then going on to Basel.
thanks for the help
Posted by
11679 posts
Fly or train Rome to Milan, then train to Varenna on Lake Como from Milan. Use the ferries to go or stay at other locations. Or train to city of Como from Milan, high speed or regular cerry north ip the lake to mid section. We drove from Italian Lake to Switzerland and back but the trains go there as well, through Como I think.
Posted by
Green Bay
21278 posts
I would not consider flying from Rome to Milan, it's only 3 hours on the train and it would take that long just getting Rome to the airport and airport to Milan with check-in time.
From Milano Centrale to Varenna on Lake Como. Varenna to Basel can be done the fast way or the slow way. The slow way is to take an early morning train to Tirano and change to the Bernina Express to St Moritz over the Bernina Pass, then to Chur on the Albula cork-screw railway, the a train to Basel. That takes over 9 hours, but has notable scenery. The fast way is to take the train from Varenna to Monza the change to a train to Zurich which goes through a 35 mile tunnel under the Alps (not much scenery there), then change to a train to Basel. That way is 5 hours and 19 minutes.
The third way, also fast, is to take the train from Varenna back to Milan and take a direct EC train to Basel. That way take 6 hours and 18 minutes, primarily because of a 35 minute train change in Milan. That route has 2 base tunnels along the way, but good scenery in between.