We are attending a wedding in Stresa in September and will be staying in Italy 3 additional days. Not a lot of time. We are tentatively planning to visit Florence after wedding.
Would it be best to fly into Milan, train to Stresa, train to Florence? Or, fly into Florence, train to Stresa, train back to Florence. Only considering flying into Florence because it’s about $250-300 cheaper per person. Would this route be feasible??
How long should we expect for each train option?
Check train routes and pricing here:
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html
Just use same day of week to check now as Sept schedules won't be up til June- schedules don't change much
Station names:
Milano Centrale
Stresa
Firenze SM Novella
MIlan to Florence via fast train is about 2 hours
Milan to Stresa is about 1 hour- regional train
If you fly in to Florence you still need to get into center to train station then fast train to Milan- then regional to Stresa << this would be my last choice- too much travel esp if coming from US
if you fly in to Milan- there is a direct bus to Stresa from MXP
After wedding- regional to Milan from Stresa then fast train to Florence
If possible fly into one and out of the other. That will save you a whole lot of time and expense and trains, etc
You need to be in your departure city night before flight- (Stresa is fine as night before departure because it has direct bus to MXP and is actually closer than Milan).
It is about 4 hours from Florence SMN to Stresa with a single train change at Milano Centrale and should cost about 65 EUR per person for an any time ticket. You must also add in the cost and time for the tram from Florence airport to SMN station.
From Milan Malpensa airport, you can get a bus to Stresa in about 1 hour and costs 14 EUR per person. Buses go every 2 hours and I believe you should reserve.
