We will be in Varenna in June for two days. My ideal itinerary is to then take a train to Venice, with a half day stop in Verona? I cannot figure out how I would do this via train. Do I have to go from Varenna to Milan then to Verona/Venice? Is the half day stop in Verona worth it?
I have spent more time worrying about trains than what to do when we get there....
We did this trip about 4 years ago. We flew into Milan, took the airport bus to the train station there and then caught a local train to Varenna. We spent 2 nights there and took the train back to Milan where we caught the train to Verona. We spent 2 nights in Verona then we caught the train to Venice. The only glitch we had was missing our train from Varenna to Milan. It wasn't our fault, the local train was 45 min. late which meant we missed our train from to Verona. We had to book and pay for another ticket to Verona and hang out at the train station. As I look back, I don't think it was actually necessary to have a reserved seat on the that train. Be careful in the train station in Milan! Lot's of people hanging around the automatic machines asking if you need help.
FYI: We took a city bus to and from the train station to the city center in Verona I recommend spending a night in Verona, it's a fun place to walk around and a half a day may not give you enough time.
We did this trip about 4 years ago. We flew into Milan, took the airport bus to the train station there and then caught a local train to Varenna. We spent 2 nights there and took the train back to Milan where we caught the train to Verona. We spent 2 nights in Verona then we caught the train to Venice. The only glitch we had was missing our train from Varenna to Milan. It wasn't our fault, the local train was 45 min. late which meant we missed our train from to Verona. We had to book and pay for another ticket to Verona and hang out at the train station. As I look back, I don't think it was actually necessary to have a reserved seat on the that train. Be careful in the train station in Milan! Lot's of people hanging around the automatic machines asking if you need help.
FYI: We took a city bus to and from the train station to the city center in Verona I recommend spending a night in Verona, it's a fun place to walk around and a half a day may not give you enough time.
We actually did this route in reverse. It's easy to travel to Verona from Varenna en route to Venice.
We stayed in Verona for 3 nights & enjoyed walking around piazza Bra & Piazza delle Erbe. There is an arena much smaller than the one in Rome but still impressive. You can also visit the Duomo, Lamberti Tower, the Castelvecchio & it's museum, and of course,
the famous bronze statue of Juliet.
There is also the best gelato at Pretto (gelateria) on Piazza delle Erbe: http://www.gelatopretto.it/hd/
You will take a 'Regionale' train from Varenna to Milano Centrale where you will transfer to a Freccia (high speed) train to Verona.
Once you visit Verona, you will take a 'Regionale Veloce' train (8,60€pp) to Venice & you will get there in 1.5 hours.
You can check train schedules here:http://www.trenitalia.com
Type all train stations in Italian when using above website.
Enjoy your trip!
EDIT: Depending on how many days you will be in Venice, you may want to take a day trip to Padua (Padova) & visit the Scrovegni Chapel (need advance reservations) & St. Anthony's Basilica. There is an open air market on Saturdays on Prato della Valle nearby the basilica. Padua is an easy 30 minute train ride from Venice.
