We are traveling from Venice to the Lake Como area - arriving on Sept. 9th - staying 3 nights and then taking a train to Zurich Switzerland. I have read many great reviews about staying in Varenna - is this the best area to stay given we are coming in from Venice - and need to leave early (7:30AM) to Zurich via train? Is there a direct train we can take from Venice to Varenna? We will have 3 nights - 2 full days plus a 1/2 day when we arrive) to tour the surrounding areas - we were planning a day trip to Lake Lugano - but after reading many posts on here - people suggest trips to Bellagio, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore - What would you guys recommend? Hotel suggestions? We're thinking about: Hotel Metropole and Suisse, Grand Hotel Tremezzo and also Albergo Milano (given the rave reviews on here). Any insight, advice or opinions are greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
My personal preference is to get to know the place where I'm staying, rather than taking off for other places during the day. Varenna is very charming and Lake Como is beautiful. (Picture a bigger version of Washington State's Ross Lake, with Italian villages along the shores.) Take one of your Varenna days to do the lake ferry and see at least Bellagio. The RS Italy book will help with lodging and logistics. Varenna is a small town with no direct train from Venice. It will take you about four hours and two trains and cost about 37 euros for 2nd class. (Venice to Milan, then change trains to Varenna.) I'm not sure I understand why you say you "need to leave early (7:30AM) to Zurich". Do you already know about those trains?
Posted by
OP
Bellevue, Washington, USA
2 posts
Michael, Thank you for your suggestions! I don't know a specific train to Zurich but did look up the schedule that is available now and found a direct train from Lake Como to Zurich which leaves at 7:30AM. We are spending one night in Zurich as we fly home on 9/12 early from Zurich. I've read that Varenna is a better place to stay than Lake Como. Do you know how far Varenna is from Lake Como? Would we take a ferry from Varenna to Como to catch the train? If so, then perhaps we take the train from Venice, change in Milan - arrive Varenna - stay 2 nights. Then head to Lake Como for 1 night and catch the train in the morning? I'm trying to find the most direct/efficient route possible so we spend less time on transfer and more time enjoying the locales....
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2356 posts
To clarify, Varenna is on Lake Como (Eastern side of lake). Como is a separate town on the lake, near the southern side. Bellagio is a town on the lake. Ferry schedules are here: http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/nlc_ora.html As you can see from the map, Como is a long way from Varenna. If it were me, I would take the train to Milan, then take the train to Varenna, stay two nights - ride the ferry around, see the little towns (Bellagio, etc.). On the third day, return to Milan on the train, explore the city a bit, and stay at a hotel close to the train station (I liked Hotel Berna). Take an early morning train to Zurich as planned.