Zurich to Milan Itinerary

When is this trip? This month? Next Month? Next year? It matters, because some of the train routes between Switzerland and Milan are impacted by construction through early September, and travel times to Stresa in particular are even longer than usual.

With such a short amount of time I’d just fly to Milan, take the airport bus to Stresa and stay there the whole time
You could take the ferry or train to Locarno if you want to step into Switzerland.
You can day trip to Milan
You can leave from Stresa the am of your flight on the direct to MXP bus.

Your plan has very little time “being there” lots of time “getting there”

Thank you for the helpful responses so far! I do think we might be trying to do too much travel in such a short time. The trip is at the end of this month (just decided to add this second leg recently)!

Milan had the most direct and cheapest flights back home, and we were originally thinking Italy only. Original thought was also Lake Como but worried about the crowds this time of year.

So alternatively, knowing we are coming in from Majorca and out of Milan where would you suggest we spend our time? Open to a day in Milan but not interested in much more- wanting more beautiful scenery and little towns!

Finding lodging at this late date will be difficult-possibly impossible at Lake Como

See my above post about staying in Stresa
Keep your transits short so you have more time to enjoy where you are going
Stresa will be busy as well but more room to spread out there

That’s what I figured re: Lake Como. Stresa had options! Will look into that!

There is also a TILO train from Lugano to Malpensa, taking 1.5 hours, hourly service starting around 6 am.

https://www.tilo.ch/en/collegamenti/S50/

Are you still trying to include Műrren? The train ride from Mürren to Stresa involves a minimum or 5 changes, athe last of which is a bus link around the construction zone. You must have reservations on that bus. Between Spiez and Domodossola the train goes under the Alps, passing through 2 long deep tunnels. You can avoid the first tunnel by taking a longer route, adding an hour to the trip, but the second one is unavoidable.

If Műrren is a must (which is understandable), I suggest you route via Luzern and the Gotthard Panorama Express to Lugano, and take the TILO train to Malpensa. Then you would have i night Mürren, a 2.5-hour scenic train journey to Luzern for your overnight there, then the Gotthard Panorama Express boat plus train scenic ride to Lugano. That is 5.5 hours but half of that is on the boat, a very relaxing and scenic trip.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/experiences/gotthard-panorama-express/

If that seems too costly (it is all First Class), you can duplicate the route on regular trains. If you wish, you could spend the night on the lake at Weggis, a short boat ride from Luzern, instead of in the city itself. This lakeside hotel has rooms available on the 28th and 29th of this month, if those dates fit your schedule. We were there last September and loved it.

https://www.gotthard-weggis.ch/en/

Next day you ride the boat down the lake to Flüelen and catch a train to Lugano (you will have 1 change on the way).

A few years back I took the bus directly from Milan’s airport to Stresa. I really enjoyed it. It is very small but I found day trips easy and stress-free. There are ferries that take can take you to the three islands. I also visited some small towns . I love Maggiore. Two years ago, I stayed in Ascona on the Swiss side for 3 nights for a Jazz Festival. Plenty to do on this lake.

Thank you so much!! Lola, unfortunately I think we are going to have to nix Murren this trip even though it looks amazing!!

Right now, I’m leaning toward the suggestion above of staying in Stresa and just going in and out of Milan. Spending our time around the lake and visiting the islands!

The funicular in Stresa is no longer in operation
That was the sight of a horrible accident few years ago

I think that your Stresa plan makes sense. As appealing as Műrren is, you would spend a lot of extra time on trains getting ther and then down to Stresa.

If you have trouble finding lodging in Stresa, try this pace, down near the waterfront:

https://ilgigibar.it/

It is new, and kind of off the tourism sites radar. We had reservations there in September but then our itinerary changed. Or try the nearby Albergo Sempione—- they were very kind and accommodating when I was searching for a place to stay in Stresa near the lake.

https://www.sempioneboutiquehotel.it/en/