Thinking about spending a night or two in Locarno after flying in from the US. We will be jetlagged. Have done the Varenna/Lake Como thing, stayed in Stresa and Lake Orta. Being on a lakeside is a relaxing way to regain our energy before the "real trip" begins. FYI we are flying in from Arizona to Milan, and want to rest up before a conference in Lausanne. Been to Milan, Geneva and Lausanne before and would like someplace new. Using trains, no car. Thanks!
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Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
Locarno would be an excellent choice to spend a few days after arriving in Europe. However, I would suggest spending more than "a night or two", as you'll need a few days to get over jet lag.
Aside from just enjoying the beautiful lakeside city, there are a number of other sights. For example, you could visit the Madonna del Sasso Monastery, try your luck in the Casino, do some window shopping (the Bucherer jewellery store is always interesting... Rolex has some new models for 2023) or take a trip in the cable car up to Cardada / Cimetta for some fantastic views - https://www.cardada.ch/en .
It's relatively easy to get to Locarno from MXP. I briefly checked the train schedules using an arbitrary date in May, and there are a number of departures with a travel time of 2H:19M, with one change. When it's time to continue with your onward journey, you could try an alternate route and either take the boat back to Stresa or travel on the scenic Cento Valli railway to Domodossola and on to Lausanne.