Hello, I am traveling with adult children and we are planning a 10 day trip to Italy and Switzerland in Mid June. We plan to arrive in Milan, spend a few days on Lake Como, and then head to Switzerland. We plan to travel exclusively by train and would like to spend most of the Switzerland time in Wengen. My question is how to plan an itinerary that makes smart use of our travel time by train. Should we make a stop in between Como and Wengen? Should we consider a different spot in Italy for our first several days?
Thanks so much for any guidance you can give.
Posted by
San Diego, California
4770 posts
Are you considering riding the beautiful Bernini Express train route from Tirano, Italy, to Chur/Pontressina/ St. Moritz area? Staying a few days there before going to Wengen is quite delightful. We then traveled from Pontressina to the Berner Oberland, it was 5-6 hrs of train rides, not too long. You will have a fantastic time in the Alps- safe travels!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16338 posts
Make your Lake Como destination the lovely little town of Varenna, an hour from Milan by train. Then you can take the train north to Tirano (note spelling) and catch the train over the Bernina Pass to Pontresina as suggested above. From there to Wengen is a journey of 6-7 hours with from 5 to 7 train changes. If you would like to break up that journey with an overnight stop, you could go via Luzern and overnight there, then continue via the scenic Golden Pass route over Brunig Pass.
If that sounds too long and complicated, and/or your Lake Como destination is the town of Como itself, you could take one of the trains that goes over the Gotthard Pass route to Luzern: the Treno Gottardo from Locarno to Luzern, or the Gotthard Panorama Express from Lugano to Luzern via train and boat. I would overnight in Luzern, but you could continue the journey all the way to Wengen if you prefer.
If that is still too much time on trains, you can the fast EC 52 train from Milan to Spiez via two tunnels under the Alps, and change there to a regional train to Interlaken Ost, then another train to Lauterbrunnen, and lastly the little Zahnradbahn ( cogwheel train) up the mountainside to Wengen, all in less than 4 hours.
Posted by
Green Bay
20175 posts
From Pontresina to Wengen, you could also take the Glacier Express as far as Brig, then switch to the trains to Spiez, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, and Wengen. Takes 9 1/4 hours, but some pretty nice scenery along the way
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks to all for your extremely helpful responses!