Hi. would you recommend Montreaux, Lausanne, or Stresa for a 4 days in late Aug flying from London to Geneva, then making our way to Venice. We'd likely plan to spend at least 1 night stopover in Stresa (to enjoy a few hours walking/views), so wondering if we should do 2 or 3 nights in L or M beforehand, or do just 1 night L and then head to S for 3 nights? M looks very developed and touristy, but access to Chillon and wine areas are appealing. Looks like it's not too difficult to day trip from L, which is fine if L is a more picturesque place to stay. We like moderate hiking, biking, castles, good food, wine. We could also base out of Venice and do a few day trips, such as to Sirmione and many Proscecco day tour. Pros/Cons of places? No car, all public transit, carryon luggage.
Posted by
white plains, ny, usa
4161 posts
They are all beautiful , but I'm an advocate of slow travel . T would spend the duration in Stresa . A day to visit the Borromean Islands , two days in Stresa , and a day to take the boat North on Maggiore to Canobbio or :Locarno ,
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
Of the three choices, my suggestion would be Stresa. There are lots of activities to keep busy with in that area for a few days. A few examples....
- Tour the Borromean Islands. Only a few minutes by boat from the harbour in Stresa.
- There are Alpine Gardens on Mt. Mottarone that can be toured, and hiking possibilities there. However I'm not sure whether access is possible at the moment as the cable car service is suspended.
- Take a day trip to Locarno (CH) on the scenic Cento Valli Railway, returning to Stresa by boat in the evening. In Locarno you can take the cable car to Cardada / Cimetta for some hiking and gorgeous views of the city - https://www.cardada.ch/en .
If you're leaning more towards Montreaux or Lausanne, I'd recommend Lausanne. It's a beautiful city and there are some nice hotels. It's easy to visit Chateau de Chillon using the elegant old paddlewheelers, returning by train (details in the RS guidebook as I recall). Chillon is very historic but I wasn't overly impressed. As you noted, Montreaux tends to be more posh and touristy. It would be relatively easy to have a look at Montreaux at the same time as visiting Chateau de Chillon.
Posted by
OP
washington, dc
395 posts
thank you! We'd likely do L or M for 1 night (arriving at GVA late evening). Deciding whether worth it for 2 nights in L to do a long day trip and then 2 night Stresa? For your and others reviews, sounds like we might skip Chillon and go to the wine area. How easy is it to get to the wine area from L with public transit?