Hello! It’s our first European trip for my husband, daughter and I. We will be staying 4 days in Paris then would like to go to Switzerland to take the Bernina Express. Would like to stay maybe in Verona to make day trips to Venice and Como from there, not sure if that’s a good option or not but so far that’s what I’m thinking. Then we go down to Rome and after 2-3 days we will take a Mediterranean cruise there. Any suggestions to make that transfer in Switzerland? Should we stay overnight or should we make the train trip to Italy in one day? I know we would love to spend days in Switzerland but that will have to wait for another time. At least we want to take the Bernina for the views. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7879 posts
Your first step is to apply your ideas to Google Maps:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/o829SWjfzKuRm2xQA
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HbDoUdwVTbSWGgav7
Now, Google Maps is a very imprecise tool, but this makes it clear that these jumps would take ten to twelve hours on multiple trains. You also need to research how far the Rome cruise port is from Rome, and probably book a limo to get to the ship. (And make the most efficient plans possible for your return to Civitavecchia, if the cruise also ends there.)
I personally would not treat this as if it were my only trip, ever, to Europe. This is too much travel time for too little sightseeing.
It would be helpful to understand why you want to sleep in Verona, rather than Venice? Because Venice and Lake Como are supremely crowded in high season, we need to know the Month and Year of your planned travel, to give the best advice.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MP18nYAToayxHmuBA
(Four hours each way to Como from Verona)
Posted by
Green Bay
21137 posts
If you want to take the Bernina Express, you will go past Lake Como on the way to Verona. So why not just stop there in Varenna for a night, and then go to Venice, then Rome.
Leaving Paris, you will probably need to spend a night in Chur in order to get the morning Bernina Express departure to Tirano. Continue from there on Italian train to Varenna. Next day, take the train to Milano Cnetrle and change to a train to Venice. Then train to Roma Termini. Finally, train to Civitavecchia to get the to the cruise port.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We will be in Paris at the end of May 2025 and end our trip in June. What about flying from Paris to Milan making Milan my hub and have day trips to Bernina express and lake como? Is that doable? I thought about Verona because I think it may be slightly cheaper than Venice and it was 1/2 way between Venice and Milan.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17417 posts
Sam’s suggestion is excellent. Verona is pleasant town, but not a good base for visiting Venice. If you want to see Venice, bite the bullet, pay the price, and stay in Venice. There are affordable places to stay there if you look around. The best times in Venice are morning and evening, before and after the day=trippers arrive. I don’t think the daytrippers get much out of their time there.
As for staying in Milan as a base for Lake Como and Venice, that is a very poor choice. Milan hotels can be just as high as Venice, depending on the day, and the price and time consumed in trains back and forth make it a poor value.