Recommendations needed for family train trip Zurich -> Varenna

Note spelling: Varenna.

Luzern would be a great 1st stop and you can take the train directly from Zurich airport which makes traveling a lot easier with kids. Train takes just over an hour. There are a number of different wats to get to Varenna. To avoid changes, I would suggest taking the train from Luzern to the city of Como and then the ferry to Varenna. You would arrive at Como St. Giovanni station and then it’s about a 15 walk to the ferries.

Thanks Phillip - my thoughts as well for Luzern. Anywhere else in Switzerland that you would suggest along the journey ?

I just wrote a long reply suggesting the Treno Gottardo and lost it. I will start over.

The train from Luzern to Como town uses the long and deepmGotthard Basistunnel under the @Alps, with limited alpine scenery. I suggest instead taking the Treno Gottardo from Luzern to Locarno, a lovely lakeside hotel in Ticino, the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. This scenic train goes (mostly) over the Alps, with wonderful views of peaks and waterfalls. I just took this train with my family a few weeks ago, and everyone loved it.

Explore the route and see photos and videos here:

https://www.mystsnet.com/en/experiences/scenic-routes/treno-gottardo/

I hit send too soon!

The Treno Gottardo departs Luzern at 9:@8, 11:18, etc. and takes two hours to reach Locarno. There are nice lakefront hotels a very short distance from the train station. I like Hotel Geranio au Lac. Although we have not yet managed a stay there, I will book it for our visit next September.

https://www.hotelgeranio.ch/en/

With the time you have, you can spend 2 nights in Luzern and 2-3 in Locarno. I suggest more in Locarno as it is a nice, laid-back lakeside place, less touristy than Luzern. From Locarno, it is a 2-hour train ride to Milano Centrale, where you change trains for the short ride to Varenna ( 1 hour). Or, if you like the idea of a ferry ride, you could leave the Locarno-Milano train at Como San Giovanni and make your way down to the ferry dock for the (longish but relaxing) ride to Varenna.

I think Lola’s suggestion is great. I’ve traveled that route and the scenery is some of the most beautiful you’ll ever see. If your kids were older, I would have recommended Bellinzona, a 15 minute train trip to the east. Three castles and a fantastic Saturday morning market. Great pizza at the Ristorante Croce Federale!

or you can go the traditionally beautiful route over the Alps on the Bernina Express route from Chur to Tirano on the Swiss/Italian border, then cross the piazza and take the train south to Varenna. That route gives you the entry halfway up a mountain straight into a tunnel which you will have seen on the ads.

Many choices...