Train route and stops recommendations please

Oct. 17: Strasbourg to Samedan or Pontresina via Basel (Or Mulhouse), Zurich and Chur; 6 hours by train. Overnight there.

Oct. 18: Bernina Express ( or a regular regional train on the same tracks) to Tirano; change there to a southbound Italian train to Varenna on Lake Como. Spend 1-2 nights there.

Oct. 19:or 20: one hour by train from Varenna to Milano Centrale; change there to a fast and direct Trenitalia or Italo train to Firenze ( under 2 hours).

Train to Basel, then train to Chur and spend the night there. Next morning take the Bernina Express to Tirano and change to the train to Varenna on Lake Como. 2 nights there, then continue on the train to Milano Centrale, then a high speed train to Florence.

Lola pretty much nailed it.

My only reservation about Pontresina is that by October 17, there is a chance o snow in Pontresina. Many hotels will have shutdown at the end of September and be getting ready for the winter season which starts in December. Even Varenna could be pretty uiet that time of year. You have plenty of time to decide. Many trains, especially in Italy, will not even show up on the schedule until mid June.

Thank you for making it look so manageable. I really appreciate it. I've had a change in my Italy plan. The housing I thought I had secured in Florence won't be available until the 22nd now, so I think I'll take this chance to finally see Venice. It looks like I can catch a fast train from Milan to Venice for a few days, then down to Florence. It's a lot of moving around, but I think it's manageable.

Will I need to reserve any of these train tickets in advance? Does anyone have suggestions for a hotel for one night in Chur and one in Vareena? I'm not a fancy person, but I do like clean and light.

Thank you!

Trains from Milan to Venice and Florence have not been loaded on the schedule yet, Yes, you should buy in advance, the earlier the better, but no need to even look until mid June.

Given Sam’s comments about the weather, I am going to suggest an alternate route that is just as scenic, but will have you staying at lower elevations. And it will be a shorter, less complicated journey overall.

The Bernina Express is very popular here, and it gets a lot of love. But but few people are aware that there is another train that goes over the Alps instead of under them in a tunnel. The Treno Gottardo is a new train that uses an old route over the Alps via the Gotthard Pass. We took this route in 2010 between Zurich and Milan. But the Ciisalpino tilting trains that used the route had problems, and the direct connection was discontinued after the deep Gotthard Basistunnel opened in 2016. One could still ride the rails on the Gotthard Pass route, but it involved cobbling together several regional trains.

Then the Swiss reinstated a train on the route over the Gotthard Pass, connecting two Swiss towns: Zurich (or Luzern) with Locarno in the canton of Ticino. The Treno Gottardo began service in December of 2020, but was little known or used due to the pandemic. It is still described as a “new” train. We took this train last September (2022) and shared the first-class car with only 2 other people—-Swiss women who were on a daytrip to Locarno. They were very curious how we Americans knew about this train, and they were happy that we were so interested in it. In a mix of German (which I can understand a bit), Italian (which my husband speaks) and their limited English, they gave us a running commentary on the highlights of the journey, including the little chapel that the train passes 3 times as it switchbacks down the mountain. This now my favorite train in Switzerland (surpassing the Bernina Pass route).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisalpino

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

https://www.ticino.ch/en/commons/details/Treno-Gottardo-Südostbahn-/86872.html

So, your journey by this route would be
Oct. 17, Strasbourg to Luzern (one train change, in Basel) and overnight there, in a charming small city on the lake.

Oct. 18, take the Treno Gottardo to Locarno, another town on a lake, but this one is in the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. Overnight here —there are several lakefront hotels just blocks from the train station.

Oct. 19— continue to Milan, and change trains there for one straight to Venice. You gain an extra day and night in Venice—always a good thing, in my view.

Lola, thank you for the suggestion. I spent lots of time yesterday comparing train routes. I think I’m going to stick with the Bernini Express route this trip.

Now I have to start figuring out the timing of it all. Since obviously the schedules for October aren’t available yet, is it reasonably likely that if I played with schedules in April, they’ll be similar in October?

Swiss trains are already scheduled. French and Italian schedule should not change very much.

one in Vareena

KRS

you will be more successful hunting for places in Varenna if it is spelled correctly. One "e", two "n"s.

Some search engines may change it for you but some won't, and I'm sure you will want the full picture.

A nice small (quite small) town Varenna. I like it quite a lot. I won't give you the place I stayed because I wouldn't go back there, but there is all sorts of choice in the town.

If you are like me you will love the Bernina Express route.

Thank you Nigel. Someone on the Italy forum corrected me as well. I try to be careful about spellings so I appreciate that you pointed that out. I'm hoping to lock down lodging in Varenna today so I can focus more on the fun part; what I want to see and do in each area.

if you're interested in the Bernina Express, watch some Youtube videos to decide if it appeals to you. It is a very popular vlog.