Originating in Paris, I hear there is a train ride to Como by way of Switzerland. Was given a website: sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/adw.do?2769 but discovered was in German. Does anyone know how to turn this into English?
Posted by
Lewiston, Idaho, USA
2092 posts
Jackie, at the top, between the middle and the far left it says "fr/it/en". Click on the "en"...short for english!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
That particular web page won't tell you anything about getting to Lake Como via Switzerland. However, you are at the right website to conduct most of the journey. You want www.sbb.ch/en.
The journey you describe above will involve train systems from 2 different countries, a local bus and possibly a ferry on Lake Como. But, it can be done very easily.
First, you can take a train from Paris to Lugano Switzerland. The journey will take about 8+hours and will involve one train change in Zurich. The train from Paris to Zurich is a high-speed French TGV. The train from Zurich will be a high-speed Eurocity Swiss train. I see a fare of 221 Swiss Francs for this journey. I also see a non-refundable, non-exchange fare of 152 Swiss Francs. Everything I described above can be seen on the Swiss train website mentioned above. You might also get a special fare off of the French website.
So now you are in Lugano. You are now very close to Lake Como. However, you have not indicated where in Lake Como you wish to stay. From Lugano, there is a local bus that goes to Menaggio on the mid-West side of Lake Como. If you want to stay in Menaggio, then you are there. If you want Como, Bellagio or Varenna, you will need to take the ferry to these locations.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17238 posts
You can also get the Swiss trai website in English at www.rail.ch.
You have several option besides the one described by Larry (going to Lugano and to Como from there). The Zürich to Milan train stops at Lugano (for Larry's option) and also at Como San Giovanni (the town of Como) and ends at Milan. From Como you could take a boat to other destinations on the lake. From Milan you can take a train straight to Varenna.
Depending on when you are going, you may be able to buy advance-purchase discount fare tickets on the SBB website, both for the Paris to Zürich portion and for Zürich to Milan. We bought the latter journey for 30 CHF instead of the regular fare of 92 CHF for our July trip. You could use the discounted Zürich to Milan tickets even if you are getting off in Lugano or Como; you'll still be ahead.
The fare from Milan to Varenna is less than 6 euro; you can buy these tickets at the Milan train station from the machines.