Best route from Rothenburg to Lake Como

Since neither Rothenburg or Como has a major airport, flying would require you to get to/from one (Nürnberg, Milan), so it might take 5-6 hours or more and really, the world from 40000' looks about the same. I see 9½-10 hour connections by train, many through Stuttgart and Zürich, many of which can be booked in advance from the German Rail website for €43,50 with an online Europa-Spezial Italien fare. The Gotthard line, from Lucern to Chiasso is supposed to be very scenic.

After you click on the link Lee gave you, enter Rothenburg ob der Tauber as your departure point and Como S. Giovanni as your arrival point. After you get summary timetables, click on the arrow to the left of each departure time to see the connecting points.

Book well in advance (up to 92 days allowed) to have the best chance of getting the cheapest Europa-Spezial Italien fare on any of the routes that offer it.

Thanks for the info. I guess I had no idea it would be 9-10 hrs train time to Lake Como from Rothenburg. We will probably have to let go of the old favorites if we want to see Italy. Thanks again! I guess it's back to the planning table!

There used to be a night train connection from Munich to Milan. It would take longer, but you'd sleep through it, so the amount of prime time would be minimal. However, that train now only goes as close as Verona (at 2:40 in the morning), so it probably not much good.

anne,

I always look for "creative ways" to structure my trips. Depending on how much time you have, one option you might consider would be to make an intermediate stop between Rothenburg and Lago di Como, to "break up" the journey into more manageable segments.

For example, you could choose a route either through Zurich (stay one night) and then to Lago di Como via Milan OR through Munich and Verona (again stay one night in perhaps Bolzano). That would make the journey a bit easier to tolerate.

The other option would be a budget flight from Nurnberg to Milan / MXP via Air Berlin. Some of the fares are very inexpensive (depending on when these are booked and the type of ticket), but keep in mind there will propably be some very tight luggage limits. Flight times on this route are as short as 1.5 hours if a direct flight.

Good luck with your planning.

You don't have to go all the way to Milan and come back to Como. The Como S. Giovanni sta., the next stop after Chiasso, is right outside of the town of Como, 2 km from town center.

Lee,

Yes, that's true but the two routes I checked using an arbitrary destination of Varenna both travelled via Milano Centrale.

Anne didn't specify which particular destination on Lago di Como she would be going to, so I just assumed that any of Rick's readers would probably be going to Varenna.

Cheers!

There are seven fast boats per day departing Como. Four go to Varenna in a little over an hour. Three go to Menaggio in less than an hour. There are frequent ferries from Menaggio to Varenna. That's probably faster than going all the way into Milan, although you can change in Monza, instead of Milan, and make the trip faster.

Thanks so much for all your comments - its funny how something seems impossible then someone else can make a few suggestions and it becomes so clear. Your comments have been GREATLY appreciated. We think we will go from Rothenburg to Zurich for one night then on to Como. Does that sound feasible? Feel free to tell me no....All this because I cant let go of Rothenburg and Saltzburg!

Anne

anne,

I certainly won't be the one to tell you "no". If there's someplace that's important for me to see, I always figure out a way to make it happen.

Are you going to the town of Como, or one of the other small towns along the lake?

Cheers!

From what I have heard, the town of Como is fairly industrial, not exactly a destination resort, but it is the starting point for some boat trips on the lake. She could get from there to Varenna in an hour and get a cruise on the lake, to boot.

It looks like the station at San Giovanni is about ¾ mile from the harbor.

We have not made reservations but checked the section in Ricks book on Lake Como - once again, I certainly invite your advice! It just seemed so pretty and the pictures on the internet are beautiful. He listed a couple of hotels but if ya'll know of a good place - please let me know.

Thanks again!

Anne