AllegraV

Hello,

My husband and I are traveling to northern Italy in early November and want to spend two or three days around lake maggiore and/or lake como. It's hard to tell which towns would be best at this time of year given many of the hotels are closed.

Ideally we'd like to stay somewhere that has great food and wine options nearby (walking if possible). We don't mind moving around a little bit, staying one night in each town, so it would be great to have a few options. Also don't mind a quite town as long as there are good local food options. In terms of budget, we'd want to stay under $300-400 a night but could do some splurge and some basic. Also not opposed to driving into Switzerland for a night as long as the roads are ok.

From the lakes, we plan to head to alto adige, weather permitting then on to Verona.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated -- especially hotel and restaurant recommendations.

Thanks in advance,
Allegra

nytraveler

You're right = many places will be shut for the season - and any places I reco could well be among them. Also realize yuo are in winter time so the days will be very short and the sites (villas, gardens, etc) may well be closed and ferries to the various island will probably run shorter hours. Also not sure how much fun they will be in cold and quite possibly rainy weather.

Frankly I would stick with cities at that time of year.

AllegraV

Thanks for the quick response nytraveler. We're mostly interested in driving around and taking in the mountain views given we haven't been to area yet. Also, we're a little strange in that we tend to like traveling to beach/seaside towns in Italy in the winter to avoid the crowds.

Given the weather we'll likely plan another trip to the area in early spring to enjoy the flowers, gardens, and ferries vs try to brave them in the cold. if there are no restaurants and cafes open though, that will definitely be a problem.

Based in a few reviews I've read so far it sounds like a lot of people live in Como year-round so I'm guessing that may be our best best...

330east

hotel la palma-stresa

nytraveler

Can't comment on Como - but obviously everyplace won't be closed Just a totally different vibe,

michelhuebeli

If you're driving then any place on the Lago Maggiore is yours, as long as a quick phone call ascertains where you can sleep, or you can even chance it and go with your whims, if something is open it will have an empty bed for you.

Stresa is a good start, lots of hotels stay open, and the Borromean islands are nice even out of season. Locarno, Ascona, that whole region is picturesque, Bellinzona is worth a look with its imposing fortifications, then around to the other side to Lugano, up on the Monte Brè for a look out onto the (hopefully snow-capped) alps - then drive over to Menaggio on the Lake Como...

That's all a piece of cake with your own wheels.

Around Locarno there are stretches of main road (signed in green) where you are supposed to have the Vignette (a road-tax sticker) on your windshield, and again on the A2 from Chiasso up to Lugano and beyond - other than that, no need.

Get going early in the day, days will be short, daylight saving ends today (a week ahead of the US).

neckervd

Como, Lugano, Locarno, Verbania Intra are towns that don't primarily live from tourism. Almost everything there (except a few hotels) is open all the year round and frequented by local people.

But be aware that November can be very rainy and windy and that fog over the lakes is not seldom.

Locarno hs usually the mildest climate.
Lugano is the best public transport hub for the visit of other places like the 3 Bellinzona castles, the copy of Leonardo's Last Supper at Capriasca, the battistero of Riva San Vitale, the sanctuaries of Madonna del Sasso, Sacromonte and Re, all 3 lakes, Varese, Como, Milan......

The best signmarked (short, medium and long) scenic hiking trails are around and between Lugano and Locarno. Buses and cablecars to starting points of panoramic hikes run all the year round. But don't forget that heavy rain cannot be excluded.

The most scenc itinerary to Alto Adige goes via Lake Como - St. Moritz - Scuol mountain spa or Mustair Monastery - Mals - Meran...

AllegraV

Thank you all for the detailed responses! based on your comments, I think we'll head to Stresa (hotel la palma) or Verbania for the first night from Milan, then to Lugano or Locarno for the second night, and Como for our last night before we drive into Alto Adige.

Any off-season restaurant recommendations for Stresa, Verbania, Lugano, Locarno, or Como?

AllegraV

Hi neckervd, two quick questions for you on your Alto Adige recommendation - Lake Como - St. Moritz - Scuol mountain spa or Mustair Monastery - Mals - Meran.

I just mapped it out and it looks incredible. Do you think we'll need snow tires or chains on our rental car if we're traveling the first week of Nov? Also, based on google maps it looks like a 2.5-3hr drive btwn Como and St. Moritz, a 2hr drive btwn St. Mortiz and Mals, and another hour to Meran. Do you think these times are accurate for Nov?

neckervd

Actually, all roads between Lake Como - St. Moritz - Scuol - Meran are free of snow and dry and will remain so until next Monday (according to the weather forecast). But things can change at any time in November. In alto Adige too.

Driving times:
Menaggio - St. Moritz: 2 1/2 to 3 hrs, but the itinerary is highly scenic and it would be a pity not to stop somewhere, may be along Lake Sils or at Soglio (sidetrip).
St. Moritz - Meran: 3 to 3 1/2 hrs along both itineraries
stop overs via Scuol: Guarda (most beautiful village of South Eastern Switzerland), Scuol (thermal spa and castle), Glurns (smallest walled city of Italy)
via Mustair: Mustair (Monastery with medieval frescoes), Glurns
(smallest walled city of Italy)

BTW: how do you arrive at Milan? If you land at Malpensa airport, you are nuch closer to Lake Maggiore than to Milan

HappyTrvlr

We drove to Lake Maggiore from MXP, east side of lake, in a very short time.

neckervd

It's just 18 miles, most of them motorway

AllegraV

Great, thanks all. We'll be arriving at Malpensa so we thought we'd go straight to Lake Maggiore.