JoMark

We (family of 5)having spent 3 days in Paris have an additional 3 days to get from Paris to Menaggio (on Lake Como)in July.
Although I had a little trouble with the Trenitalia web site (it appears to only allow bookings a month or so in advance), even Lyon or Dijon to Milan by train is a 6+hr journey & Menaggio is probably a further 3 hours again.This casts some doubt on our original plan of driving from Paris to either of these French cities and then taking the train into Italy. So the queries I have now relate to what do more experienced travellers see as the best way to go.
1. Stick with original plan, but find a city closer to the Italian border to drop the hire car(we are told it is very expensive to take a hire vehicle into Italy & we're hoping to rely more on boat once at the lake). Will this plan reduce us to "quick get out of the car and look at ..."?
2. Give 3 days to an area reasonably close to Paris +/- hire car and then fly to Milan.
3. Overnight train from Paris (not so keen on this option as couchettes are quite expensive & don't work well for 5)
4. Get a train pass (we later travel from Menaggio to Venice, Venice to ???, ??? to Rome-3nights in each place)and enjoy the trip, breaking for 2 nights in one place & a single night in another or 3 nights in the middle. Is there a "more" scenic route to arrive at Como (where we plan to take the boat to Menaggio).

Whilst a car is potentially the least expensive option (our children are 13,15,18 & considered to be adult by train services)there is significant hassle involved so we are not set on this option. Any recommendations on places to visit (non big city preferred), would be much appreciated.

nessundorma

It doesn't take 3 hours to get from Milan to Menaggio.

However, if you can find an inexpensive flight, there are busses that go to Menaggio directly from Malpensa airport.

You might also see what kind of train connectiions (possibly through Switzerland?) you could make through Lugano. There is a bus that leaves from Lugano that goes directly to Menaggio.

Also, since you are going to Venice, you might consider siimply flying to Venice and visiting Lago di Como on your way to Rome.

If you are not absolutey set on Lago di Como, you might consider Lago Maggiore, again coming down through Switzerland. The train stops at Stresa.

Hope that helps somewhat.

swandav2000

Hi JoMark,

Well . . . I would drop the car on the French side of the Geneva airport, spend a few days at Lake Geneva, then take the train to Milan/Lakes area (about five hours).

Good luck!

s

JoMark

nessundorma, we have already booked in Lago di Como so that is set. Your advice to fly to Venice is very sensible. We actually started out with 6 days to get from Paris to Menaggio, but advice on this forum suggested that 2 nights in each place of our Italian travel was just too rushed, so we stole from our transFrance travel(a night at a time)for longer stays in Menaggio, Venice & Rome). Being a family of 5 I've had so much trouble finding suitable accomodation (apartments are the most suitable but they often want more than 2-3nights minimum), that I'd locked in Menaggio & Venice before I had thought through the repercussions of such limited time in France. My 3 hours from Milan to Menaggio was train to Como and boat(might as well travel the scenic route) to Menaggio. I will look into travelling via Switzerland. We live in Queensland, Australia so my children would love to see snow- perhaps an option even in summer?
swandav2000, will look into the Lake Geneva route.
Thank you both for your advice

rex

Checking www.whichbudget.com i find fares in the sub-50 euro range for flights (on EasyJet, for example) from Paris (Orly) to Milan (Linate); I didn't search exhaustively for all the combinations between the six airports (CDG, ORY, BVA in Paris... MXP, LIN, BGY in Milan).

Since this gives you extra days, I would recommend a car rental, and exploration of some of the other cool destinations in a 100 mile circle... Bergamo, Sirmione, Pavia, Monza - - are some that come to mind.

Best wishes,

Rex

Doble_Vergasser

If you continue to research flying, then some of the discount airlines fly into Bergamo (instead of Malpensa/ Linate).

Another possibility would be to train to Varenna and cross to Menaggio at mid-lake (a 15 minute boat ride), especially if you fly into Bergamo.

DeirdreStraughan

If you take the train, you will arrive at Milan Central station, where you can catch a train to Varenna (roughly once an hour, takes about an hour and a quarter) and then the ferry boat from Varenna across to Menaggio.

If you fly into Bergamo, you can take a taxi (15 euros) or city bus (3 or 4 euros person) to the Bergamo railway station, then a train to Lecco (1 hour, ~3.50 per person), and another train to Varenna...

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

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