leebiegirl

Hello,
My friends and I are planning a trip to Italy. We are flying into Milan, so we are hoping to spend one day experiencing hiking in the Swiss Alps. We are college students, so we want to keep it on budget, but since we are so close to Switzerland, we also want to make the most of our time. We are hoping to start from Milan in the morning and then by evening catch a train to Verona. What would you all suggest?

tom_mn

I a similar situation I went to Lugano by rail and climbed Mt Bre, a small alp, in less than a day. I suppose that you could venture farther. Dirty air from Milan can blow into the Lugano area and affect the views.

vincenzo32951

Just to be sure we're clear on this: You plan to fly into Milan, use public transportation to get to the Swiss Alps, do some hiking, then use public transportation to get to Verona?

Dukey1

Be aware that almost anywhere in the "alps" you venture you will almost undoubtedly have to return to Milan in order to get a further rail connection over to Verona.

The whole thing is certainly doable but you need to know about the general geography of the area and the rail connection possibilities.

The Lugano recommendation above may be your best bet. IF you wanted to go as far as Brig from Milan and then on up to Zermatt for a view of the Matterhorn you could do that, too, but that would be a LONG day and there is no guarantee that the Matterhorn peak won't be shrouded in clouds.

swandav2000

Hi leebiegirl,

I think the closest big mountain to hike will be around Riederalp/Bettmeralp, above Brig. It will take about 2h30 to get from Milan to Riederalp or Bettmeralp, where you can start hiking at an elevation of 1905m.

http://www.aletscharena.ch/sites/riederalp/index.html

But it will take about 4h30 to get from there to Verona, and, yes, you'll be going back through Milan though you may not have to change trains.

Just fyi, Mt Bre is 925m, which might not seem like a very high mountain, and Lugano's palm trees won't put you in mind of the typical "Swiss Alps" experience. Maybe you can spend a little more time and get a better Alpine hiking experience . . . or maybe put it off until your next trip?

Also, Milan to Zermatt is 3h30, and of course longer if you want to get onto a mountain to hike.

Have fun as you plan!

s

asps

Mt. Bre is not a bad idea, for two reasons:
1. "Switzerland" and "budget" do not belong to the same sentence, the more they get into Switzerland, the more it will cost;
2. there could be some destinations that can be reached by public transportation - I can think Andermatt or the Piotta-Piora funicular - but the routes can be difficult and a single missed connection would mean being stranded.

Going to Verona the same day means a long day travelling, so probably anywhere more distant than Lugano would be already too distant.

As usual, any travel at any significant elevation in the Alps is meaningful if the weather is good - so it can be planned well in advance, but the decision to really do it can be taken only the preceding day; unless you like being in fog or looking at the inside of clouds.

neckervd

Give me the date and the hr of arrival and confirm that you will land at Malpensa airport and I will tell you how you can make the best of it (timetables, trail descriptions, etc.).
Be prepared to arrive at Verona very late.