Hi all. Empty nesters (58 and 59) planning a N Italy trip next summer. Fly into Bologna and arrive on May 29 and we depart on June 17 from Linate near Milan. third trip to Italy and we have visited Milan so focus is N Italy and maybe a bit of Switzerland. Want to use trains as much as possible until we need to rent a car (automatic) . Would love advice.

(May 29-June 3) 5 nights Bologna (we arrive around 4:30 pm so first day is a loss except for dinner)-day trip to Ravenna and Parma and 2 full days Bologna

June 3-5 - train to turin and stay in Turin for 2 nights. Movie museum will be a highlight for my husband.

Think we need to rent a car here in Turin. Want to spend 4 nights in Le Langhe.

June 5-9 Le Langhe. Good base? Asti or Alba? Want to walk to dinner restaurants so appreciate any favorite spots to sleep.

June 9-11 drive to Aosta. Want to drive Great St Bernard Pass into Switzerland and also do cable up to top of Mount Blanc.

Do I spend a few nights in Switzerland? If so where? I have 2 extra nights before we head to Lake Orta.

2 nights Lake Orta

final night near Linate airport.

thanks all!!

anyone?

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's any decent route between the Great St. Bernard Pass and Mont Blanc, except maybe on the Italian side. Mont Blanc is on the border between Italy and France. Also I think Lake Orta is not easily reached from Mont Blanc. I suggest you try to map out your route before deciding on destinations, and maybe consider a different mountain to ascend by cable car.

We've visited Switzerland twice, but never by car. I know you need to buy a sticker called a "vignette" to display on your windscreen.

I normally wouldn't have replied to this, because I'm not very familiar with the area, but no one else replied.

I'm not very familiar with French-speaking Switzerland, but as the Great St Bernard Pass connects to Martigny in Valais, perhaps spend those two nights there?

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/destinations/martigny/

https://www.mont-blanc-express.ch/en/index.htm

Alba is a good base for the Langhe. It's pretty, walkable and friendly. Most of the really outstanding restaurants are out of town though, in the countryside.
We spent a week there in 2019. If you would like to look at my blog and get a feel for the area, the address is:
keepyourfeetinthestreet.com
And do a search for Alba.

We also stayed once in a hotel in La Morra. Alba has a whole lot more to do and see than tiny La Morra.

It's very easy to go from Aosta to the Mont Blanc cableway: Bus from Aosta to Courmayeur (resort town), local bus to the cableway and cableway up to Punta Hellbronner and Aiguille du Midi.
Buses from Aosta to Gd-St-Bernard run in July and August only, but the road is usually open from early/mid June until November.
there are regular buses (all the year round) from Courmayeur to Chamonix and connecting trains (extremely scenic itinerary) from Chamonix to Martigny.

You may also reach Switzerland from Chatillon (bus and railway station between Turin and Aosta): bus to Cervinia/Breuil plus crossing of the Alps in the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing gondolas:
Breuil - Testa Grigia (11000ft) - Klein Matterhorn (13000ft) - Zermatt https://www.matterhornparadise.ch/en...lpine-Crossing

Zermatt - Lake Orta: by local trains, change at Brig and Domodossola (scenic 3 1/2 - 4 hrs journey).
Aosta - Lake Orta via Italy: bus to Novara plus train to Lake Orta (4 hrs journey).

Jangita, was going to stay in La Morra for 4 nights. Did you prefer staying in Alba?
We don't want to drive to dinner which is why I chose La Morra. Plenty of dining recs.

Hi all and thanks. Am rethinking this trip and appreciate your comments.

Think we will spend first week in Bologna with day trips to Ravenna, Parma and maybe Florence as last time we were in Florence was our honeymoon almost 30 years ago! Also want to do an all day food tour that looks amazing and takes us out in the country to see cheese made, taste balsamic vinegar etc.)

Then 2 nights Turin. Rent car here.

4 nights Langhe in La Morra. Will hire Daniela Maracine for a day or two so she can take us around and visit vineyards.

So now I have 5 open nights before our final night near Linate airport. How do I fill them? We would like to visit Lake Orta and maybe one other lake. Worried Como will be too crowded. Appreciate all suggestions. thanks

Would you still have the car when you visit Lake Orta? You might want to visit Lago Maggiore, but it would be a lot quicker and easier to drive there than to take public transportation. I've never been there, but family members go there often.

I also like Lake Garda a lot, but it's more out of your way.

Aosta Valley would have been a good solution.
Main lakes North of Milan (Lake Orta, Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo):
none of them will be crowded in June, except on weekends (tons of day trippers from Milan) and around Whitsuntide (many people from Switzerland and Southern Germany).

So now I have 5 open nights before our final night near Linate airport. How do I fill them? We would like to visit Lake Orta and maybe one other lake. Worried Como will be too crowded. Appreciate all suggestions. thanks

First of all, I would add a night onto Torino.
So that leaves you with 4 nights.
SO many options! Will you still have the car?
Maybe go straight to Lago d'Orta from Torino and then to La Morra.
Look at the map. You will need to back track to do both areas but it is not too far.
Easy drive from Orta to Linate.
Maybe stay your last few nights in Milan--Navigli area without the car?

We had a great experience staying in Alba and easily visiting the surrounding wine villages. The Piedmont is less crowded that other wine areas in Italy.
Italian Lakes - If you want to see Lake Orta visit it as a day trip from Lake Maggiore. We were very disappointed in our stay on Lake Orta whereas we have had wonderful experiences visiting Lakes Maggiore, Como and Garda. Perhaps it was our hotel on Lake Orta which was a bad situation or the problems there with air quality.

"we have had wonderful experiences visiting Lakes Maggiore, Como and Garda"
Don't forget Lake Lugano:
the only Lake with direct trains to/from Milan Malpensa airport
the only Lake with one cog wheel railway, 2 rope railways and 3 gondolas to stunning viewpoints to lakes and Alps (Mont Blanc and Matternorn included),
the only lake where most places can be reached every 30-60 minutes by local trains or buses.........

yes we will still have a car when we viist lake orta.

So we were wondering if we needed 3 nights Turin. Want to see film and Egypt museum. Won't have a car here until departure day. So why would I go from Turin to Lake Orta rather than Langhe? I can. We just need to depart from Linate so will stay at nearby hotel...

Three years ago we stumbled into a wonderful route by chance but it was just great. Essentially began flying into Zurich spending a couple of days, train to St Moritz/ Engedin region (free passes for bus, lifts, vernaculars etc), most beautiful train ride ever to Tirano and on to Lake Garda, several days there and then to Milan to fly home. Lake Garda was so nice, and take a train up into Switzerland. You will see some of the most spectacular scenery ever, great food. Avoid the cities. Highly recommended.