9 nights in the Italian Lakes
Oct 7th, 2016, 08:57 AM
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9 nights in the Italian Lakes
Hello! We are trying to finalize our lodging for 9 nights in the Italian Lakes in July. We are a family with 3 kids interested in scenic hikes, boating and such. This should be a relaxing stay with plenty of pool time and strolling to lunch or dinner. There is availability for the apartment we like in Bellagio for 6 nights. From there, I am thinking of Stresa on Lake Maggiore. Since we are headed to Switzerland afterwards, I think going to Lake Garda isn't as practical, but I could be wrong. Can anyone suggest a good second stop to compliment our Bellagio stay? Also, would you keep 6 nights in Bellagio and 3 in the other spot, or make it 5/4? I am hesitant to cut any time from Bellagio, but if Stresa is also great it would be fine. I can't say because I haven't been to Maggiore. If Stresa is a good plan, what about Villa Palazzo Aminta? It looks traditionally opulent with a lakefront pool. Very appealing after a self catering apartment stay! Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give!
Oct 7th, 2016, 12:07 PM
#2
I would do 5/4 because of the variety of things to do on/near Lake Maggiore, including a couple of funicular/railways. You should do some research before deciding.
But that's a lot of time on lakes. Are you planning day trips by car from either location? What's your plan for Switzerland?
But that's a lot of time on lakes. Are you planning day trips by car from either location? What's your plan for Switzerland?
Oct 7th, 2016, 12:55 PM
#3
Bellagio and Stresa are IMO different (enough) as are the two lakes. Have you any notion of which, if any, hotel in Stresa you might be using?
I like Lake Como and I'd be interested in what you plan on doing for six days/nights there.
I like Lake Como and I'd be interested in what you plan on doing for six days/nights there.
Oct 8th, 2016, 01:45 AM
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With trips from Stresa to the Borromean Islands and the Monterone cable car, you'll have enough to occupy the family for three days.
If you are on a weekly rental in Bellagio, cutting your stay to five nights might not be justified however to increase your stay in Stresa to four nights.
Bellagio offers plenty of options for day trips; apart from the gardens and villas around the lake, if you have cooperative kids, the Greenway walk (Sala Comacina to Tremezzo) and the Sentiero del Viandante (Varenna to Bellano)are two very pleasant hikes that are none too strenuous.
If you are on a weekly rental in Bellagio, cutting your stay to five nights might not be justified however to increase your stay in Stresa to four nights.
Bellagio offers plenty of options for day trips; apart from the gardens and villas around the lake, if you have cooperative kids, the Greenway walk (Sala Comacina to Tremezzo) and the Sentiero del Viandante (Varenna to Bellano)are two very pleasant hikes that are none too strenuous.
Oct 8th, 2016, 02:11 AM
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Your kids may be interested in Tamaro Park, http://tamaropark.ch/en/#!/HOME
in Swissminiatur, http://www.swissminiatur.ch/en/
Monte Generoso, http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/29/monte-generoso.aspx
Bellinzona castles, http://www.bellinzonaunesco.ch/castelliunesco/en/
in Swissminiatur, http://www.swissminiatur.ch/en/
Monte Generoso, http://www.montegeneroso.ch/en/29/monte-generoso.aspx
Bellinzona castles, http://www.bellinzonaunesco.ch/castelliunesco/en/
Oct 8th, 2016, 09:11 AM
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I can't imagine what you'd do with kids in Bellagio for all that time. I'm a middle-aged adult and was bored silly after 24 hours. There are some sumptuous Victorian villas to visit, with extensive gardens. I like gardens, but these mostly feature camellias, rhododendrons, and azaleas, so their season was over by May (when we were there). There are also lots of expensive shops. There were almost no Italian visitors when we were there. The vast majority was English-speaking. It's the only place I've ever been in Italy where we were asked if we could speak English when we ordered at a bar.
I had been eager for years to see Lake Como, and specifically Bellagio. My husband, who went to university in Milan, kept telling me it was nothing special. I assumed he and his buddies just went there to meet girls, so I didn't credit his opinion. I planned a stay of three nights en route to Switzerland. My husband kept asking, "What will we do there for three days?" In the end, we were forced to shorten our trip, and cut Bellagio to two nights. We arrived early in the day, and by evening had seen almost everything that interested us, including taking boats all over the mid-lake, visiting Villa Carlotta, and having dinner in Varenna. We visited another villa the next day and walked along the lake, but we were really at loose ends from about noon on. I was really glad we hadn't reserved for another night.
I wanted to buy some sunscreen, but couldn't find any sort of grocery in central Bellagio. I finally bought it in a very expensive pharmacy, which had an Ikea-like itinerary, where you had to enter at one door, walk in a loop past everything they had to sell, before you could reach the checkout. The sunscreen cost something like three times what it would cost in a pharmacy in our town, and ten times what it would cost in a supermarket. Even worse, it only came in packages of two. They certainly know how to milk tourists there!
The restaurants were mediocre. The town rolls up the sidewalks at sunset. After 8 PM, which for most Italians is when we sit down to dinner, there is no bus service, and only night taxis, which have to be called. (I hope you're staying in the center of town; we weren't.) We called a taxi after dinner and had to wait over half an hour for it. There was a British couple who were also looking for a taxi. The driver said he was the only one for the whole area, and told them he'd be back for them in another half hour. We offered to share our taxi with them. In July, there would be many more tourists, I assume, so the taxi services might not be so scanty.
I'm sorry to pan the place so much. Many people seem to love it, although I really haven't heard it praised by other Italians. I'm not much into boating or swimming, and shopping ranks about with a dentist visit for me. I'm also not very interested in visiting villas, although I could have enjoyed the gardens if they had had some late spring features. I had really thought there would be a more extensive boat network, and that I could have passed more than an hour or so visiting the towns. If your kids would enjoy four days boating around the lake, they might enjoy the visit.
Another thing, but this might be just a special event with which our visit happened to coincide, all night long, there were really loud motorcycles roaring around the hills above the town. We had reserved a room out of the center, because I thought it would be more tranquil and peaceful there. Since everyone in town seems to go to bed at 9 PM, staying in town would have been quieter, I think.
In sum, I hate to admit it, but my husband was right.
I agree that Lake Garda, with its castles and the big amusement park (Gardaland) and easy access to Verona, might be a better destination for a family with kids. We're hoping to take my granddaughter there next summer.
Also, we have relatives who have gone to Lake Maggiore several times on holiday, with their young son, and they've had a good time there. I'm not sure what they've done, but they had a camper van.
Finally, we spent a night in Lugano on our way back from Switzerland, and that looked like a promising destination. You can visit Bellinzona, which has (if I remember correctly) three castles. There is also some sort of "Switzerland in miniature" nearby, and the town itself has a nice lake, and is much less like a twee shopping mall than Bellagio.
I had been eager for years to see Lake Como, and specifically Bellagio. My husband, who went to university in Milan, kept telling me it was nothing special. I assumed he and his buddies just went there to meet girls, so I didn't credit his opinion. I planned a stay of three nights en route to Switzerland. My husband kept asking, "What will we do there for three days?" In the end, we were forced to shorten our trip, and cut Bellagio to two nights. We arrived early in the day, and by evening had seen almost everything that interested us, including taking boats all over the mid-lake, visiting Villa Carlotta, and having dinner in Varenna. We visited another villa the next day and walked along the lake, but we were really at loose ends from about noon on. I was really glad we hadn't reserved for another night.
I wanted to buy some sunscreen, but couldn't find any sort of grocery in central Bellagio. I finally bought it in a very expensive pharmacy, which had an Ikea-like itinerary, where you had to enter at one door, walk in a loop past everything they had to sell, before you could reach the checkout. The sunscreen cost something like three times what it would cost in a pharmacy in our town, and ten times what it would cost in a supermarket. Even worse, it only came in packages of two. They certainly know how to milk tourists there!
The restaurants were mediocre. The town rolls up the sidewalks at sunset. After 8 PM, which for most Italians is when we sit down to dinner, there is no bus service, and only night taxis, which have to be called. (I hope you're staying in the center of town; we weren't.) We called a taxi after dinner and had to wait over half an hour for it. There was a British couple who were also looking for a taxi. The driver said he was the only one for the whole area, and told them he'd be back for them in another half hour. We offered to share our taxi with them. In July, there would be many more tourists, I assume, so the taxi services might not be so scanty.
I'm sorry to pan the place so much. Many people seem to love it, although I really haven't heard it praised by other Italians. I'm not much into boating or swimming, and shopping ranks about with a dentist visit for me. I'm also not very interested in visiting villas, although I could have enjoyed the gardens if they had had some late spring features. I had really thought there would be a more extensive boat network, and that I could have passed more than an hour or so visiting the towns. If your kids would enjoy four days boating around the lake, they might enjoy the visit.
Another thing, but this might be just a special event with which our visit happened to coincide, all night long, there were really loud motorcycles roaring around the hills above the town. We had reserved a room out of the center, because I thought it would be more tranquil and peaceful there. Since everyone in town seems to go to bed at 9 PM, staying in town would have been quieter, I think.
In sum, I hate to admit it, but my husband was right.
I agree that Lake Garda, with its castles and the big amusement park (Gardaland) and easy access to Verona, might be a better destination for a family with kids. We're hoping to take my granddaughter there next summer.
Also, we have relatives who have gone to Lake Maggiore several times on holiday, with their young son, and they've had a good time there. I'm not sure what they've done, but they had a camper van.
Finally, we spent a night in Lugano on our way back from Switzerland, and that looked like a promising destination. You can visit Bellinzona, which has (if I remember correctly) three castles. There is also some sort of "Switzerland in miniature" nearby, and the town itself has a nice lake, and is much less like a twee shopping mall than Bellagio.
Oct 8th, 2016, 11:56 AM
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Leave it to Bvlencedi to make one of the most beautiful places on earth sound like hell.
Just because Lake Como doesn't have a long list of things to see, doesn't mean it's less special. The lakes are all about enjoying the scenery and "la dolce far niente". (The sweetness of doing nothing)
Just because Lake Como doesn't have a long list of things to see, doesn't mean it's less special. The lakes are all about enjoying the scenery and "la dolce far niente". (The sweetness of doing nothing)
Oct 9th, 2016, 03:01 AM
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"There are also lots of expensive shops. There were almost no Italian visitors when we were there. The vast majority was English-speaking. It's the only place I've ever been in Italy where we were asked if we could speak English when we ordered at a bar"
You are so right, bvlenci! But that's just what people in this forum like: tourist crowded places free of locals, recommended by some guidebooks.
Not only Lake Como, but also 5Terre, Amalfi Coast, Neuschwanstein, Jungfraujoch, Santorini.... Most Europeans try to avoid these places.
I like Laghi Maggiore/Lugano/Como for the scenic hiking trails, local grotti, rustici and chapels, tremendous mountain panoramas, wild flowers like rhododendron, narcissus, brooms....
But I would never stay for more than just a night in the villages along the lake shores.
You are so right, bvlenci! But that's just what people in this forum like: tourist crowded places free of locals, recommended by some guidebooks.
Not only Lake Como, but also 5Terre, Amalfi Coast, Neuschwanstein, Jungfraujoch, Santorini.... Most Europeans try to avoid these places.
I like Laghi Maggiore/Lugano/Como for the scenic hiking trails, local grotti, rustici and chapels, tremendous mountain panoramas, wild flowers like rhododendron, narcissus, brooms....
But I would never stay for more than just a night in the villages along the lake shores.
Oct 9th, 2016, 08:28 AM
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Some people may like to travel across the ocean to "far niente". I'm not one of them. I can "far niente" more comfortably on my own terrace at home.
I also think it might be hard to sell the concept to the three kids in this family.
The "dolce far niente" is mostly a foreign tourist concept. Even though my default language for Google is Italian, when I Google the phrase all of the results, except two for hotels, and one for a furniture company, are in English. I am somewhat irritated by the phrase, as it seems to imply Italians are lazy.
I also think it might be hard to sell the concept to the three kids in this family.
The "dolce far niente" is mostly a foreign tourist concept. Even though my default language for Google is Italian, when I Google the phrase all of the results, except two for hotels, and one for a furniture company, are in English. I am somewhat irritated by the phrase, as it seems to imply Italians are lazy.
Oct 10th, 2016, 03:56 AM
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Bvlenci, that was one of the funniest (wittiest, if you prefer) travel posts I have ever read!
I am full of admiration!
We are Americans, but my wife is a keen enough gardener to have been a member of the RHS. I, on the other hand, have always wanted to take a coach tour with a bunch of elderly people like us -- only elderly British people. This is admittedly a bizarre taste. Perhaps an RHS tour of the Italian Lakes would suit both of us!
I am full of admiration!
We are Americans, but my wife is a keen enough gardener to have been a member of the RHS. I, on the other hand, have always wanted to take a coach tour with a bunch of elderly people like us -- only elderly British people. This is admittedly a bizarre taste. Perhaps an RHS tour of the Italian Lakes would suit both of us!
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