Cinque terre or Como/Bellagio for day trip from milan?
 

Hi, my wife and I will be staying in Milan for 2.5 days in early August and would like to go away for a day trip for one (or both the days). Is it possible to do Cinque Terre in one day? The photos looks so beautiful and am tempted to go there but do'nt know if it is possible as a day trip. Como/Bellagio seem closer to Milan and will be more relaxing for a day trip but I don't know if it will be very similar to Lake District in the UK (we have been there loads of times). We are not really into hiking but would love to visit some scenic spots that give us a taste of Italy.

IMO, the scenery around Lake Como looks absolutely nothing like the Lake District in the U.K.

I'd pick Lake Como, but if this would be a weekend you should be prepared for crowds. The lake is a popular summer weekend getaway destination.

Milan to the Cinque Terre is 3+ hours each way by train. If you're going to go that far, you might as well spend the night before returning to Milan. And probably do the same if I went to Lake Como.

I'm not sure I'd say the two areas look absolutely nothing alike, but the UK's Lakes and Bellagio are definitely not carbon copies of one another. I've only been to Lake Windermere, but Lake Como feels more wide open and expansive to me. The vibe is different and the towns are quite different. And to me there was less emphasis on hiking in Italy - we had to work harder to find information on more than one trail, whereas in England it's a different story.

It's about an hour from Milano Centrale to Varenna, and from there you can get the ferry to Bellagio (or Menaggio or Tremezzo...) if you like. I think it would be a much easier trip than Cinque Terre. The friend that I went with said of Bellagio, "I don't think people come here to hike. I think they come here to look at the lake and drink wine." So if that sounds nice, then I'd head to Lake Como. Maybe throw in a villa or two. :)

From the landscape point, Lake Como mountains are taller and lake wider than those in Lake District. They look more imposing. However, I am not sure if it was the time of year, but with everyone around us on the train from Milan and around us on several boats talking with British accent, I quipped to my wife if we made a mistake and took a train to Windermere instead. :-)

Other Italian lakes options: Stresa on Lago Maggiore (1 hour by train from Milan) and Lugano on Lake Lugano in Switzerland (slightly over an hour by train).

I'd opt for Stresa and take a boat ride to the Borromean Islands. Stresa is a smaller town than Lugano. Also I found a greater sense of the imminence of the Alps on Lago Maggiore compared to Lake Como. Don't know about the mountains around Lugano.

But Lake Como is very nice, lots of towns and villas along the lake, less wild than the English lakes.

The Cinque Terre is just too far unless you can spare a night to stay there.

I agree with Mimar---I see Stresa/Maggiore as a viable option.
Much easier travel logistics and quite lovely scenery and gardens.

Thanks all for your invaluable responses! I found a tour that offers a day trip to CT from Milan which is why I was considering it...

http://www.viator.com/tours/Milan/Ci.../d512-2872ZV13

But from your responses it sounds like Como, Bellagio & Stresa are also worth visiting and will make for a more relaxing trip from Milan than CT. Thank you for all the advice!