Help with trains!
 

Hello,
We will be leaving Lake Como and want to go to Switzerland. Where do we get the train to go there? Do we have to go back to Milan? We want to see Zermatt, Lausanne, Lucerne, Bern and Zurich, then want to go to Austria by train. How does it work? Can we buy a Europass for a few days that will take us through northern Italy, Switzerland and Austria and then into Germany? Once in Germany we will be renting a car. Can we hop off the trains when we want and get on when we want?
thanks, nvmike

Hi nvmike,

I'll try to answer some of your questions.

You can easily find the train schedules at the Swiss rail site,

www.rail.ch (ENGL)

It covers trains for most of the continent as well.

Just enter the departure town, destination down, and the date in European format. You'll get the complete schedule.

You can get info on the various Swiss Passes at

www.swisstravelsystem.com

How much time will you have? You can spend about a week in each place you've listed.

s

Hi swandav2000
Thank you. We know it will be a FULL vacation, but we thought we could see a lot by train with a few stops prior to going into Germany. We won't be in Milan but a few hours. Did you say we have to go back to Milan from Lake Como ? Thanks,
nvmike

From another post you indicate that the town on Lake Como where you will be staying is Bellagio.

There is no train service into Bellagio, but you do not have to go all the way to Milan. You can catch a train into Switzerland from Como.

You can also ferry to Menaggio and take the bus to Lugano (about an hour). Another beautiful lake! Then train from Lugano to Zermatt.

Como S. Giovanni is a stop on the Milan-Zurich mainline, and even the fast Cisalpino trains stop at that station.

HI NV - Where are you heading first from Lake Como?

If Zermatt, the quickest option is via Milan (- train from Varenna-Esino or Como). From Milano Centrale it's a 2hr train ride to Brig - from where you can connect up to Zermatt.

If you are heading elsewhere in Switzerland via Lugano then the quickest option is bus to Lugano from Menaggio - as Jean says.

Hope this helps ...

Steve