Intinerary Review Italy/Switzerland
 

I think I've finalized my plans, and want to see if anyone has any tips or advice for me. Had to fly in and out of Zurich to cash in my FF miles.

Day 1: Fly into Zurich; train to Milan; staying at Hotel Spadari al Duomo; Last Supper visit at 5:45 pm; Navigli district for happy hour; Le Scimmie for jazz

Day 2: Shopping in the morning; train to Monza for afternoon qualifying races; Blue Note for jazz in the evening

Day 3: Monza - Grand Prix

Day 4: Peck in the morning; Train to SML; staying at Hotel Continental

Day 5: Explore Portofino and points north

Day 6: Explore CT

Day 7: Genoa or more CT

Day 8: Train to Lugano for lunch and on to Lucerne; staying at Hotel Des Balances

Day 9: Explore Lucerne

Day 10: Mt. Pilatus

Day 11: Train to Zurich and fly home

Flying into Zurich from the states and then taking a long train ride to Milan will be a nightmare. I suggest spending your first night in Zurich and then take the train to Milan the next day or night.

Then spend your last night in Luzern, not Zurich. Luzern is only 1.5 hours away from the Zurich airport, so you can easily stay there.

If you take this suggestion, you'll still spend the same amount of time in each place but you will avoid a hellish first day.

First I just want to make the general statement that I cashed in frequent flyer miles and got an open jaws ticket into Munich and out of Zurich. So it is possible to get open jaws tickets with FF miles, though maybe not for every airline.

Desert_Sue has a reservation for the Last Supper in Milan the same day she arrives. Sue, have you investigated flights from Zurich to Milan? Might be cheaper than the train and certainly quicker.

I assume you're flying from the Western US--from the desert reference. Do you not suffer from jet lag? Because you've planned an awfully full day and especially evening of Day 1. You'll be glad of a rest by the time you get to SML. I envy you the Continental; ah well next time.

Ditto what Edward said re day #1. Maybe you're made of stronger stuff, but no way I plan ANYthing my first day off a transatlantic flight, yet alone a long train ride, changing countries, and then 3 different bits of sight-seeing and entertainment!

I appreciate everyone's concern about my first day. I take a sleeping pill for the flight, train is only 4 hours, and I plan on a nap in the afternoon (my motto is you can sleep when you're dead). After sitting for all that time, I have to get out and walk around, even if I'm a zombie. It helps adjust my time clock. The Last Supper may be the only thing we do that night, but I like to have a plan.

Did some research on flights from Zurich to Milan, but no luck. We are taking the train to Zurich Monday morning to catch the plane home.

Ooops. Friends, I made a slight error. I gave up on my research for flights from Zurich to Milan a while ago, because I couldn't find an airline that flew that route. I did find Swiss Air this morning and it would cost $368 roundtrip for 2. Does anyone know of any other airlines that would fly this route?

I live in Zurich. There aren’t any discount carriers which have non-stop service between Zurich and Milan, and using a connecting flight on Germanwings, etc would most likely take longer than the train. There is a lot of info on intra-Europe discount airlines at at http://www.discountairfares.com/lcosteur.htm
and http://www.thissen.net/lowcost.html

I agree with you that a 4-hour train ride after an overnight flight is fine. From Zurich ariport, you only have to change trains at Zurich main station (about 10 minutes into the trip), which is easy, after that you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. You might want to treat yourself to a first-class ticket to have a bit more room and quiet for the trip, also see if you can book a table in the dining car. The ride is very pretty and quite spectacular in parts. Also, you won’t have the hassle of having to get into Milan from the airport. You can take a taxi from Milano Centrale to the Spari al Duomo in about 15 minutes. I love the Spari al Duomo, hope you enjoy it too.

I question the 2 days in Lucerne esp with one day in Pilatus. First, it is a long train trip from CT. Second, if you get bad weather (this is Switzerland), then you have gone a long way to see fog and clouds. I also am not a fan of Lucerne, I think it is overrated (and will be mobbed in September) and there are nearby countryside areas which are far more beautiful. If you want to stay in that area, consider Weggis or Vitznau. It is a bit hard to get to the Jungfrau area for 2 days so I wouldn’t push it. I personally would spend the 2 days in Lugano. The area is so beautiful and there are little towns along the lake, esp Morcote, that are definately worth seeing. Good walks in the area too. Depending on the depature time for your US flight, you can either take a very early morning train to Zurich or a late train back to Zurich the night before your US flight. There are hotels quite near the airport that would be fine for an overnight stay. Also, if you have not spent any time in Zurich, it is definitely worth at least one day.

Cicerone,
Thank you so much for the advice! That's what I love so much about this board. I love the train, so I don't mind the trip to Milan on our first day. As for Lucerne, I only chose it just to be near to Zurich for the flight home. I will research the other locations you suggested. Thank you so much!