Italy - Stopovers
 

Hi,

Could someone suggest good short stopovers ( scenic, great food etc ) in the routes below?
We are going to be driving.

1. Lucerne to Milan : We had thought of Lake Como
2. Milan to Cortina

Thanks in advance!

Lots of possibilities, but how many days do you have for these stops? What route do you plan to take after Milan/Lake Como?

Are you actually driving into Milan?!

What time of year?

Hi Jean,

The stopovers are just for a couple hours. I am not sure about the route yet. This is early July.

And yes driving into Milan

You are braver than I...

It sounds like you're making the drive to Milan in one day and then to Cortina in one day. Correct?

You absolutely should not drive into Milan, or any other major city, unless you are comfortable to crazy traffic and ZTLs.

I am staying in Milan for 2 nights. Unfortunately we are driving most of the trip.

From Milan to Cortina, you are going to need more than one stop, I think. Also be aware that traffic along that route can be quite heavy. About 2 hours after leaving Milan, think about stopping in Soave to stretch your legs and take pictures (and buy a bottle of Soave!). Then, before you start to tackle the mountain roads, think about stopping in Conegliano or Vittoria Veneto. If you get an early start, you should be able to have lunch there (and buy a bottle of prosecco!)

But please don't drink any of this wine before you head for those mountain passes. They seriously require your full attention. Be prepared for the fact you may also want to pull over and take pictures or just enjoy the scenery. So all this means more time on the road than using Michelin or Google calculations.

Regarding Lago di Como, you could also encounter a lot of traffic around there. So make sure you allow for that in your calculations.

You are I were posting at the same time. You will need a car for Cortina d'Ampezzo, but where else are you going that you are already thinking it is unfortunate you are committed to driving? You can get from Lucerne to Milan fairly easily by train. You can train to Venice or Treviso and pick up a car and spare yourself a lot of highway boring driving east of Milan (and you certainly have no use for a car in Milan).

1. Do you need to pass through Milan? Luzern to Cortina via Austria (Arlberg and Brenner pass) would be nicer driving.
2. Do you need to drive to Milan? Due to low capacity at Gotthard road tunnel, railway is more reliable than motorway.
3. If you have to drive the Gotthard tunnel, check before leaving the traffic status. You can use the traffic page on teletext on any TV set, or online http://www.tcs.ch/de/auto-mobilitaet...uelle-lage.php
If the Gotthard tunnel has queues consider driving the San Bernardino route - much longer but may be still quicker than waiting at the Gotthard.
4. Even if driving through the Gotthard tunnel, for these reasons I would not stop before getting there (even if stops before the tunnel are more scenic than after the tunnel). Probably the best stop for a couple of hours is Lugano.

That's a lot of great info. Thanks a lot!

Your plan makes no sense to me.

First, dropping a rental in Italy from CH will be very costly--perhaps 500E extra.
You do not need nor want a car for the first part. Train from Luzern to Lugano for a stopover---nice place. Then, on to Milan. You do not want to drive in Milan.

Why Cortina? Theer are better places to see the Dolomites and Cortina is hard to access. Sorry, your pla