Lake Como, Italy
 

My wife and I are going to Zurich in Sept then are planning on driving to Lake Como, Italy.. staying a few days then back in the car to the south a france - provance? for a wedding. We are looking for suggestions on hotels on Lake Como and any advice on renting a car in Zurich and driving to the south of france

Just back from the mid-lake area where we stayed in the Grand Hotel Victoria in Menaggio...great lake views and pool. I think the next time I would be more inclined to stay at the Du Lac over in Varenna. A lot of folks seem to have had good luck in the hotels in Bellagio.
Of course I suppose some will try to do the usual "intimidation" number on you by implying that you "have" to stay in either the Villa Serbelloni or the Villa D'Este...but I would definitely recommend staying "mid-lake" for the transportation/ferry opportunities, especially with a car. Lake Como is very pretty and I think you'll enjoy it. Good Luck.

Train to Lugano and get your car there.
Drive to Mennagio on the west shore, and with a car, stay there. See above, and add GH Mennagio.

I live in Zurich, and just got back from 4 days in Como yesterday. I would actually recommend taking the train rather than driving. The train takes just under 4 hours and goes through some lovely mountain country. There are trains about once each hour from Zurich to Como, and about every 2-3 hours from Como to Zurich. You won't really need or want a car in Como, as you can take ferries much more easily and quickly than driving; as going by road between towns will take you hours -- quite literally. As with most places in Europe, parking is also an issue, and your hotel may charge you to park as well.

Take a look at SBB.ch, the website for Swiss Rail for schedules and prices. (Click on "Swiss Federal Railways" on the top right of the site to get the English version.) You can buy tickets on line and have them mailed to you, or wait to purchase them when you arrive. We took the first-class panorama car going down and loved the big windows that allowed the maximum view. The panaroma car is not always available on each train, check the details for the train you are interested in to see if they have a panorama car. First class cost us about $120 round trip, second class would of course be cheaper. Remember that gas here in Switzerland costs US$4.50 per gallon, so figure that into your rental costs. Also, you will need to make sure your car has a vignette for driving on Swiss highways, this will cost you US$40 if the rental company does not su0ply it. Finally, traffic on the highways and the Gottarhard tunnel add a few hours to your trip, esp. if you are going on a Friday or returning on a Sunday.

For renting a car in Zurich, all the major companies seem to have outlets here including Hertz. Avis and Europecar. The easiest is terms of pick-up and drop off would be to rent from the airport. It may be cheaper to rent from locations within Zurich, but finding them and figuring out how to get out of the city can be an issue. Also, car rental outlets located in Zurich will most likely note be open on Sundays and will close earlier than the airport locations.

For accomodations in Como, we stayed at the Villa d'este and have to say I loved it. I lived in Asia and have stayed at some fine hotels both there and in Europe and the Villa d'este is really in a class by itself. On the expensive side, but the location and the hotel really are subperb. The floating pool is something, and as you will be there in September you should still be able to take advantage of it. We had a lake view suite, but that is not totally necessary so if there are better offers on other room types, I would consider it. They have a very good spa, but make reservations before you arrive if you can, as they get booked. Their main restaurant requires jacket and tie for men in the evenings, but they also have a more casual grill which is up off the lake a bit where no jacket or tie is required. The hotel is outside Como, but you can walk 5 minutes to the ferry stop in Ceribbino and get to Como by ferry in under 15 minutes; a cab from the Villa d'este to Como will cost about $17. You can take the high-speed ferries from Como to other parts of the lake. We also hired a motorboat for the day and thought that was the best way to see the lake. We had a driver, but the hotel will also rent you a boat if you want to drive yourself.

I am sure there are lots of other good hotels along the lake at different budgets. I thought Bellagio was very pretty, but I think I would stay in Varenna as it is such a small and charming place. The Hotel du Lac mentioned above looked very nice, great location right on the water.

You can get tickets online from Zurich to Lugano for as little as 12 SFr--it's a special Swiss railways is running for second class tickets from Basel or Zurich to Lugano. You print the tickets out directly; no need to pick them up elsewhere. The instructions for purchasing and printing the tickets online are very clear and VERY specific (it's Switzerland, after all). If the sample ticket prints out correctly, you should have no problems. We used this to buy tickets from Basel to Lugano for 24 Sfr instead of 75 Sfr second class.

We will be going by train in Sept. from Interlaken area to Lake Como (Varenna). The Swiss rail site has us routed to Milan, then up to Varenna, on the Cisalpino. Are you all talking about a direct line to Como?

Yes, there is direct train service to the city of Como from Switzerland as well as from Milan. The station stop is San Giovanni station in Como. To go to Varenna via Milan seems out of the way, as Milan is about 40 minutes south of Como by train. However, I just ran your itinerary through the Swiss Rail website, and as you said, they would route you through Milan. Varenna is fairly far up the east side of the lake, and from what I see on the itinerary, seems to be serviced by a different line which goes through other towns rather than Como. I don't know why you couldn't change trains at Como to get to Varenna, but apparently you can't. The trip from Interlaken seems to vary between 6-12 hours and requires several changes. The one itinerary that looks good is the 6 hour trip departing at 4:30 pm and arriving at 10:30 pm.

If you can't take that train, then I would suggest taking a train from Interlaken to Zurich, change there to a Como train (total about 5 hours no changes required from Zurich to Como), then getting the high speed ferry from Como to Bellagio and change to a ferry for Varenna. (You may not actually have to change ferries at Bellagio, others here may be able to help or check ferry schedules at http://www.bellagio.co.nz/.) That would save you at least 5 hours based on some of the itineraries shown on the SBB site. It would be a little bit of a walk from the Como train station to the Como ferry stop (esp. with luggage), but you should be able to take a taxi for about $7 or so.

If you want to do the train the whole way, the Cisalpino is a very nice fast train, the cars are usually some of the newest and nicest trains in Italy.

Hagan: The train from Milano to Varenna does not stop in Como, it goes up the east side of the Lecco leg.

Your trip sounds fine to me. The train from Interlacken is probably an express to Milano (which would not be stopping at Como either).

I checked the sbb site for Interlaken to Milan again, and the duration is only a little over 4 hours for most routes, and then another 40 minutes to Varenna. That's not too bad, and I'm sure we'll enjoy the scenery!

We were in Varenna in May and stayed at Villa Cipressi, they also have apartments for 4 people. Ask for a room with balcony with lake view(I think they only have 2). Room rates inclueds breakfast. There is also this charming Albergo Milano-has lake view and restaurant - only two rooms with view of lake. They have their own web site-try www.albergomilano.com

Gamble,

How was your stay at Villa Cipressi? Would you stay there again?

I see that DK Eyewitness Guide has it listed in their Top 10 guide for places to stay in the Lakes District.

Yes I would stay there again. they have a very lovely garden too.