Milan or Lake Como?
 

I have enough Hilton Honor points to stay for 4 nights in Milan at the Hilton Hotel. My wife and I are more interested in Lake Como & Bellagio than Milan. We thought we would stay in Milan just to use the points for free stay and take day trips to Lake Como and\or Bellagio. Would you do "day trips" our would it make more sense to stay in the lake area? We didn't plan on renting a car, but I suppose we could do that. We are going in September. Please give us your advice and input. Thanks.

You won't need a car in any case as trains from Milan go to Como and Varenna-Esino, from both of which boats go regularly in season at least all over the lake, including Bellagio - in fact i believe there is a bus from the Como train stations (two of them) to Bellagio. Once on the lake investigate boat passes to tour the sights.
About an hour each way Milan-Como. If you like the trappings of big cities like urbane Milano then day trip to the lake and come back to the fine restaurants, etc. of Milano. I think most would encourage you to stay on the lake - especially if you could use your Hilton points elsewhere.

Milan is not the favorite Italian city of most of us. It's high-style, high-tech, business oriented. As Type A as Italy gets. Staying there and day-tripping to Lake Como would cheat you of the relaxation of a stay on the lake. In either case, you don't need a car.

Miln has a lot more to offer than some people here realize but for whatever reason they continually dismiss it.

However, if I had the choice of being ON the lake vs. taking a day trip i would definitely pick the former.

The train from Milan to Varenna at mid-lake takes about 1.5 hours; the ferries over to Menaggio and Bellagio from Varenna take between 10-15 minutes.

As others have said, you do not need a car; plan on a very relaxing stay and in September a lot of the other visitors will be gone.

I like Milan quite a bit. However, I would not stay there and do day trips to Lake Como. I'd hold the HH points for another trip and enjoy myself in Bellagio. For one thing, it's so nice at night when the day trippers have gone and you can wander around in the peace and quiet. And the views in the early evening are just soooo stunning.

Don't bother with a car rental. It's easier and faster to get to the lake by train and then travel around by boat.

Second all of the above, except that hotels in Bellagio and Varenna seem to be on the expensive side, so if you wanted to keep costs down, use your Hilton points!

The trip back and forth to the lake is not terrible - I commute from Lecco (on the southeastern tip of the lake, same train line as Varenna) almost every day. Think of it as sitting-down time after all your walking around. ; )

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

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