Milan to the Lakes
 

I will be in Milan for 2 days in May. Is there an organized bus tour that makes a day trip to Lake Como, Varenna, Belagio, etc.? Thanks.

Frank <BR>I do not know about bus tours, but you could take the train from Milan main station to Como on Lake Como. The Como train station is right near the lake front, and from there you can take boats all over the lake (they run on a regular basis). You could make a day trip of it, train to Como, boat to Bellagio, etc, then return by train to Milan in the evening.

You can easily make a day from from Milan to Lake Como. The frequently running trains take about 30-40 minutes from Milan to the city of Como. From there, you can catch a ferry to Bellagio. Make sure you take the "express" ferry (or whatever it's) that make only 3 or 4 stops and takes 45 minutes. The slower one takes about 2 hours. I'm not sure if the ferry from Como stops in Varenna. If not, you can take another ferry from Bellagio to Varenna (a very short trip). <BR>Enjoy! It's a beautiful area.

You could also take a train from Milan to Stresa. Spending a day taking the ferry to the Borromean islands is very pleasant and can be done independently.

Frank. <BR> <BR>With due respect to Howard, I would not recommend catching the express ferry, which is in fact a hydrofoil, from which your views are much more restricted than on the ordinary ferry, which is a normal lake steamer on which you can sit either inside or outside, and which gives you time to really saviour the extremely beautiful lake scenery and villages where the ferry stops. Getting there, in fact is more than half the fun. Trains back from Varrenna to Milan are not as frequent, so it will pay you to check the schedule first. The ferry from Bellagio to Varrenna takes about 15 minutes, from which it is a 5/10 minute walk at most to the train station, mostly uphill unfortunately.

Tony, I don't agree. My point is that I'd rather take the faster water vehicle and spend that hour and a quarter saved each way in Bellagio or Varenna.

If you are taking the train from Milan and want to walk to the ferries, be sure to go to the Como Lago station. The main station would be a bit of a schleppe, tho plenty of taxis and not all that far. Not sure if the train to Como Lago leaves from Milano Centrale, so check that out. It's a great side trip from Milan!

The train to Como does leave from Stazzione Centrale.

To the top for help on the roganized bus tour question. The train - ferry thing does sound doable. I'll probably even stay a night in Bellagio instead of coming back to Milan.

Smart decision, Frank!

The train to Como Lago station leaves from Milano Nord station. The train from Milan's central station goes to San Giovanni station in Como. Short walk from Lago station to all ferries.

to the top <BR>

Where can we find the schedules for trains from Milan to Como's lakeside station? Rail Europe shows only trains at the central station. Thanks.

www.fs-on-line.com shows you that there is a departure at 40 minutes past the hour (and sometimes at 10 minutes past the hour) from Milano Nord Cardona to Como Nord Lago. Cardona is where the Malpensa Express stops, if I am not mistaken. <BR>

Curt, Coco, Fran & Rex, <BR>Thank you very much for the information that Como has a 2nd train station right at the lakeside and the details on how to get there. This is not mentioned in any of the guides we are consulting and actually does impact our planning. Much gratitude to this great forum.

Ken, where are you staying in Milan? It was more convenient for us to take the train that came back to Stazzione Centrale since we were staying near there, rather than the other train, even though it meant a longer walk for us to the station in Como.