I haven’t posted much over the last few years as aging family, as well as our own lives, have taken a lot of my energy. We are still traveling, albeit more slowly than we used to. As I plan, I try to stay longer in fewer places. This doesn’t always work perfectly, but that’s the goal.

All that is to preface our fall 2026 trip to northern Italy and Switzerland. I swear by the airline, La Compagnie (all-biz French airline with very limited service) as these days, biz class has unfortunately become a necessity. We live in NYC, so this works well as it flies out of Newark. I bought R/T tickets for mid-September to mid-October (32 nights), flying in and out of Milan. This is not changeable. My original plan was to focus on the Dolomites but DH surprised me and said, “”Let’s go to Switzerland, we’ve never been.” And I went into planning mode!

So here is the itinerary; keeping in mind 1) that I really, really try to minimize stops and 2) try desperately to keep travel between places as easy as possible, ie, under 4 hours (preferably less).

I’ve come up with the following itinerary and, overall, I’m pleased with it, though would love to add another Swiss location before or after Wengen. We are NOT serious hikers though love beautiful views and walking. Seeing the recent TRs (and older ones, too) whet my appetite for a possible additional location in Switzerland but the logistics seem too complicated and the travel to them takes too long. Also, all my reservations are made except for Turin so unless I’m making a huge mistake, I’m leaving it as it stands. My compromise on this itinerary is more shorter stays than I would prefer but it keeps the travel less complicated. We like a good mix of cities and nature. All of this will be by public transportation.

Comments welcome, but please know that most of this is already booked. The section I’d be most interested in tweaking (and only if it warrants it) would be the Swiss section and Dommodosola, knowing that I do want to arrive in Turin. I could take a day from Turin if it made sense.

Milan (2) (needed to adjust)
Lucerne (3)
Wengen (7)
Dommodosola (3)
Turin (6)
Bergamo (3)
Mantua (5)
Milan (3)

Thanks for taking the time and reviewing this!

I'm surprised you'v chosen Dommodosola. For that part of Switzerland, i would have thought some place on one of the lakes would make more sense. I was pleased with Ascona. Lugano is also lovely, IMO.

Hi progol. Glad to see you here and that you and Michael are still able to travel, even if it's a bit slower. The awesome thing is that there is no right or wrong way. Other than Milan, I haven't visited any of the places you're listing so I won't be of much help.

Planning on going to Switzerland ourselves, but in July. We originally planned to stay 16 nights but have to cut it down to 10 given the work demands of this year. We're not going to the Oberland though.

I will check them both out. I need an easy transition by public transportation for our next stop in Turin and Dommodosola works well but I’ll definitely look into those 2 locations, too. Thanks the ideas!

Thanks, tripplanner! I’m somehow not surprised you’re especially busy this year! Given that I don’t work anymore, I do have the luxury of li ger trips. But, I’ve said it many times, we do in a month what many do in a week!

I’ll be interested to see what you do in your trip - I’m sure you’ll come up with a great plan.

I don't think that it makes any sense to give any advice, as you have booked everything already and cannot change it anymore.

Otherwise my comment would have like this:

Wengen: Bernese school holidays lasts from Sept 19th until Oct 11th. Wengen, Grindelwald, Muerren etc. will be very crowded during that period.
Wengen is all but easy to reach (at least 4 train changes from wherever you arrive, except from Lucerne or from Zurich airport)

Domodossola: Domodossola is a excellent starting point for day trips by bus to the mountain valleys of
Pomat and Macugnaga. But there, the season ends mid September. At this time, the bus to the Tosa waterfalls, the cableways to Monte Moro Pass/Monte Rosa and Belvedere Glacier will not run any longer.
The scenic train to Locarno runs all the year round, but it's a 2 hrs journey OW.
The journey to Riederalp/Aletsch Glacier (Switzerland) lasts only 1 1/4 hrs OW (and there ALL cableways will run).
Visits of Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta are easy too: direct trains and direct buses

Milan airport - Lucerne is 3 hrs 20 by train; change at Lugano. IMO it doesn't make any sense to do the detour via Milan as you will have to pass through Milan anyway trowards the end of you holidays.

6 nights seems a lot for the city of Turin only; bzt there ae tons of day trip possibilities.
idem for Bergamo and Mantova..

If you visit Turin at the end, you may go from there by direct bus to Milan Malpensa airport.

Thanks for your comments - I do appreciate it. I wish it were otherwise, but these are the days we have. As far as arrival and departure from Milan, I looked at the train trips both to Lucerne and to Malpensa from Turin. We don't do well without a rest and to get to the train station and then go off to Lucerne for another 3 1/2 hours isn't viable for us more tired folks. And a 2 1/2 hour train ride before a flight makes me anxious, so I'm leaving those in.

I believe all of my connections from destination to destination are roughly 3 hours, more or less. I wish there were less connections but I'm hoping that they are not difficult ones. I have to look into that more.

All of our reservations (except for flights) are cancellable at this point, so iIf we didn't go to Wengen, where might we go that would be more relaxed, but still within my parameters of longer stays and (relatively) easy transfer from place to place? While Wengen does sound wonderful, we don't have any experience in Switzerland at all so are ultimately not attached to it.

Okay, I just wrote a long post in response to yours, neckervd, but it is in moderation. Hopefully it’ll post soon.

I personally like Domodossola, but keep in mind it can be a challenge to get around by public transport to the surrounding valleys. I have a few detailed trip reports posted here that outline those challenges. If you do stay there, you might enjoy the short bus/train ride to Arona, on the Piedmont shore of Lake Maggiore.

I’ve come up with the following itinerary and, overall, I’m pleased with it, though would love to add another Swiss location before or after Wengen.

Would you add more days or substitute?

Ticino makes a lot of sense, perhaps instead of (or in addition to) Domodossola).

I have a lot of ideas, but as you're pretty much set on the itinerary, seems a moot point.

FWIW, I'd love to give La Compagnie a try and have looked into doing so, but I live in the wrong part of the country to make it feasible. I'd have to buy separate tickets and that just scares the bejesus out of me anymore.

I would go into Milan and out of Zurich. Seems like a lot of time in Wengen. Like others, you are locked in, so have fun!

This isn’t possible. My tickets are on La Compagnie and fly in and out of Milan.

I can’t add any days to the trip but would be fine with substituting if it made sense. I’ll definitely look into Ticino. But, we are definitely going slooowly so 3 nights (2 days) in Domodossola isn’t the worst thing in the world if it has a nice vibe.

All of my reservations are cancellable if there’s a better way to approach the trip but, as I’ve said, I’m trying hard not to get too many stops or have long trips between them.

Many thanks everyone, for the feedback and the patience!

I know I have come to this late, just wanted to give another vote to Lugano. It doesn't get much love and it is quite a lovely city. Hope you find what you are after (or have found it).

Lavandula

I really liked the vibe of Domodossola, I travel quite slowly too and would enjoy a couple of days there. It’s an easy and short train ride to Stresa if you want to wander about the lake. I totally get an itinerary with simplicity of logistics and that isn’t a wrong choice in my opinion. Charming town, great food.

Also, a week in Wengen would be fantastic. We had 8 nights first visit and 4 the next. And we would happily return. Weather is so unpredictable, you have built in a bit of a buffer, and you won’t run out of things to do - do a daily webcam check and choose your excursions based on the forecast.

It looks lovely, too! I’m toying with too many variations but if I could include Lugano, I will. I can’t do it all - much as I’d like to!

Thank you! This definitely makes me go “whew”! I wish I could make the itinerary work a little more smoothly but it still seems to work the best for our interests, and Domodossola looks charming. And we like charming! We don’t have to actually do anything and just take in the vibe. That works for me quite nicely.

Wengen will not be the hell in automn. You will just be among a lot of Swis families with kids, dogs and strollers whereas in high season Swiss guests are a small minoritiy at Wengen.

I understand that you dont want to go up to Lucerne after a overnight flight.
As an alternative to a 1 hr train or bus ride to Milan citry, probably followed by a metro or taxi ride, you might also consider to tke a train to Lake Lugano ( 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hrs from MXP, trains every hr). At Lugano Paradiso for example, you find hotels with panoramic views over the lake a few steps from the railway station.
The train ride from Lugano to Lucerne (direct trains no change) lasts only 1 hr 40 min
A direct bus ride from Turin to MXP lasts 2 hrs. I would sleep at a airport hotel anyway if I had a morning flight.

I don’t know Turin but I’ve loved your other destinations. I agree that heading north on arrival, even if only an hour or two, would be my preference and it needn’t take longer than getting into central Milan and finding your hotel. I would also consider skipping Lucerne as it’s further to travel and always seems very busy. It’s a very attractive town but not unmissable in my opinion. That would allow you to choose a different destination in Switzerland.

No matter what itinerary you choose you’ll always be thinking about other places but you’ll also usually have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy yourselves.

I like the idea of going directly to Lugano. I’ll check that out. And will also consider the bus to Malpensa, but I don’t mind ending in Milan. We like Milan and there’s always more to see and our flight leaves in the early afternoon so we should be good.

Thanks, dreamon! I’ll definitely consider other possibilities to start but I agree, it’ll be wonderful whatever we do. We’ll never see everything and, as we’ve gotten older, we’ve come to realize that.