katmurph

Hi, I will be honeymooning in Europe next March. I am flying into Venice for three nights and then I have two nights to spend somewhere else before I spend 4 nights in Zermatt Switzerland. Any opinons on a romantic city in between the two to spend two nights. I realize that Milan is the right in the middle, and probably the easiest connection, but I dont think Milan is the nicest/most romantic city for a honeymoon. Thanks.

Cicerone

I actually like Milan a lot, and for 2 days I think it would be a good choice for a stopover. There is great shopping. (Most shops are on Sundays, so plan around this) and many great restaurants. There is of course the Last Supper fresco and several good museums. You could even go to an opera or other performance at La Scala (go to http://www.teatroallascala.org/publi.../EN/index.html
for schedules) which would be a nice chance to dress up and a good honeymoon memory I would think. (There is a production of Lucia de Lammermoor there at the end March which I wish I could be there to see!)

I would say Florence would be a great "romantic" choice, and it is only 3 hours by train from Venice, but it is pretty far south, so it is going to be 6.5 hours by train to Zermatt; from your previous posts, the long journey may not be attractive to you, esp for only 2 days. In terms of romantic and beautiful, however it is tops, and in March you may be there to have the wisteria in early bloom, which would be wonderful. Even without the spring flowers it would be very pretty and not crowded as you are pre-Easter. (What you could do to make the 2 days and the long trip a bit more bearable is take the night train from Florence which departs at 11:30 pm and arrives into Brig ad around 6 am, then you have to switch trains at Brig. Downsides to this are (i) you have to switch bags and yourself at 6 am after an overnight train of only about 7 hours during which you may not have slept at all, and (ii) if there are only 2nd class couchette cars, IMO, these are really not comfortable and so your first day in Zermatt may be a wash-out as you may be exhausted, esp if you were planning on skiing. If you can get a first class sleeping car, then this would be a good option, the website shows that sleeping cars ("SL&quot are available on this train but I would definitely confirm this. If you are younger than me (say in your 20s) the overnight train trip may be a fine option, but beware the 2nd class couchettes….)

While it is a bit "backwards" in terms of geography, you could go to the Vevey/Lausaunne area on the north eastern shore of lake Geneva which is very, very beautiful. There is good walking in the area, esp in the vineyards and you can do winetastings. This would be bout 6.5 hours from Venice, and about 3 hours from Zermatt. You could also fly to Geneva from Venice, and then take the train down to the Vevey/Lausanne area (about 1.5 to 2 hours); unless you can get a non-stop flight flying won't save you much if any time.

You could fly to Zurich from Venice (there are non-stops) as this is a very nice little town fro 2 days; not the greatest weather in March, but there is a very charming old town, lots of good restaurants and several good museums. It is a pretty train ride of about 4 to 4.5 hours to Zermatt from here.

The Cinque Terre area could work; I have not been there in March, so can't comment on whether the weather is OK for walks and hikes (the principle activity) perhaps others can post or take a look at weatherbase.com. This would be a lot of train travel for 2 days, as it about 5 hours to Genoa and then you would need to head to the main port villages from there; to get to Zermatt it is 6 hours from Genoa.

Como would be another choice, but weather is not the best in March. Also, I don't think the ferries start running until April 1, so getting around is much more time-consuming and also not nearly as picturesque, IMO. It is about 4 to 4.5 hours by train from Venice to Como to the train station. From there you will need to connect by taxi, bus or another train to a final hotel destination as there is not a lot in Como itself. (You can also take a train from Venice to Varenna which is a charming little town with some hotels, run a search on this site I have not stayed there so can't recco any, not sure what is open in March.) From Como to Zermatt is about 4 hours by train, from Varenna it would be about 6 hours.

Take a look at weatherbase.com for average temps and rainfall for the above places.

metlc

Romantic?

Vico Morcote.

Across the lake from Lugano.

Cicerone

While I agree that Morcote and the Lugano area is beautiful and romatantic, it is much less so in March as the Spring has not arrived there and the ferries aren't running, so journeys on the lake (one of the prime reasons for going to the area IMO) are out. Having gone there for a March Easter on one occasion I would not do so again. You aren't going to have very many spring flowers or trees in Lugano in March, it is a bit too early, and you will most likely have rain. Plus it is going to be a longish haul to get there from Venice (5+ hours), and a longer journey to Zermatt (6+), IMO not really ideal for a 2 day stopover. On both journeys you will have to make several changes and will have to take a bus for the final journey to and from Morcote to/from Lugano as the ferries aren't running. I would save Lugano (like Como) for a time when it can really be appreciate like the spring.

Intrepid1

You can actually be in Zermatt from Lugano in a little less than five hours depending on which trains you take but i would agree with Cicerone that this isn't the most ideal time for that region; even April would be a vast improvement.

dickv2

Goo dmorning My vote would be for Lugano as it is in a good location, the main old part of the city is just
at the bottom of the Railway bahnhofs
funicular, excellant hotel the Dante at the bottom and very good ristorantes and shops and etc in the immediate area. Also does have a nice
small casino about three blocks from the station. All in easy walking distance.....can recommend the Italian
ristorante "Sayanora" which we enjoyed a couple of times during our visits....
Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..

Cicerone

Intrepid, you can't get to Zermatt from Morcote in 5 hours, and the poster I was responding to had recco'd Morcote. Yes, you can get from Lugano to Zermatt in 5 hours.