Snag in our trip plans next April - trade show in Milan
 

Hello everyone!

We have hit a snag in our trip plans for next April. The original plan was for a few nights in Venice, then travel by train to Como for 4 nights there, then to Milan to pick up a car, stop in Bologna for a night and then we have a villa rented in Tuscany for a week. Well, since we will be planning to be in Como at the same time as the huge furniture/homeshow fair that is going on in Milan, we are having the devil's own time finding accommodations at a reasonable rate in Como!

Our decision now becomes... try a different city on Lake Como (like Bellagio), try a different lake, or give up on the lakes all together and head in another direction... say Verona, add a day to Bologna... or maybe head north to the Dolomites from Venice?

I would appreciate any suggestions for those four days! We won't have a car until the end of the four days, so travel will need to be by train.

Thanks!

I wouldn't give up the Lakes. I liked staying in Bellagio; there are plenty of ferries/hydrofoils so you can get anywhere from Bellagio. Como City is an hour on the hydrofoil.

Bellagio is easily accessible by train from Milan to Varenna. Then a short walk to the ferry dock for the boat to Bellagio.

When I returned from Bellagio I took the hydrofoil to Como City and picked up the car there rather than going back to Milan.

Thanks so much Adrienne - I think that Bellagio is pretty much the route we've decided to go - Venice to Varenna and then boat to Bellagio. We're actually going to train back down to Milan and pick up our rental at the train station there. :)

I suggest staying in another town on Lake Como. Many are lovely, centrally located and IMO better towns than Como- Varenna, Bellagio, Menaggio- with easy access to public transportation. You can train from Venice to Varenna (with a connection in Milan) and either stay in Varenna or take the public boat from Varenna to another town to base. You can walk from the Varenna train station to the boat dock or into town. The walk will take 10 minutes.


You might think about taking the train from Lake Como (Varenna) to Bologna and pick up the car in Bologna when you leave. Train tickets are not sold at the Varenna train station, but you can purchase the tickets from the travel agency (no fees) in Varenna, located along the walk between the station and the boat dock.

Bologna also has a lot of trade shows, so be sure to make sure there is no trade show scheduled during your time in Bologna.

Thanks Zoecat - we already have our hotel in Bologna confirmed, so we're good there. Will have to look into the train to Bologna to pick up the car. I wonder if there are car rental places at/near the train station there, like there are in Milan? Definitely worth a little further research! Thanks!

Might be better to pick up the car in Milan - the train tickets Varenna to Milan are only $12 but the tickets Varenna to Bologna are $73 - quite a difference x5 people - LOL. But thanks!