Suggestions for Zurich, Lake Como, and Venice?
Feb 22nd, 2006, 05:11 PM
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Suggestions for Zurich, Lake Como, and Venice?
Tentatively planning a honeymoon in July, and have the opportunity to fly (on miles) to either Zurich or Rome. Since it would be hot and humid in July, I was thinking of perhaps flying to Zurich, rather than Rome, and then taking the train to Venice, then to Como, and then back up to Zurich. We will have 10 days for travel. Does this itinerary make any sense, and what would be a good breakdown as far as how many nights in each area? We have never been to any of these places before. Thanks for any suggestions!
Feb 22nd, 2006, 05:38 PM
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Sounds wonderful! Lake Como and Venice are undoubtedly two of the world's most romantic places. Haven't been to Zurich, but am going in 3 weeks in conjunction with northern Italy as well, and it sounds like a great place for a honeymoon. I might consider 2 nights Zurich, 4 in Como and 4 in Venice. But however you break it up you can't go wrong since, if you get bored, daytrips abound (palladian palazzi near Venice, Bergamo or Lugano near Lake Como, Lucerne near Zurich, for instance.) I seriously doubt you'd get bored, however, even if you stayed in those 3 places.
Feb 22nd, 2006, 05:46 PM
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I've been to all three and think Venice and Como would be wonderful for a honeymoon. Zurich was OK, but no where near as interesting and beautiful as the others. But the train ride from Zurich to Venice, and from Como back up to Zurich would be very nice and a lovely contrast to the time in Italy. I'd give at least 3 days each to Venice and Como. If you want a night or two in Switzerland I'd opt for Lucern rather than Zurich. It's a much nicer town and it's only a one hour easy train ride (no change needed) from Lucern to the Zurich airport.
Feb 22nd, 2006, 06:03 PM
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First definitely look into an "open jaw" ticket that will allow you to fly into one city and back to the US out of another, otherwise you will waste a day or more travelling back up to Zurich just to fly out. If you can't do that with miles, then look into buying your own ticket to fly from Venice back to Zurich to get your US flight, as the train ride is quite long and the night trains are miserable, hot and will be crowded in July. Round trip flights are usually cheaper than one-way, just buy a round trip and don't use the return portion.
I love Zurich (I lived there) but I am not sure I would fly there just to then train on to Italy, esp as far as Venice. Also remember that it could very well be hot and humid in Switzerland as well and you will find that many places like hotels and virtually all restaurants are not air conditioned, so you may end up being more hot and humid in Switzerland than you would be in a place like Rome where you would find more air conditioned hotels and more air conditioned restaurants. I know from your other post that you were considering Rome and the Amalfi coast, which I think would make a great honeymoon for 10 days with a lot less long distance travelling and July is a great month for the coast.
With 10 days and wanting to go to Como and Venice and then having to be back in Zurich for a departure fight, I personally think you would be too rushed to try to get to the mountain areas of Switzerland, quite frankly, and then you would not really have time to enjoy Como or Venice either which are extremely beautiful and romantic. Even with the relatively short train rides, you are going to need about a half day each just to get to each place in Italy, so that leaves you 9 days to work with. I would say you should go right to Como for 3-4 days, then to Venice for 3-4 days, then back to Zurich for 1-2 days at the end for your flight out. If you want to see the mountain areas of Switzerland, then I would say to drop Venice and stick Como and Switzerland instead, although I would go to Lake Geneva over Como at that point. This is a honeymoon, not a travel marathon and you only have 10 days.
I would do the trip to Como first rather than going to Venice, as this is an easy and very pretty 4-6 hour train ride from Zurich depending on where you are going on the lakes. After you have spent time in Como, you can go on to Venice, another easy 4-6 hour train ride. That way you see the countryside during the day and avoid the awful night trains, and won't have long train rides in either case. There is a train station right in Zurich Airport, and you could get on the train to Como from there (you probably have to switch at Zurich main station but it is an easy switch). You could even go into Zurich (10 minutes), store you luggage, have breakfast in the old town and then get a train on to Como, they run hourly and from Zurich no changes are required. (If you want to go to other towns like Varenna, you would take a different train, "Como" is the town of Como, from there you can take ferries to some of the other towns, I would not recco staying in Como itself). Take a look at rail.ch for schedules.
Do you have a budget for hotels or any hotel points.
I love Zurich (I lived there) but I am not sure I would fly there just to then train on to Italy, esp as far as Venice. Also remember that it could very well be hot and humid in Switzerland as well and you will find that many places like hotels and virtually all restaurants are not air conditioned, so you may end up being more hot and humid in Switzerland than you would be in a place like Rome where you would find more air conditioned hotels and more air conditioned restaurants. I know from your other post that you were considering Rome and the Amalfi coast, which I think would make a great honeymoon for 10 days with a lot less long distance travelling and July is a great month for the coast.
With 10 days and wanting to go to Como and Venice and then having to be back in Zurich for a departure fight, I personally think you would be too rushed to try to get to the mountain areas of Switzerland, quite frankly, and then you would not really have time to enjoy Como or Venice either which are extremely beautiful and romantic. Even with the relatively short train rides, you are going to need about a half day each just to get to each place in Italy, so that leaves you 9 days to work with. I would say you should go right to Como for 3-4 days, then to Venice for 3-4 days, then back to Zurich for 1-2 days at the end for your flight out. If you want to see the mountain areas of Switzerland, then I would say to drop Venice and stick Como and Switzerland instead, although I would go to Lake Geneva over Como at that point. This is a honeymoon, not a travel marathon and you only have 10 days.
I would do the trip to Como first rather than going to Venice, as this is an easy and very pretty 4-6 hour train ride from Zurich depending on where you are going on the lakes. After you have spent time in Como, you can go on to Venice, another easy 4-6 hour train ride. That way you see the countryside during the day and avoid the awful night trains, and won't have long train rides in either case. There is a train station right in Zurich Airport, and you could get on the train to Como from there (you probably have to switch at Zurich main station but it is an easy switch). You could even go into Zurich (10 minutes), store you luggage, have breakfast in the old town and then get a train on to Como, they run hourly and from Zurich no changes are required. (If you want to go to other towns like Varenna, you would take a different train, "Como" is the town of Como, from there you can take ferries to some of the other towns, I would not recco staying in Como itself). Take a look at rail.ch for schedules.
Do you have a budget for hotels or any hotel points.
Feb 22nd, 2006, 06:03 PM
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Thanks for the feedback. Lucern is a great suggestion, as the only reason I threw Zurich in there is because that is the airport we would have to use. Any information on what the weather will be like in July in the lake region? I imagine Venice will be hot, but worth the trip....
Feb 22nd, 2006, 06:13 PM
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Cicerone, thank you for all that info... i posted before I read your reply. I like the suggestion of the flight from Venice to Zurich. I am not really too interested in the Swiss travel, other than getting to and from the Zurich airport. We haven't decided yet where to go in Italy, so just trying to get feedback on where to go... I have been to Florence, Cinque and Santa Margherita before, and my fiance has never been to Europe, so wanted to try something new for both of us.... it's just so hard to decide where to go as we want to see it all!
Feb 22nd, 2006, 06:25 PM
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Can you get a connecting flight to Venice instead of taking the train? I think a long train trip right on top of a long flight might get rather tiresome (and I love trains).
You also might consider spending a night in Zurich (just to rest) and then taking a train to Lugano. From there, it is possible to take a bus to Menaggio on Lago di Como. You can either stay in Menaggio, or take a boat to stay in Bellagio or Varenna (depends on your budget, too). After a few days there, you can get on a train (in Varenna or Como) and head for Venice.
If it is your dream to see Venice, by all means do so, but it will not only be hot, but humid and the canals are likely to be -- shall we say aromatic? It will also be very crowded.
If that turns you off Venice, remember you could have a spectacular and pleasant stay in Switzerland (even if the food isn't as spectacular as the scenery).
You also might consider spending a night in Zurich (just to rest) and then taking a train to Lugano. From there, it is possible to take a bus to Menaggio on Lago di Como. You can either stay in Menaggio, or take a boat to stay in Bellagio or Varenna (depends on your budget, too). After a few days there, you can get on a train (in Varenna or Como) and head for Venice.
If it is your dream to see Venice, by all means do so, but it will not only be hot, but humid and the canals are likely to be -- shall we say aromatic? It will also be very crowded.
If that turns you off Venice, remember you could have a spectacular and pleasant stay in Switzerland (even if the food isn't as spectacular as the scenery).
