We'll be in Milan on the last weekend of April and would like to visit the Lakes area on Saturday. What's the best way to get the most out of the day. Also, any hints on shopping in Milan?

Frangi - Are we talking about Lake Como or Maggiore?

An ideal day-trip to Lake Como for me would include Varenna, Bellagio, Menaggio ... and Como.

I'd probably take the train from Milan to Varenna. After seeing Varenna you can ferry-hop to Bellagio, then Menaggio.
You can find ferry timetables on:

http://www.navlaghi.it/italia/navicomo/indicecomo.htm

From Menaggio it's a scenic bus ride back to Como - also worth a visit - and from there you can return to Milan by train.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

If there weather is good, there's an alternative to Steve's excellent suggestion for getting to and seeing Lake Como. You can take a train to the city of Como and then a 45-minute hydrofoil ride on the lake to Bellagio. It'll take a little longer, but the ride on the lake is worth the extra time. (Make sure you take the boat that makes only 3 stops and takes 45 minutes; the other scheduled boat makes many stops and takes 2 hours.) Once in Bellagio, you can take the short ferry rides to see Varenna and other nearby towns.

What kind of shopping do you want to do? For what items and for what price range?

Click on my name and check out "Mr Green's Italy Trip Report" to see how we spent two days in Milan.