We are planning our Italy trip for next May. We want to travel to Milan then take a train to Lakes area in Italy. We might enjoy a day or two in Switzerland so what city would be the best to fly into in Switzerland and then travel by train to Milan? I am looking for something that would not take more than several hours by train to Milan. Any advice welcome. Thank you as always!

You'll get lots of replies here, aj. But I'll mention that you could train from Zurich to Lugano and then bus quickly to Mennaggio on Como. J.

Hi aj,
Zurich is the most obvious place to fly in, but it takes about 4 hrs. to get to Milan by train from there, even though there are direct routes and many trains per day.
From Geneva airport, it's about 5 hours by train, and in my opinion, a prettier route. From Geneva, you could head down to Brig, about 2 1/2 hrs. by train, then another 2 1/2 from Brig to Milan.
If it were me, though, I'd take the Geneva route, spend the night in Montreux, before taking the train down to Milan.

Thanks JMW! How long of a train trip is it to Lugano? Is Zurich an interesting city to visit? Any more info?

Thanks Surfergirl! I would love to hear more about Geneve and Montreux.

Take a look at SBB.ch, the website for Swiss Railways. (Click on "Swiss Federal Railways" on the upper right of the first page to get the English version). You can get schedules and train fares as well.

The ride from Zurich to Milan is very pretty, I have done it several times. You go through mountain areas and then across lake Lugano, past Como and onto Milan. A very nice way to get to Milan that sure beats driving and is much more scenic than flying. You can stop off in Lugano and/oror Como on your way out or back if you want to spend a few days in the lake area. If you want to skip Switzerland and fly in and out of Milan, the train to Como from Milan is less than an hour (some poeple say taking the bus is better from Milan than the train). Lugano would be about another 40 minutes. Not as scenic as coming through Switzerland, but certainly faster.

I live in Zurich and think it is a great city to visit for a few days. The city is relentlessly charming with small cobblestone streets, restaurants and shops. You can take trips to outlying areas for a day as well.

Zurich is very interesting, and the train route down to Lugano will go through spectacular scenery, passing lakes and mountains. If you go to sbb.ch you can click on english, then timetables, and then plug in the cities for a choice of schedules.(just under 3 hours) You might also wish to train from Zurich to Lucerne when you arrive, thereby shortening your leg to Lugano even more. IMO, the route from Geneve to Locarno seemed never-ending, but I'm an old fogey. J.

You might also consider flying into Milan first and taking the train to one of the lakes such as Lake Como and then training on into Switzerland...the route from Tirano to St. Moritz on the Bernina Express offers spectacular scenery...or you can easily get the bus from Menaggio to Lugano and train from there and then eventually fly out of Switzerland...this will prevent the need to backtrack.

Ok, thanks. We can fly into Zurich and then take the train. We don't need to go to Milan if the train from Zurich can take us to Varenna on Lake Como. Is it possible to go this way, directly to Varenna by train from Zurich? I thought I would have to go to Milan and then take the train back to Como. I will check this out on the SBB.ch site. Any advice on this option?

Como is not Varenna. The line to Milan via Lugano can take you to Como, but you must then boat to Varenna--which is on the east[Lecco] side of the Lake. A good map would help.

I meant to say Lake Como. I am not familiar with this area but the map I printed from the hotel(Hotel Milano Varenna) says "Varenna is on Lake of Como, Italy, 60 km north of Milan. Maybe my best bet is to take train to Milan and then back to Varenna. It looks like it would take less time according to the SBB.ch. I am going by the bookstore this evening to check out a better map.

We will be training from Interlaken to Varenna in September, will have to go to Milan first and then take the train to Varenna. It's only about a 40 minute train ride, and the trains run frequently, close to hourly.

If you are coming from CH then it is easier to stay on the west side of the Lake or in Bellagio. Varenna is nice, and the hotel is too, but so are Bellagio and Mennagio and are easier to access. The boats run all day between the 3 mid-lake villages so where you stay becomes less important. The best option may be Hotel Belvedere in Bellagio--fabulous views.

Has anyone mentioned how often lakeboats run from Menaggio to Varenna? Or perhaps you could remind aj of the website. I notice that there is a daily 50 minute bus from Lugano's station to Menaggio at 14:50. And there are hourly trains from Zurich to Lugano (3 hours or less). Seems like one could plot their own schedule with a little break in Lugano, if 1) there are convenient crossings from M to V, or 2) if the decision was made to stay in Menaggio. J.

Exactly ! The boats run often, but it may be via Bellagio--not a bad deal.