Is there direct train service from Lyon France to Lake Como Italy or must I change on Milan?

Gotta change in Milan - take train to Como mainline station or Varenna-Esino for boats to nearby Bellagio. Book www.oui.sncf Lyon-Milan and then take local trains to Como.

Dr. G: I am glad to see you are trying to plan your trip without the travel planner you have been seeking on other threads. As a seasoned traveler, you might recall that the planning can be half the fun.

You may find some assistance in the 3 days we spent last fall on Lake Como, which is included in the first part of our 2-part trip report on northern Lakes and cities. The link for the first part is here: Trip Report: Part 1 Northern Italian Lakes & Cities (12 days October)

There are three train stations to chose from - Como's mainline station; Como Nord - commuter rail from Milan Cardona statin goes right to boat docks but don't think it serves Milano Centrale and the Varenna-Esino one. It depends where you are going on the lake to see which is best. Most are heading to Varenna-Esino for Bellagio boats.

No, there is no direct train service between Lyon and Lake Como, but you have many options for a route like that, including a change in Milan on trains and short-hop flights, but are you really set on Lake Como, as opposed to other lakes?

Lago di Como is the most beautiful of the lakes to my eyes. but even if you choose another lake, you will need to change trains somewhere if you are traveling between Lyon and any of the northern Italian lakes, usually in Milan but possibly also in Torino or Geneva.

Yes, Lake Como is the most beautiful Lake in the provinces of Como, Lecco and Sondrio (followed by Lake Lugano, Lake Palu and some other mountain lakes).
Timetable:

Lyon Part Dieu dp 8.31 - Varenna ar 15.23, change at Torino PS and Milano C
Lyon Perrache Bus Terminal dp 10.15 - Varenna ar 18.23, change at Torino Vittorio Emanule/Porta Nuova and Milano C
Lyon Part Dieu dp 11.50 - Varenna ar 20.05, change at Chambery, Torino PS, Milano C and Bellano

Lake Como is the least appealing lake to me, but they are all gorgeous.

" Lake Como is the least appealing lake to me"
....for me too, but I stopped to speak about: everybody in this forum wants to go to "Lakecomo City" only, even in January, and nowhere else!

Bellagio - Bellagio - Bellagio is imprinted in folks' minds - like Cinque Terre - get there and unbelievably mobbed during day - no more your old fishing village but a village where they angle now for tourists' euros than fish. Yes I like Lake Garda and Lake Stresa is just as nice as Lake Como IMO.

There is no "Lake Stresa". There is a town called Stresa on Lago Maggiore, and it it is laugh line to describe it as not being "for tourists." It has some of the largest tourist hotels of any of the lakes, once grand and now depots for cheap coach tours. The piazze of Stresa are some of the corniest I've ever seen for tourists, and cheap lousy pizza and rubbery gelato abounds. If you pick a month to go when the weather is predictably lousy -- like November -- you can have the illusion that it isn't 100 percent commercialized for tourism, but go when the weather is nice enough to enjoy being on a lake, and this is what you get




But really depends on where you go on any of the lakes, including Lago di Como. There are towns that are tourist magnets, yet just a boat ride away, you have tranquility, and empty benches with beautiful views. There are even places in Bellagio where one can stay and the tourists don't bunch up there (they stay by the dock). And of course, if you sleep in Bellagio, and spend your days visiting other smaller towns, enjoying a lunch, and then return when the day trippers have left, it's a different experience.

Lago di Garda is not immune from reviews and trip reports of people reporting how miserable they were due to crowds (just one example)

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...na_Veneto.html

But if you pick a town lesser known, it's tranquil. That is true of 99 percent of Italy.

Pal, you should really shut up when you don't know what you're talking about. There is no such thing as Lake Stresa, it is not true that nobody goes to the lakes anymore because they are too crowded. WHEN was the last time your stoned ass was on the lakes in Italy? For that matter.when was the last time you set foot in Italy?

And if "Lake Stresa" would just be a missprint.
Palen knew perfectly that Stresa is on Lake Maggiore in his (many) former posts.

Stresa is "handy" because it's 3 hrs by train from Basel and Geneva resp less than 1 hr by train from Milan and relatively close to Malpensa airport.
But there is no doubt that there are more authentic places along Lake Maggiore, like Arona, Nebbiuno, Colazza, Pallanza, Intra, Premeno, Trarego, Cannobio, Ronco sopra Ascona, Locarno, Vira, Sant Abbondio, Agra, Maccagno.....

it is not true that nobody goes to the lakes anymore because they are too crowded.>

Really? Great observation!

Well, OP is going to Lake Bellagio anyway.

We were planning on Como because of all the attention it gets. But are there more romantic towns in the lake region? I was told the area can be reached easily by train from Strasbourg where we will also spend a few days.

easily reached from Strasbourg by train - yeah but a very long ride if going straight thru. First to Basel then via via Brig to Milan and up to Lake Como - Lake Maggiore would fit in much more nicely as the train from Switzerland to Milan goes right by it.

" it is not true that nobody goes to the lakes anymore because they are too crowded."

If nobody goes there, they shouldn't get crowded!

More seriously:
people go to the lakes as usual. They just make a detour around Menaggio-Bellagio-Varenna Disneyland.

STRASBOURG - COMO BY TRAIN:
Strasbourg dp 7.21 - Como ar 13.12 change at Basel and Lugano (same platform)
Strasbourg dp 8.21 - Como ar 13.55 change at Basel and Arth-Goldau (same platform)
Strasbourg dp 8.51 - Como ar 14.55 change at Basel
etc. etc. etc. until
Strasbourg dp 17.21 - Como ar 23.17 change at Basel and Lugano (same platform).

The train reaches first Bellinzona, close to lake Maggiore, then Lugano and goes finally along beautiful Lake Lugano up to Como (1 hr from Bellinzona reps. half an hr from Lugano).

" are there more romantic towns in the lake region?"

For me, the nicest placs are
Ronco sopra Ascona
Morcote
Gandria
Pallanza (old town)
Cannobio
Orta San Giulio
Gravedona
Pigra

But everybody has his own preferencies.