My husband and I will be touring Italy with friends in the fall. We are flying into Venice and leaving from Rome. We have 13 days total in country. We plan on seeing Venice, Florence, Rome and maybe Milan. We would like to see the Alps. We are wondering what would be the best way a train ride out of Venice or Milan, or maybe rent a car and drive? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

You'll get useful feedback from lots of folks on this..just be patient for a bit.

In terms of "the Alps" are you talking about the Dolomites (probably not) or the Swiss Alps or does it matter...

for the Alps n the border of Italy/Switzerland you could, possibly, take a train from Milan up to Brig and on to Zermatt (for the Matterhorn/Monte Rosa Massif which contains all but the highest peak (Mont Blanc) in ALL of the Alps anywhere..<b>BUT</b> and it is a big one, there are no guarantees that you'll get good viewing weather after trooping up there.

You could certainly drive up into the Dolomites (closer to Venice) or drive up above Milan along the east side of Lake Como toward Tirano..or drive up north of Turin..

Hold on..others will comment

Hi scring,

I think Intrepid1 nailed it! Brig is probably your most convenient Swiss Alp area, and one of the best!

An alternative to going to Zermatt from Brig might be going to the Aletsch glacier, which I intend to do in June when I visit. Or, if you have enough time, you could do both.

You can research train schedules at www.rail.ch.

s

Thanks so much to both of you. That was the first time I've done that, I was surprised at how quick your responses were. I will wait for more.

Thanks to you both I've found that a train from Milan to Zermatt takes about 4 hours. I think that is what we will do. I'll let you know. Thanks again.