Lake Como in January

I will be in Milan the last week of January and am considering
renting a car for a day and driving up to and around Lake Como.
Never been there and have always wanted to see the area. I'm not
really too concerned about specific sites, I'm looking at it
more as a scenic drive for the day.

Would it be worth it, or is it a dumb idea for that time of year?

Thanks!

On Sep 27, 3:54*am, Kibomax wrote:
I will be in Milan the last week of January and am considering
renting a car for a day and driving up to and around Lake Como.
Never been there and have always wanted to see the area. I'm not
really too concerned about specific sites, I'm looking at it
more as a scenic drive for the day.

Would it be worth it, or is it a dumb idea for that time of year?

Thanks!

Not dumb at all, a perfectly good idea. You can do it by train too if
you prefer.

wrote:
On Sep 27, 3:54 am, Kibomax wrote:
I will be in Milan the last week of January and am considering
renting a car for a day and driving up to and around Lake Como.
Never been there and have always wanted to see the area. I'm not
really too concerned about specific sites, I'm looking at it
more as a scenic drive for the day.

Would it be worth it, or is it a dumb idea for that time of year?

Thanks!

Not dumb at all, a perfectly good idea. You can do it by train too if
you prefer.

Yes I agree about yr suggestion to go by train. the toll road between Milano
and Como is always very busy as it is the main road to Switzerland

It should not last very much. as Como is very near Milano

maybe you can rent a car in Como itself

On 2008-09-27, wrote:
On Sep 27, 3:54*am, Kibomax wrote:

Would it be worth it, or is it a dumb idea for that time of year?

Not dumb at all, a perfectly good idea. You can do it by train too if
you prefer.

I did that in January 6 or 7 years ago. Nice day (better than staying
in Milan anyway).

On Sat, 27 Sep 2008, wrote:
On Sep 27, 3:54*am, Kibomax wrote:
I will be in Milan the last week of January and am considering
renting a car for a day and driving up to and around Lake Como.

Would it be worth it, or is it a dumb idea for that time of year?

I've no idea of what's the typical weather like up there at end January.
It's off season for the lakes. We milanese usually try to escape the fog
(not much remained in the city, but a lot in the plain), smog and
pollution either going to Ligury (sea and sun, older people) or to the
mountains (skiing, younger people). Said that, you could find perfectly
nice days (if you know the old adage about "the sky of Lombardy which is
so fine when it's fine"), though maybe a bit cold. And days are short.

Not dumb at all, a perfectly good idea. You can do it by train too if
you prefer.

Well, you cannot do a complete tour of the lake by train. You can either
reach Como by train, or travel the entire east coast (from Lecco to
Colico) by train. In all cases mind the Milan station where the train
departs (look up a timetable).

Como has two stations, one is the main line (Trenitalia, former FS) Como
San Giovanni station, and the other is Como Lago, operated by LeNord
(former FNM). Trains to Como San Giovanni might depart from Milano
Centrale (if they are international long distance trains to Switzerland
and beyond), or usually from Milano Porta Garibaldi (but some from
Centrale) if they are local commuter trains. Trains to Como Lago depart
from Milano Cadorna. Como Lago, as the name says, it's located just on
the lake side, convenient for the the piers and the Brunate funicular.

Trains to Lecco-Colico-Sondrio should depart mainly from Milano Porta
Garibaldi, but some from Centrale (note that there is another secondary
line going to Lecco, nice country scenery, but stops in Lecco and you'd
have to change anyhow to continue).

If you stay in Milan not near one of the stations, you could possibly
reach other more conveniente stops where to catch the train. All
Trenitalia trains to Como and Lecco pass through Greco Pirelli and Sesto
San Giovanni (the latter with metro connection) ... although the
international ones do not stop there. You might consider a stop in Monza
to visit the Langobard Treasure in the Cathedral.

Catching a train to Como will save you a drive on a possibly foggy
motorway. As I said, you cannot do a complete tour of the lake by train.
But the best way to see the lake is from the lake, i.e. by boat.

This site should have info also in English about boat timetables (I
expect the service to be reduced in winter, and of course it's colder
on the boats) : http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/

I expect in winter there will be no service on the Lecco branch (you
know the lake it's a reverse Y ... the Lecco branch is the SE one), and
possibly little service on the northern branch, but I expect decent
service on the Como branch (SW) to Centre-Lake. And there will always be
the car ferry from Menaggio to Bellagio and Varenna.

This other site (in Italian) has info on local transport (buses) which
could be used to close the circle
http://www.trasporti.regione.lombardia.it/trl_index.htm

If you insist in driving, note what follows. Most roads along the lake
are narrow and bendy. Expect queues if you do on weekends. There should
be a panoramic highway from Como to Argegno (W coast of the SW branch),
but then the old Strada Regina (Queen Road, or Royal Road ?) goes on
rather narrow to Menaggio and Colico (entire W coast).

On the E coast there is the new SS36, but this is not scenic at all
because it runs mostly in tunnels. Also it could be overcrowded on
weekends because of skiers going to / returning from Valtellina. I'd
advise to use the old coastal road, and have a visit to the Monastery in
Piona, maybe to the Orrido (gorge) in Bellano, and to Varenna. Plus a
quick glance to Fiumelatte ("milk river") known as Italy's shortest
river !

If you want to drive the "Larian Triangle" (i.e. the area between Como,
Lecco and Bellagio which is at the tip of the reversed Y), which should
be rather nice, consider that it goes as up as 1300 m (so snow is
possible).


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Kibomax wrote in
:

I will be in Milan the last week of January and am considering
renting a car for a day and driving up to and around Lake Como.
Never been there and have always wanted to see the area. I'm not
really too concerned about specific sites, I'm looking at it
more as a scenic drive for the day.

Would it be worth it, or is it a dumb idea for that time of year?

Thanks!


Thanks very much for the replies.

I think I'm going to plan on doing it. I have some flexibilty so
when I'm there I'll check the forecasts and try to pick a day with
clear weather. And I'll also look into taking the train from Milan
and renting a car in Como. That might be a good idea.

Thanks again!