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A passenger boat crossing Lake Como near Bellagio, with mountain slopes all around

Sample journey · 9–11 days

By train and boat through northern Italy

Milan, Lake Como, Lake Garda, Verona, Venice & the lagoon islands

Photo: Hassan Anayi / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Northern Italy almost seems designed for travelling without a car. Trains are frequent and short, boats link the lakeside villages, and in Venice a car would be no use anyway. So this route moves gently from west to east, from Milan across the two largest lakes and Verona to the Venetian lagoon, with no transfer longer than a couple of hours and many of them moments in their own right: the view from a train window, an early boat across the lake, a vaporetto down the Grand Canal.

It suits couples, honeymoons and anyone travelling independently in Italy for the first time who would like simple logistics and no driving. The attention is on stays with a view, gardens, dinners by the water and unhurried mornings. The route, the stays and the pace would be shaped around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Milan
  2. Lake Como (Varenna, Bellagio)
  3. Lake Garda
  4. Verona
  5. Venice
  6. The lagoon islands
  1. A stone sculpture of a winged horse and a man on the roof of Milan's Central railway station

    01Days 1–2 · Milan

    Beginning at a grand station

    Milan's Central Station, with its sculptures and soaring arches, makes a fitting emblem for this journey. An evening and a morning in Milan are well spent on Leonardo's Last Supper (tickets need booking well ahead), a walk on the cathedral's roof terraces among the marble spires, and the lanes of Brera. In the evening, an aperitivo by the Navigli canals.

  2. A narrow stepped lane in Bellagio with flowers and a lantern, the lake and mountains beyond

    02Days 2–5 · Lake Como

    A lake best known by boat

    An hour on a regional train brings you to Varenna, a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Como and an easy base for three nights. Lake boats cross to Bellagio and Menaggio every hour or so: gardens of camellias and cypresses at the lakeside villas in the morning, Bellagio's stepped lanes in the afternoon, and the last boat back as the sun goes down. One morning could take you up to the castle above Varenna; another might have no plan at all.

  3. Lake Garda from Malcesine, looking north towards the mountains

    03Days 5–7 · Lake Garda

    A peninsula, a castle and a mountain above the water

    A train via Milan to Desenzano and a short hop to Sirmione, a slender peninsula with a moated Scaliger castle and the ruins of a Roman villa at its very tip. Two nights here leave a day for a boat north, as Lake Garda narrows into the mountains; from Malcesine a cable car climbs Monte Baldo, with the whole lake spread out below. In the evening, a swim and dinner by the water.

  4. Verona and the Adige river, seen from the Ponte Pietra

    04Days 7–9 · Verona

    Pink stone and an evening above the Adige

    From Lake Garda to Verona is barely a quarter of an hour by train. Two evenings let you see the city without the crowds: the arches of the Arena, the market in Piazza delle Erbe, the Roman Ponte Pietra and the steps up to the hill of Castel San Pietro, where sunset colours the rooftops and the bend in the river. In summer the Arena holds its opera season, and one afternoon could go to the Valpolicella wineries nearby.

  5. Boats on Venice's Grand Canal on an overcast day

    05Day 9 · Venice

    Arriving by the Grand Canal

    An hour and a half on the train and the station steps lead straight down to the Grand Canal. The best start is a vaporetto along its whole length to San Marco, past the palace façades and the market landings. After that, it is worth getting lost in quieter Cannaregio or Castello, and in the evening stopping at a bacaro, a small wine bar serving cicchetti. Piazza San Marco is at its emptiest early in the morning.

  6. A weathered stone statue among the vines on the island of Torcello

    06Days 10–11 · The lagoon islands

    Where Venice began

    The last day is spent in the lagoon. A vaporetto to Torcello, where only a handful of people still live and the basilica of Santa Maria Assunta holds some of the oldest mosaics in the lagoon. On neighbouring Mazzorbo a vineyard grows behind old walls, and across a footbridge lies colourful Burano, with its lace-making tradition and fish risotto. The next morning, a boat or bus to the airport and home.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Lake Como by boat

    Varenna, Bellagio and Menaggio: three different towns linked by short crossings.

  2. 02

    Monte Baldo above Garda

    The cable car from Malcesine and the whole lake from above, weather permitting.

  3. 03

    Sunset in Verona

    From the hill of Castel San Pietro, a view over the old town, the river and the distant hills.

  4. 04

    The quiet lagoon

    Torcello's mosaics and the Mazzorbo vineyard: Venice without the crowds.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • For a honeymoon

    A stay in a historic villa on Lake Como, and a third night in Venice with a view of the water.

  • With an Alpine railway

    From Lake Como the train runs on to Tirano, where the panoramic Bernina line climbs over the Alps into Switzerland.

  • With the Dolomites

    A train from Verona to Bolzano, and a few days in the mountains before Venice.

  • Shorter

    Leaving out Lake Garda fits the journey into a week and gives Lake Como and Venice more time.

Practical considerations

  • Regional trains and lake boats run frequently, but their timetables change with the season, and far fewer boats run in winter. Changes are much easier with lighter luggage, and larger cases can be sent ahead.
  • Venice charges an access fee to day visitors on certain dates; different rules apply to overnight guests. We check the current arrangements before you travel.
  • Tickets for the Last Supper and opera nights at the Verona Arena sell out early, so they're worth planning alongside the journey.
  • April–June and September–October are usually the most pleasant; July and August are hot, and the lake towns and Venice are crowded.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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