Need travel tips - Turin to Milan via?

[kevin993]

Will be in Italy in late May and our schedule has ended up with a travel day to get from Turin to Milan. We've never been in the area, so only have google to get a sense of distance and scenerey. We have some time scheduled in both Turin and Milan, but trying to figure out the most fun way to get from one to the other. We will have a car, so have a lot of flexibility.

Going out to the west of Turin to the National Park or the Sacra di San Michele near Susa is interesting, but headed in the wrong direction. We'll be in that area in a different part of the trip.

Options - Turin to Milan:

1) via wine country of Alba and Barolo - shortest, most relaxed, but don't know much about the area or where to go

2) via a side lake trip (Laga d'Orta or Largo di Varese) - longer, a touch out of the way and we'll be spending some time around Como later, but people seem to love the lakes and each sounds like it has its own charms

3) via a trip to the coast (perhaps Finale Ligure) - way longer, out of the way and would only be a short stop at the coast, but the coast is a very strong draw

Any thoughts, recommendations, suggestions, etc.?

[Milu]

If you're in a fun car you could drive to France via Frejus, have lunch and then head for Milan in time for dinner and La Scala. Alternatively head for one of the tourist spots on Lake Como.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by kevin993

1) via wine country of Alba and Barolo - shortest, most relaxed, but don't know much about the area or where to go

I personally would visit the Barolo area & have lunch at a vineyard. Or go north to the Gattinara wine region. I can't help you with the specific where however.

Some producers: Aldo Conterno, Giacomo Conterno, Enzo Boglietti, Pio Cesare, Vietti, Elvio Cogno, Mascarello, Luciano Sandrone, Angelo Gaja, Fontanafredda, Michele Chiarlo, Prunotto, Poderi Colla, Luigi Einaudi, Marcarini and Massolino. The ones in bold are the better known wines. Most have vines in Barbaresco too. In Gattinara, Traviglini is the biggest name.

Ian

[Monza_dh]

I've been to both cities a few times to visit in laws and wouldn't worry too much about the drive between the two but use the extra time in the lakes and or in either city. There are dozens of smaller towns and villages in between and Asti and Alba, etc are nice but not much for a big detour away from either the Lakes or the coast IMHO. I'm moreof a water guy than a wine guy and was with my kids so I didnt stop for wine tours etc.

As you say the coast is also quite far of a drive if you only have a day. I took the A6 from Torino to Savonna and its a two lane road through the mountains and you end up in Savonna which is not great. Sestri Levante is I think much nicer with Santa Margherita, Portofino, Cinque Terre etc. The road from Milan to Genoa is more direct as I recall and shorter than Torino to the coast

I've also been to Garda, Como, Maggiore and Iseo and while many parts of Garda are beautiful and is Stressa and the Islands are great on Maggiore , I think there is enough in Como to experience and spend time there only for a short trip. Be sure you drive the road (by day only!) from Lecco to Bellagio to Como or reverse. Its an insane drive with a thousand turns and unreal scenery.

After seeing the small sterile towns around the lake I really liked the city of Como with its cathedral, pedestrian areas with cafes and real working residents. One of my favorite spots on Como was the rocky beach a mile south of Bellagio towards Como that had a bar on the beach serving up cold beer and cocktails. It was full of locals with not a tourist in site. I searched and its called the Riverside Beach Bar on Via alla Spiaggia.

Near Milan Bergamo is not a bad side trip either with its views from Citta Alta or you could check out Monza for any racing on the schedule, bikes etc. Good luck and have fun.

[Monza_dh]

Funny, found this on ytube of a guy in his 356 driving the road from Lecco to Bellagio. Not that great quality but you get the idea. This time of year the views would be fantastic.

[Garp]

I just got back from a week on the shores of Lake Como. I've been sevreal times now to the Italian Lakes. Menaggio and the whole Southern part of the Lake are gorgeous, the Northern part is so-so.

[Garp]

[Garp]

Originally Posted by kevin993

Will be in Italy in late May and our schedule has ended up with a travel day to get from Turin to Milan. We've never been in the area, so only have google to get a sense of distance and scenerey. We have some time scheduled in both Turin and Milan, but trying to figure out the most fun way to get from one to the other. We will have a car, so have a lot of flexibility.

Going out to the west of Turin to the National Park or the Sacra di San Michele near Susa is interesting, but headed in the wrong direction. We'll be in that area in a different part of the trip.

Options - Turin to Milan:

1) via wine country of Alba and Barolo - shortest, most relaxed, but don't know much about the area or where to go

2) via a side lake trip (Laga d'Orta or Largo di Varese) - longer, a touch out of the way and we'll be spending some time around Como later, but people seem to love the lakes and each sounds like it has its own charms

3) via a trip to the coast (perhaps Finale Ligure) - way longer, out of the way and would only be a short stop at the coast, but the coast is a very strong draw

Any thoughts, recommendations, suggestions, etc.?

BTW Kevin, Garp = Kris (Villers Abbey etc) from Rennlist.

[kevin993]

Awesome feedback. Love the pics - thanks for sharing/posting. They certainly help justify that we're making the right decision to visit the area! We're coming from the Swiss passes on the way to Turin, so we've got the alps tour covered. Once in Milan, we're doing the last supper and Duomo, stopping by Monza for a tour of the banking and then up to Como.

Thinking that the coast would be a nice stop - I imagine we'll get back there at some point to do it properly, so it will be a good reconnaissance run. Back to doing some more research on good towns along the Italian Rivera to drop anchor for lunch.

Thanks Pelicans!

[kevin993]

Kris!!! One of my favorite people in the world. We still talk (and rave) about our trip to Villers. We loved Belgium and that stop was an all time winner. I still owe you a dinner! Good to "see" you on the Pelican side.

Originally Posted by Garp

BTW Kevin, Garp = Kris (Villers Abbey etc) from Rennlist.

[Milu]

If you're not already planning a visit to Ferrari in Modena (disneyland for petrolheads) it's about a three hour drive from Turin and about three hours from Modena to Milan. It's doable but a long day.

[vipergreen]

Kevin, I wouldn't go to the riviera, as the trip would be long and traffic can be quite heavy over there. Finale ligure is nothing special IMO, the other riviera (east of Genova), is much more beautiful with nice places like Portofino, Sestri Levante, Camogli...
If you plan to go to lake Como later (I live near there and reccomend it), you can detour to Stresa on lake Maggiore and visit the Borromee islands and the nearby lake Orta, can be done in half a day and the detour is not that long.
The wine area south/west of turin is also very nice at that time of the year, and just driving there is very nice. Probably one day to visit the area is a little bit short though.

Ciao
Andrea

[Neilk]

Watch out for these cameras on the highway if you are speeding. They are speeding ticket cameras. Good thing is that you are warned about them about 500 meters before you reach them.

[kevin993]

This is exactly the type of help I needed - things look one way on a map, but so tough to know about the upsides and downsides. We didn't know whether the areas around Finale Ligure were worth the drive. We just don't have enough time to hit Portofino and similar areas on this trip - will save that for next trip when we can do Maranello, etc. as well. Thanks!

Originally Posted by vipergreen

Kevin, I wouldn't go to the riviera, as the trip would be long and traffic can be quite heavy over there. Finale ligure is nothing special IMO, the other riviera (east of Genova), is much more beautiful with nice places like Portofino, Sestri Levante, Camogli...
If you plan to go to lake Como later (I live near there and reccomend it), you can detour to Stresa on lake Maggiore and visit the Borromee islands and the nearby lake Orta, can be done in half a day and the detour is not that long.
The wine area south/west of turin is also very nice at that time of the year, and just driving there is very nice. Probably one day to visit the area is a little bit short though.

Ciao
Andrea

[kevin993]

Good idea, but we have a future trip in mind where we can properly spend time in that area. Will save for next time.

Originally Posted by Milu

If you're not already planning a visit to Ferrari in Modena (disneyland for petrolheads) it's about a three hour drive from Turin and about three hours from Modena to Milan. It's doable but a long day.

[enzo1]

great post and pics ... thanks

[Monza_dh]

I'd recommend the Michelin site for any route planning. IT will show tolls and the map details are great. I bought the large map books before my last trip to France and it was invaluable.

Routes Torino Milano ViaMichelin: Routes and useful information Torino Milano

Also check

[Garp]

Originally Posted by kevin993

Kris!!! One of my favorite people in the world. We still talk (and rave) about our trip to Villers. We loved Belgium and that stop was an all time winner. I still owe you a dinner! Good to "see" you on the Pelican side.

I'll throw in a few more Kevin. This time from around Cannobio, Lago Maggiore.

[Garp]

The Cinque Terre area was mentioned, here's a few pictures from 2 years ago; I confirm that the Ligure coast is not worth the detour. Once in France (Menton etc) it gets better again.

[kevin993]

Thanks very much to everybody for the help. We greatly appreciate all the posts and PMs.

After careful consideration, our game plan is to head to Lago d'Orta (Lake Orta) for the day. It is a smaller lake west of Lake Maggiore and sounds like a hidden gem that often gets overshadowed by the better known lakes. I'm sure we'll have some photos from the trip, so will be sure to come back and post a few.

Thanks again!