17 days in Switzerland and Italy (13) - Bellagio (Lake Como), Italy

Ballegio! This name always makes me think of the luxury hotel in Las Vegas. Well, in Lake Como area, this is actually the most popular town, and it attracts most of the tourists. (So true! We actually saw a lot of tourists in Ballegio, although it's not even the peak season yet.)

Ballegio is really close to Varenna. As I mentioned in my earlier post, a lot of people choose to stay in Ballegio during their visit to the Lake Como area. The town is more commercialized in my opinion, with more shops for souvenirs and more restaurants and hotels. Salita Serbelloni is the main street of Ballegio taking tourists from the pier all the way up to the town center.

 

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17 days in Switzerland and Italy (12) - Tremezzo (Lake Como), Italy

Lake Como - Tremezzo (Villa Carlotta)

Tremezzo, another small town in Lake Como, is where the villa Carlotta is located. With the one-day ferry pass, we had the flexibility to just hop on/off ferries anytime we want. Thus, on our way back from Lenno, we decided to stop by this small town to take a close look at villa Carlotta.

17 days in Switzerland and Italy (11) - Lenno (Lake Como), Italy

Lake Como - Lenno (Villa del Ballbianello)

The reason why we decided to go to Lenno is because we REALLY REALLY wanted to visit the Villa del Ballbianello, the villa featured in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (2002) and Casino Royale (2006). I got to know it from Alex that the villa is in the Lake Como area but had no idea where the exact location is. Asking my friend Patrick didn't give us any help either because the two times he went to Lake Como he only stayed in Bellagio. Well, after a thorough online research, I found out that it is actually located in Lenno and fortunately, we can go there by ferry.

17 days in Switzerland and Italy (10) - Varenna (Lake Como), Italy

Lake Como - Varenna

Most people visit Lake Como and stay in Ballegio. We, however, decided to stay in Varenna during our visit. Two reasons: 1) When I did my research, I saw some really nice pictures of Varenna and wanted to spend some time exploring this small town; 2) We needed to catch an early train to Venice after staying in Lake Como for two days. Varenna is more convenient than Ballegio.

My friend Patrick has been to Lake Como twice and each time he chose to stay in Ballegio. Varenna, to him, was just a stop to catch the ferry to Ballegio. I, on the other hand, really wanted to spend some time in this small town because I really like the colors of the town buildings and the steep stairs in the pictures I saw. The town turned out to be as nice as I imagined it to be. Alex and I both really enjoyed our stay there.

17 days in Switzerland and Italy (9) - Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy

After staying in Switzerland for four and a half days, we were so ready to go to Italy. Why? You may ask. Huh...to be honest, I was a bit aesthetic fatigue after seeing green and small towns for four days straight. I was also looking forward to eat something nice in Italy (:b I just didn't enjoy our food experience in Switzerland). 

Before leaving the B&B in Interlaken, the hostess asked us where we were heading to. Milan, we answered. "Oh, that's about 3 hours train ride from Interlaken." She replied. REALLY?? How come I didn't know that there are trains departure from Interlaken to Milan when I did my research. :( Anyway, because I didn't realize there's such a route exist, I bought the ticket from Zurich to Milan, which means we need to go from Interlaken to Bern, Bern to Zurich, and then from there to go to Milan, a total of 5 hours train ride. (Well, I could only comfort myself that I haven't been to Zurich yet, and this short stop in Zurich will allow me to at least have a peak of the city.)

Zurich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. Most of Zurich's sights are located within the area beside the Limmat river, which is really close to the main railway station. Of course, we wouldn't have time to visit them but at least we could glance from distance. 
 

17 Days in Switzerland and Italy (1) - Beginning with Our Plan

I consider myself a really good trip planner but to be honest, my first trip to Europe cost me a lot of time for planning. Traveling to Europe is totally different from just traveling within the U.S. One big difference: no car! Most likely, you will use the public transportation system, especially the trains to go from city to city. That, thus, requires you to stay on schedule, if you have a list of places you want to visit in limited days.

Long story short. We (my husband and I) spent a total of 17 days, almost two and a half weeks, in Switzerland and Italy. My planning time: about two months.

For your reference, here is our plan:

Switzerland (5 days):

Day 1:  Geneva and Montreux
Day 2:  Lucerne and Interlaken
Day 3:  Zermatt and Sion
Day 4:  Murren, Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen, and Wengen

Italy: 

Day 5: Milan, Varenna (Lake Como)
Day 6: Lenno (Villa Balbianello), Ballegio, and other areas in lake como
Day 7: Murno, Bruno, Venice
Day 8: Venice
Day 9: Florence (Academy), Pisa
Day 10: Cinque Terre National Park
Day 11: Florence
Day 12: Siena and San Gimignano
Day 13: Rome (Galleria Borghese, Capuchin Church of the Immaculate Conception, Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona)
Day 14: Vatican Museum (including Sistine Chapel), Colosseum, Forum
Day 15: Vatican (St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica) and Tivoli (villa d'Este)
Day 16: Pompeii
Day 17: Fly home