Lake Como, St Moritz and the Bernina Express

Tour Itinerary

• Day 1: UK - Milan

  Touch down in Italy and transfer to Lake Como and your chosen hotel. Settle into your surroundings and enjoy your first dinner.

• Day 2: Included visit to Varenna

  Enjoy a leisurely morning with breakfast at the hotel before boarding the coach for a visit to lakeside Varenna, one of Como's most picturesque towns. Having stood for over 2,000 years, the town is home to quaint cobbled alleys and colourful houses, and exudes quintessential Italian charm. Upon arrival, you'll be free to explore under your own steam, perhaps taking a leisurely stroll along the passegiatta degli innamorati trail (lovers' walk) or embracing la dolce vita at one of its delightful waterside cafés. The best views of Lake Como can be found from the panoramic terraces of Castello di Vezio and the nearby villas, Cipressi and Monastero, offer a glimpse of 18th-century opulence. After a few hours spent exploring Varenna, return to your hotel for the evening.

• Day 3: Included visit to Bellagio and Villa del Balbianello with Lake Como cruise

  Today introduces you to Como’s most sparkling jewel, stunning Bellagio. Idyllically set on the peninsula that divides the lake’s two southern limbs, Bellagio is often described as the most beautiful town in Italy. Join your tour manager for the ferry crossing, then step ashore to discover this exquisite place, with its elegant villas and glorious gardens looking out over the lake and backed by wooded hills. After a short walking tour, you'll be free to enjoy Bellagio and its wondrous surroundings. Stroll along the lakefront promenade, take a seat in a café, or enjoy a delicious gelato before boarding a lake cruiser to sail past yet more elegant villas and their stunning gardens, and past some of the lake's highly favoured settlements. The cruise will include a visit to the gardens of Villa del Balbianello, after which you'll be free to sit back and relax, enjoying the joys of cruising back to port under hopefully sunny skies on what is sure to be a memorable day.

• Day 4: Optional Como excursion

  Have breakfast this morning and enjoy a full day at leisure to spend however you see fit, perhaps making the most of your hotel's amenities or venturing out along the lake side under your own steam. If you'd prefer a more structured day's activity, you can also join a fascinating optional tour to glittering Como, the city from which the lake gets its name. Start your excursion in the city's walled Old Town, with its eclectic mix of architectural styles and welcoming, café-lined piazzas, and meander along its winding alleys under your own steam. Also of interest are Como Cathedral, with its magnificent vaulted cloisters, and the Palazzo Broletto, which offers fascinating insight into the city's medieval past. Along the waterfront, you'll find the Tempio Voltiano, dedicated to the famed inventor, Alessandro Volta, as well as a collection of magnificent neoclassical villas. For uninterrupted views of the city, why not take a ride on the Como-Brunate Funicular?

• Day 5: Optional Milan city tour

  Today you're free to relax in the hotel and its surroundings, or to join our optional excursion to the great city of Milan. One of Europe’s most exciting cities, Milan is not merely a centre of worldwide fashion; it is also home to some of the best collections of art and architecture in the world. The Sforzesco Castle, the famous shopping Galleria, La Scala – one of the world’s greatest opera houses – and the great cathedral, Il Duomo, one of its largest Gothic churches, are among the breath-taking sights brought to life on your guided tour. Afterwards you can head to the shops, visit a gallery or museum, or simply take a seat in a pavement café to watch the Milanese world go by.

• Day 6: Included Bernina Express train journey to St Moritz

  Our last included excursion take you to St Moritz, the world-famous resort set high in Switzerland’s Upper Engadine Valley. Board the Bernina Express to travel from the Lombardy town of Tirano through Switzerland’s Italian-speaking southeast corner – across viaducts (including the famous spiral at Brusio) and over the 2,253-metre-high Bernina Pass – to St Moritz. The journey to this exclusive mountain town features some of the most stunning scenery found anywhere in this Alpine region. Enjoy window-shopping in this playground paradise, or perhaps take a stroll into the beautiful countryside beyond the town, before returning to Como and your hotel by coach.

• Day 7: Optional Bergamo tour

  Join today’s optional excursion, which journeys to the twin city of Bergamo, built between the Lombardy Plain and the Alps. Here, modern Bassa, the Lower City with its neoclassical features, is watched over by idyllic, walled Alta, the Upper City. The city's stunning 14th-century citadel, ancient Piazza Vecchia (Old Square) with its beautiful Pallazo della Ragione, 15th-century bell tower, cathedral and elaborate Santa Maria Maggiore church are all breath-takingly glorious examples of Italian architecture. The city also boasts some carefully preserved Venetian walls, and a stroll along a section of these is a must for the energetic. Bergamo is also famed for its food, and boasts a host of reasonably priced cafes and osterie in which you can enjoy a delicious snack.

• Day 8: Milan - UK

  Bid "arrivederci" to your hosts, and transfer back to the airport to catch your flight home at the end of a wonderful stay in a beautiful corner of the world.