On our trip to Italy this June,we will be staying in the town of Menaggio, on Lake Como. We are wondering if it is possible to do a day trip from there to Zermatt, Switzerland. Has anyone done this trip or know about how long a drive it would be? Thanks Linda M

We spent a week in Mennagio in June 1997. I think it would be too long a drive to Zermatt. Instead you could visit the Ticino region of Switzerland which is really beautiful. For a fun trip, I would drive to Locarno and see that town (we like Locarno) then drive up into one of the Ticino valley. We went up the Val Verzasca one year (about a one hour bus ride from Locarno) and it was beautiful. Lovely stone roof houses. A beautiful village, Sonogno, at the end. There are a few other intersting valleys in this area.

To get to Zermatt, you would drive to Lugano, then get on the Autostrada north to the Gottard tunnel. Probably an hour to get to the tunnel from Mennagio. It is a good 30 minutes just thru the tunnel (one lane in each direction - not a nice driving experience). Then you have to take the road along the Rhone to Brig in the Valais. Another hour or more. From Brig it is almost an hour up a narrow valley to Zermatt. You park in Tasch, no cars in Zermatt, and take a 10 minute train ride to Zermatt.

If you really want a more German Swiss mountian town, St. Moritz would be closer. From Lake Como go north and east. St. Moritz, the one time we were there in 1996, was beautiful, but crowded with tourists.

You plunk in these destinations to one of those route-planning programs to see how long the drives are. We have some on our Driving: Links page:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/drive/links.htm

It might be faster to go to Lugano, then Locarno, then Domodossola, then over the Simplon pass - but we drove over this pass two years ago and it took a couple of hours from Brig to Domodossola (if I remember right).

Thanks Pauline

I was thinking that maybe it was too long for a day trip. We would really like to go to Zermatt so I guess we will have to eliminate something from our itinerary so that we can spend the night in there. Do you have any advice on where to spend the night in Zermatt? Thanks again. Linda

I would allow two nights . Zermatt is a fabulous town and you can do a lovely walk up the valley to a little village (Zmut) with a good restaurant. The walk is only an hour. We always stay in apartments, but the town is full of good looking hotels. In our experience, a two star hotel in Switzerland is very good - the hotels tend to be nice. Check out the Karen Brown listings. www.karenbrown.com

But you live near the most beautiful mountains in the world! You are leaving mountains to vacation in mountains. (I lived north of you in Jasper for a year many, many years ago.)

I agree that Zermatt is too far for a day trip, and that it is worth a two-night stay. You won't get in until afternoon of your first day, and you won't want to have to leave the very next day, I promise!

Sally Watkins, Certified Travel Counselor
Certified Switzerland Specialist
www.sallywatkins.com
sally@century-tvl.com