Day trips from Milan
Como, Bergamo, Verona, Maggiore and the Certosa — five trips by train, and which Milan station each one leaves from.
- Como
- about 1 h from Cadorna, ticket €4.80
- Bergamo
- about 50 min from Centrale, ticket €6
- Verona
- 1 h 13–15 by fast train
Around Milan are two lakes, two towns and a monastery reached by train in twenty minutes to an hour and a quarter, and the first question is the station: Como leaves from Cadorna, Bergamo, Verona and Stresa from Centrale, the Certosa on the S13 from the underground Passante. The lakes take a full day because of the boat, Bergamo and the Certosa half.
Como — a full day, because of the boat
From Milano Cadorna the train stops at Como Lago, right on the shore; from Centrale you arrive at Como San Giovanni, above the town, and walk down to the water. The town is small and the reason to go is the boat: the regular boat from Como to Bellagio takes 2 h 35 min each way, so a trip with Bellagio in it is a full day with an early start.
Bergamo — half a day
about 50 min by train from Centrale, then a bus and the funicular up to the Città Alta. The upper town sits inside sixteenth-century Venetian walls, UNESCO-listed since 2017, and is explored on foot. Since it depends on neither a boat nor the season, it is the trip for a day when the weather on the lakes is bad.
Verona and Lake Maggiore
Verona is 1 h 13–15 by fast train and nearly two hours each way by regional — so pay for the fast train, or half the day goes on the line. In town are the Roman arena, where opera is still staged in summer, and the Castelvecchio bridge. For Maggiore, trains from Centrale run to Stresa, and boats go on to the Borromean Islands. Isola Bella has a palace and a baroque garden on ten terraces, on one ticket; they open from March to early November, and out of season there is nothing to go for.
The same fast train carries on past Verona to Venice, 2 h 25 from Centrale, so from Milan Venice needs at least one night.
The Certosa di Pavia
A Carthusian monastery south of Milan: the S13 from the Passante stations (Repubblica, Porta Venezia, Porta Garibaldi, Rogoredo) reaches Certosa di Pavia in 20–25 min, then it is about a kilometre on foot along the monastery wall. It is closed on Mondays, so even a half day is planned for Tuesday to Sunday.
Turin and Genoa
Turin to the west and Genoa to the south are not day trips but cities in their own right, each worth at least two days, so from Milan you go on with a night there.
How long each takes
All five are back by evening — by train, no car
WWhere to stayWhere to sleep so the station is close:Where to stay in Milan →Who should skip them
- Bellagio as a half day. The boat alone takes 2 h 35 min one way; for a short trip, Como town is what fits.
- Verona by regional train. Nearly four hours on the line there and back — the saving on the ticket is paid for in town time.
- Isola Bella from November to March. The palace and the garden are closed.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which trips from Milan work on a Monday?
Como, Bergamo, Verona and Stresa have no closing day, and Isola Bella opens daily in season. Only the Certosa is shut on Mondays.
Do I need a car for the lakes?
No. Trains run to Como and Stresa, and the boat does the rest; a car only makes sense for places neither the railway nor the boats reach.
Ready for Milan?
Where to next
Where to stay in Milan
→A mid-range room by the Duomo costs about twice what it does by Centrale — except in fashion week and Salone…
Lake Como · 39 km
→A cathedral and a funicular in the town itself, then a boat up the lake to Bellagio, Varenna and the villas on the shore — all from one base.
How well does Milan suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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