From Milan: Lake Como Private Boat, Bellagio and Lugano
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Milan is one of Italy’s best starting points for organising a day trip: in less than two hours by train, you can reach the major pre-Alpine lakes, medieval villages and even the peaks of the Rhaetian Alps. It’s an advantage that few European capitals can offer, which is why many travellers choose to stay in the city and venture out to a different destination each day.
In this guide you’ll find the most interesting excursions reachable from Milan in a day: trips to the lakes of Lombardy, the fascinating scenic journey on the Bernina Red Train, art cities in the plains and some ideas tailored for families and shopping enthusiasts.
For each destination you’ll find practical information on how to get there, so you can choose the excursion best suited to the time you have available, whether it’s half a day or a full day of travel.
The pre-Alpine lakes are the classic destination for those seeking a change of pace from city life. Each has its own character: Como is elegant and sophisticated, Lake Maggiore offers the nineteenth-century atmosphere of the Borromean Islands, Lake Iseo remains the most authentic, and Lake Garda offers Lombardy’s mildest climate.
The Lake Como trip is the quickest: regional trains connect Milan to Como in around an hour, with frequent departures throughout the day. From here you can take the funicular up to Brunate for an overview of the lake, or hop on a ferry to Bellagio, the headland that divides the lake’s two branches and remains the most photographed stop.
If you prefer a more leisurely pace, you can get off at Varenna, on the Lecco shore, where the stone alleyways and lakefront are less crowded than the Como side during peak season.
The Lombard section of Lake Garda is surprisingly close: high-speed trains cover the distance to Desenzano del Garda in around fifty minutes. From here, a short bus or ferry ride takes you to Sirmione, the peninsula with the Scaliger fortress jutting into the lake and arguably Lake Garda’s most famous postcard.
If you have a few extra hours, you can head to Salò, on the western shore, where the Art Nouveau lakefront offers a more intimate atmosphere than the more touristy spots.
Less touristy than the other two, Lake Iseo is reached from Milan in around an hour and a quarter, with a change in Brescia on the Valcamonica line. It’s the right destination for those seeking a slower pace: Iseo’s historic centre, the Franciacorta vineyards just behind the lake and Monte Isola, Italy’s largest lake island, are perfect for exploring off the beaten track.
On the Bergamo shore, Lovere is one of the best-preserved lakeside villages in the area, with a porticoed waterfront that opens directly onto the waters of Lake Iseo.
Lake Maggiore requires a few more minutes of travel—around an hour and a quarter by train from Milan—but rewards you with one of the region’s most spectacular views. From Stresa’s quay, public ferries reach the Borromean Islands in minutes: Isola Bella, with its baroque palace and Italian gardens, and Isola dei Pescatori, with its still-inhabited fishermen’s houses, can be visited in a day.
On the Lombard side of the lake, Angera is worth a stop for the Rocca Borromeo, the medieval castle overlooking the water offering one of the finest views across the gulf towards Arona.
Among day trips from Milan, the Bernina Red Train is the most ambitious and equally spectacular. It doesn’t depart from Milan, but from Tirano station in Valtellina: a direct regional train from Milan Centrale reaches Tirano in around two and a half hours with no changes.
In Tirano you board the Bernina Express, the scenic train run by the Swiss Rhaetian Railway that in around two hours and fifteen minutes crosses the border and climbs to Saint-Moritz, reaching the Bernina Pass at 2,253 metres—the highest point reached by a railway line in Europe without any pass tunnels. The route crosses 55 tunnels and 196 viaducts, including the famous helical viaduct at Brusio, and runs alongside glaciers, alpine lakes and the vineyards of Valposchiavo. Since 2008, the section between Tirano and Thusis is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Seat reservations are compulsory for the Bernina Express. Accounting for travel time to and from Milan, it’s a demanding excursion that takes up a full day: leaving early in the morning, you’ll still have a couple of hours to spare for a walk around Saint-Moritz before catching the train back.
Not all day trips from Milan require reaching a lake or the mountains. Within an hour’s train ride you’ll also find some of Lombardy’s most interesting art cities.
Bergamo is reachable in less than an hour and can be comfortably visited in a day thanks to the proximity between the lower city, with its nineteenth-century architecture, and the upper city, encircled by Venetian walls that are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Piazza Vecchia, the Colleoni Chapel and the funicular connecting the two city levels form the classic itinerary for those with just a few hours.
The regional S13 train connects Milan to Certosa di Pavia station in around twenty minutes, followed by a twenty-minute walk to the monastery. Its Renaissance façade in polychrome marble and the mausoleum of Gian Galeazzo Visconti make it one of the quickest and most surprising excursions listed in this guide.
Monza is reached from Milan in less than thirty minutes and is best known for its racetrack, a historic venue for the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1, and for the Park of Monza, one of Europe’s largest walled parks. The historic centre, with the Cathedral and the Iron Crown preserved within it, completes a trip that works well even for half a day.
Cremona is around an hour by train from Milan and is renowned worldwide for its violin-making tradition, recognised as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. The Torrazzo, one of Italy’s tallest brick bell towers, dominates a cathedral square that ranks among the most harmonious in the Po Valley.
Vigevano, about forty minutes from Milan, is home to Piazza Ducale, one of Italy’s best-preserved examples of a porticoed Renaissance square, commissioned by Ludovico il Moro and probably designed by Bramante. It’s a less travelled trip compared to the region’s other art cities, ideal for those seeking a quieter option for half a day.
Gardaland is Italy’s most visited amusement park, featuring roller coasters such as Raptor and Oblivion, the Sea Life Aquarium and Legoland Water Park. It’s located in Castelnuovo del Garda, in Verona province, on the south-eastern shore of the lake, so technically outside Lombardy but still within reach for a day trip from Milan, especially if you combine it with a stop at Sirmione or Desenzano.
By train, the main station is Peschiera del Garda, reachable from Milan Centrale in around an hour on high-speed trains or just over ninety minutes on regional services; from there a free shuttle connects the station to the park entrance in minutes. By car along the A4 motorway, the journey takes around an hour and a half. The park is generally open from late March to early November.
Leolandia, around half an hour from Milan along the Bergamo motorway, is Italy’s most visited amusement park for families with young children, featuring themed areas dedicated to beloved cartoon characters.
For a shopping-focused day out, the Serravalle Designer Outlet is just beyond the Piedmont border, around an hour’s drive from Milan along the Genoa motorway. With over two hundred shops featuring Italian and international brands at reduced prices, it’s one of the most popular destinations for those planning a shopping-oriented day trip.
For most of the destinations described, particularly the cities, the train remains the most convenient option: it departs from central Milan, eliminates parking issues in the historic centres of lakeside villages and lets you choose from various return time slots. Always check the latest Trenord or Trenitalia schedules on the day itself, especially during summer weekends when some lake routes may have limited services.
However, if you prefer to travel independently, or if your chosen destination includes multiple stops, a car rental picked up directly in Milan makes getting around much easier. In this case, set off early in the morning, especially at weekends, to avoid traffic leaving the city.
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