Special Offer
Lake Como All Inclusive
10 Days from £1,595per
person
person
Save up to £75pp when booking on or before 31/10/2018.
Low Deposit £50pp
Low Deposit £50pp
You are viewing the 2019 itinerary
Itineraries and pricing may vary by departure year
Relax on the shores of beautiful Lake Como on this all inclusive holiday. Discover delightful lakeside towns, cruise across sparkling water and experience the Swiss Alps, travelling on the Bernina Express.
After meeting your group and Tour Manager at Rail Discoveries' dedicated Departure Office at St Pancras International, travel by Eurostar to Paris. Here you change trains and continue by high-speed TGV to Chambéry, where you spend one night. Tonight, you enjoy your first dinner together with your group.
Leave Chambéry and continue to Milan by rail, where you are met by a coach for your transfer to Cadenabbia. Here you stay at the Hotel Britannia Excelsior on an all inclusive basis for the next seven nights. A tranquil village on the western shore of Lake Como, Cadenabbia offers a picturesque base from which to explore the lake and its surrounding charms.
Travel by boat to picturesque Bellagio, an attractive resort perched on the promontory that divides Como and Lecco. You have some free time here to explore - the old world streets, winding away from the main square, are a delight to wander around. Another highlight is the Basilica di San Giacomo, the town's historic Romanesque church. This afternoon, sail back to Villa Carlotta, an 18th century villa which once belonged to Prussian royalty. Enjoy time to explore the grounds - the villa boasts magnificent gardens and some superb artworks.
Enjoy a day at leisure. Perhaps explore some of the delightful lakeside towns by local ferry - Cadenabbia is well served by a number of boats, lake steamers and bus services, which give you plenty of options for your day.
Travel to vibrant Milan by coach for a guided tour. Highlights of this stylish city include the magnificent Duomo which dominates the skyline, the Teatro alla Scala Opera house and the glassroofed arcade, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Named after the first king of Italy, the Galleria is one of the world's oldest shopping malls.
Following the tour, you are free to continue exploring more of glamorous Milan before heading back to Lake Como. This thriving metropolis is a powerhouse of modern fashion, but also benefits from glorious ancient architecture and a rich art history. Perhaps visit the Castello Sforzesco, once a Visconti fortress, now home to seven specialised museums that collect together some of Milan's fascinating history. The Renaissance castle has its own interesting place in Italian art history: built in iconic red brick, the palace was originally designed by da Vinci for the then-rulers of Milan.
Today is free to continue your exploration of Lake Como at your own pace. Should you wish to stay in Cadenabbia, you could take a stroll along the lakefront promenade, or wander through the town's narrow streets. Alternatively, you could simply enjoy the hotel's amenities.
Take a spectacular journey on the Bernina Express today. Begin by transferring to the elegant town of St Moritz in Switzerland where you can enjoy some time to explore before boarding the narrow-gauge Bernina Express. Opened more than a century ago, the line is celebrated not only for its fantastic beauty, but also for the feats of engineering that were required to complete it. As such, the line is loved by tourists, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. During your journey, the train loops and spirals, passing mighty glaciers, rushing mountain streams and flower filled Alpine meadows, scenery for which this region is justly famous and admired for. As you cross viaducts and climb over the Bernina Pass, you will be elevated to more than 7,000 feet for fabulous views of towering mountain peaks, before arriving in the pretty town of Tirano.
Framed by the backdrop of snow dusted mountains, this town is a delight to discover following your spectacular journey on the Bernina Express. Enjoy time at leisure here and perhaps visit the Santuario Madonna di Tirano, a church with spectacular frescoes and inner architecture before returning by coach to Cadenabbia.
Today is free, so why not venture into Como itself and enjoy the morning market? Or maybe visit the incredible Villa del Balbianello, a majestic villa overlooking Lake Como. Enjoy the gardens here and gaze out on to the sun drenched lake ahead of our final night's dinner on Lake Como this evening.
Transfer to the railway station to join the train for the journey home, staying overnight in Mulhouse. On Day 10, take the train from Mulhouse to Paris, then cross the city by coach and connect with the Eurostar service for London, where your tour concludes.
Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We will write to you around 10 weeks before your departure date with the precise meeting times for your tour group.
Not Included
This tour may be suitable for reduced mobility passengers, please call for further information.
of travellers would recommend this tour
Tour Rating
based on 12 verified reviews
]I have already filled in an official questionnaire as given to us on the journey home - please refer..............
Having been caught up in the French railway strike, we found ourselves being transported in different directions, the worst being 7hrs on a coach, we eventually got to our destination. Bearing in mind we have been on a Rail Discoveries holiday before and had something to compare it with, we were slightly disappointed with the itinerary of this holiday. There was too much traveling to destinations only to find we hadn’t much time to see anything (Milan). The Bernina train trip was fantastic but then found we were in St Moritz where everything was ‘closed’ only finding somewhere to have a coffee as nothing else to do. There was a lot of free time, in some respects was good, but felt that our tour manager could have helped us better to find our way around or organize some additional activities, eg: on our previous trip our tour manager organized an evening quiz and some optional boat/train trips. Also I would like to add that, as mentioned above the French railway strike contact about this was despicable. We had travelled to London the day before as we wouldn’t have got there in time on the day of departure. The telephone message telling us of the change of time (one hour earlier) was left on our house phone ???? Then an additional email (which obviously we weren’t expecting) came through at 7.30am on the day of departure that we had to be at St Pancras by 8.22 am. Had we not been staying at premier inn on the same road we wouldn’t have made it. Fortunately we were traveling with friends who had received this information on the afternoon before otherwise we would have missed the holiday altogether, that wasn’t good enough
Overall a lovely holiday.
It was a really enjoyable holiday.
Guide perfect, hotel position perfect, organisation perfect, even weather perfect. Hotel itself tired, badly in need of TLC.
Well organised holiday to a beautiful part of Italy.Good food and drinks.
The Holiday and the Leader were excellent, The landsidewas a bit of an upset but this was of no fault of Greatrail
The whole holiday was really lovely and very relaxing for us. The Bernini rail trip was fantastic and highlight of the holiday.
Hassle free, especially as we took advantage of The Baggage Man. Luggage in advance. Lovely venue. Excellent tour manager Ms Carol Woods. Good excursions.
Çomunication between the company and our rep.was not always as it should be.
Romance and refinement by rail
Call:
Enquire
2019's definitive guide to European, Worldwide and Cruise rail tours and holidays by rail.
Order Brochure
