Menaggio to Paris with 2-day stop in Switzerland: best town & routes
A traveler named Nick S plans to travel from Menaggio, Lake Como to Paris with a 2-day stopover in Switzerland in July. He is considering staying in Zermatt but is seeking advice on the best transport options since he will be traveling with luggage. He wants to balance ease of connection with scenic views during the trip.
- Take the route via Lugano and Andermatt for a scenic journey, but be prepared for multiple train changes.
- Consider other options like spending the night in Lucerne before heading to Interlaken, which requires fewer transfers.
- Reserve seats for the Glacier Express in advance to ensure availability.
- If traveling with a lot of luggage, think about easier alternatives that involve less detours and transfers.
AI-generated summary-
Hi,
We will be staying Managgio, Lake Como in July this year and are looking to travel to Paris via train with a stopover in Switzerland for 2 days.
I was thinking of staying in Zermatt, and looking at options to get there in 1 day from Menaggio. As far as I can tell from research there are 3 main options:
1/ Bus to Lugano then 3 trains via Centovalli railway
2/ Bus to Lugano then 3 trains via Gotthard route
3/ Ferry to Varenna then trains via Milan
Can anyone recommend what is the best option, or are there any others?
Is there a better 2 day stopover option that is more accessible (already been to Interlaken/Grindelwald area)?
We are a family of 4 adults and will have luggage so are looking to balance ease of connection with scenery.
Thanks.
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Hi Nick S, welcome to MySwissAlps!
Lovely that you’re planning a quick visit to Switzerland en route from Menaggio to Paris!
Concerning a stop-over in Zermatt:
- During most of July, a part of the routes between Locarno/Milan and Brig (near Zermatt) is closed for maintenance, meaning that you’ll have to take a replacement bus. That will all be taken care of very well, but it may not be ideal since you’re traveling with luggage: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-guide/italy-switzerland/
- Your 2nd option, which would be via Lugano, Göschenen, and Andermatt, is incredibly scenic. It combines parts of the Gotthard Panorama Express and Glacier Express routes. And even though it does include quite some changes, it involves trains only (except for the first stretch to Lugano). So in your case, this would be a good option.
Alternatives for a short stopover in Switzerland:
- Consider an overnight stay in Lugano: https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lugano/, then travel north to Lucerne or Zurich. Or do this entire transfer on day 1 and spend the night in Lucerne: https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lucerne/.
- To reach Lucerne or Zurich, you could do the entire Gotthard Panorama Express train and boat route, or use alternative train-only connections, which would be easier: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/gotthard-panorama-express/.
- From Zurich and Basel, both close to Lucerne, you’ll have easy connections to Paris: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-guide/france-switzerland/
- Make the bus ride from Menaggio to St. Moritz or a nearby town and spend the night there: https://www.myswissalps.com/town/st-moritz/, or further up north in Chur or even Zurich. The next day, travel from Zurich to Paris. The route via St. Moritz is very scenic, but I’m aware that the initial stretch to St. Moritz is a bus ride of about 2h30 :-).
I hope this gives you some ideas!
Hi Annika,
Thank you for your quick and informative reply.
I think I’ve settled on Zermatt, and travel via Andermatt. Although it will be a long day, the scenery will make it worthwhile.
Having a look at timetables for 2nd July 2026, the below looks like the least transfers, and includes part of the Glacier Express.
This gives us plenty of time to get to Lugano on the bus. Do you think we will have any issues with the short transfers and storing luggage on these trains?11:30 Lugano Pl. 3 – IC 1474
11:46 Bellinzona Pl. 1
13m transfer
11:59 Bellinzona Pl. 2 – IR 2324
13:09 Goeschenen Pl. 1
5m transfer
13:14 Goeschenen Pl. 11 – R 649
13:24 Andermatt Pl. 4
44m transfer
14:08 Andermatt Pl. 5 – Glacier Express 903
17:07 Zermatt Pl. 4
Hello Nick
If you have got a lot of luggage, then I would forget about making (the quite substantial) detour to Zermatt.
If you take the Gotthard route from Lugano, the journey could be done with just THREE changes, at Lugano, Zurich(!) and Visp.
If you go via Milan, you will have AT LEAST three changes, at Varenna, Milano Centrale and Brig; but if (as is likely) part of the Simplon line has rail replacement buses, there will be at least one more change.
If you go via Andermatt, the scenery is indeed spectacular. But you would have FIVE changes, at Lugano, Bellinzona, Goschenen, Andermatt and VISP.
If you take the (on the map) much more direct route via the Centovalli and the Simplon tunnel, you would have FOUR changes, at Lugano, Locarno, Domodossola and Brig. but that is assuming there are NO raIl replacecment buses.I would recommend you do seriously consider all of Annika’s suggested alternatives. However her final suggestion, via St Moritz, while it does involve a lot of very spectacular scenery, does have one drawback. There is only one bus a day from Menaggio to St Moritz, and that does not leave until 15 26 (3 26 pm). It gets to St Moritz at 18 00.
There are through trains from Lugano to both Zurich and LUCERNE. I would suggest you spend two night in the Lucerne AREA or in the Zurich AREA.
If you stay in Lucerne, there are frequent trains to Basel, where you would change onto a Zurich tp Paris TGV. (Reservations are of course required to travel on TGVs.)
Kind regards
Roger
Hi Nick S,
Nice that you’ve decided on the option via Göschenen and Andermatt! It will be a fantastic and scenic trip. Yes, the changes you mentioned are doable. The one in Göschenen may seem tight, but all you have to do is cross the station building to reach the adjacent platform; no stairs or ramps are involved.
If you’d like a bit more leeway to make absolutely sure you can catch the Glacier Express in Andermatt, you may want to consider an earlier departure.
Make sure to arrange for your Glacier Express seat reservations well in time: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/glacier-express/. If no seats are left, you can travel the same route on regional trains. The advantage would be that you’re not bound to a specific departure time from Andermatt. If you’d miss your connection in Göschenen, you’d just hop on the next train to Andermatt and take it from there.
More about train travel, luggage, and tight connections, can be found in the guides below:
Thank you Annika and Roger for your replies. We are actually now reconsidering Zermatt and might look at going to interlaken or grindelwald instead. Less of a detour with only 2 changes and the option of a panorama train from Lucerne.
Hi Nick S,
Travelling to Interlaken/ Grindelwald from Menaggio certainly require less transits than going to Zermatt on the same day.
The best option would be to take the bus to Lugano and then train to Lucerne. I highly recommend spending the night in Lucerne before continuing to Interlaken on the Lucerne-Interlaken Express train the next day.
Regards,
Anna
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