A WEEKEND TRIP TO LAKE COMO AND BOLOGNA

Italy is a great place for the small weekend trips. The country is well connected by the railways system that is affordable and fast.

Here is a 4 day weekend trip I took to Lake Como and Bologna.

ITINERARY

• DAY 1 - Flew to Milan

• DAY 2 - Day in Lake Como from Milan

• DAY 3 - Train to Bologna from Milan

• DAY 4 - Flew back home

As I had been to Milan several times before, I did not spend much time there, however decided to stay 2 nights in Milan vs Lake Como as I found the hotels to be very expensive in Lake Como Area.

Lake Como is well connected with Milan by train (about an hour away) and there are many little towns that you can explore. Return train ticket from Milan Centrale is around EUR 10-15. I visited Varenna which has beautiful lake side walks and cute town, then hopped on a ferry for around EUR 15 return to Bellagio. My plan was also to take a ferry from Bellagio to Como (about an hour) and take train back to Milan from there however it started raining so I decided not to do that. Both towns are very picturesque and lake is surrounded with the mountains so it was an amazing day out.

On the third day, first thing in the morning I took just over an hour train to Bologna which cost EUR 25. In no time, I arrived in Bologna and spent a day exploring it and dining my way through the city. I fell in love with this colourful and authentic Italian town and would love to return. Here are some of the places that you can visit and the good thing is that Bologna is pretty small and walkable - Piazza Maggiore, Basilica di San Petronio, Two Towers, Neptune’s Fountain, Piazza Santo Stefano, Mercado Delle Erbe for fresh fruit and vegetables and other delicacies. There are also many cute streets and canals for example Via Piella or the cute street of Quadrilatero. Bologna is also know to be the food capital of Italy and to have some of the best gelatos in the country.

I went to try both highly rated gelato places - Cremeria Santo Stefano and Sable Gelato, the second being my favourite. Bologna is definitely one of my favourite towns in Italy as it felt authentic and was vibrant and colourful and I would love to come back one day.

Bologna old town is conveniently connected with the airport by fast train that only takes 10min, however during the high season has long queues to get on the train.