Travel Guide - Como, Italy

"Lake Como, one of the most attractive summer resorts of northern Italy" - that is how one of famous travel guide book described Lake Como (Lago di Como). Como is a town in Lombardy, on the Italian-Swiss border. It sits at the southern end of Lake Como.


It is just one-hour-train ride from Milan. You can catch the train from Cadorna railway station in Milan and get off at Como Lago (LeNORD).


Once you leave railway station, you will see beautiful Lake Como. You can walk along the waterfront.


Boat Trip

Take a boat trip on Lake Como (Lago di Como) to nearby lake-side villages, such as Bellagio, Varenna and Tremezzo. Tickets for a few of the villages near Como are cheap (6 Euros) and can be purchased at the kiosk on the lake front. The boat stops in these villages and you can take a walk there and continue the trip with the next boat until you reach Como again.

Attraction in COMO

The most famous landmark is the Duomo at the Piazza Cavour. Duomo is a 14th century Gothic-Renaissance Cathedral. There are many heritage buildings, and two more basilicas in the walled Old Town.

For a wonderful view of Lake Como, you can climb the Baradello Tower. Tempio Voltiano (Temple Volta) is a round building on the waterfront. It houses an exhibition about Volta who invented the electric battery. War Memorial is just next to the Tempio Voltiano. It is one of the tallest buildings near the lake.

Funicular Ride

Take the cable car (funicolare) to the tiny village of Brunate perched on the hills overlooking Como. The cable car runs between Como and Brunate. The journey time is around 7 minutes.

Brunate is a beautiful town filled with fairy-like houses. You can enjoy a stunning view of Lake Como from top.

Volta Lighthouse is located on the top of the hill. Although it is a bit tough to climb up, it is the best place for you to look down on the lake over 2000 feet below.

Useful links:

The website of Trenitalia - http://www.trenitalia.it/

The travel guide to Como - http://wikitravel.org/en/Como

The website of Como-Brunate Funicular - http://www.funicolarecomo.it/

The website for the timetable of Boat ride in Lake Como - http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/nlc_ora.html

Travel Guide - Milano, Italy

Milano(Milan) is a cosmopolitan city located at northern part of Italy. It is also the second largest city in Italy.

Transportation

By air
Milan has two main international air gateways, Linate airport (LIN) and Malpensa airport(MXP) both are main international gateways in Milan. Budget airlines operate flight at another airports, Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport (45 km East) and Parma airport (100 km South).

By rail
The main railway station is the Central Station (Milano Centrale), which is served by Trenitalia. This station is also an interchange place of MM2 and MM3 metro lines. It is also worth to visit this masterpiece of Rationalist architecture.

Attraction

The Milan's main cathedral Duomo is situated in Piazza del Duomo. This Gothic church is in white marble with hundreds of spires and thousands of statues on its exterior and a famous façade. Don't miss brilliant stained glass-windows inside of cathedral. After that you can climb up onto the roof. and s the chance to climb up onto the roof and enjoy the spectacular views of the city between the Gothic spires.
You can take metro (MM1 or MM3) to Duomo Station.
Roof opens from 0900 till around 1700 daily.
Fee for climb up onto the roof:
Elevator - Euro 8/person
On foot - Euro 5/person
Please take note of the ticket office is located behind of the Duomo.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is located on the northern side of the Piazza del Duomo and connects to the Piazza della Scala. The street is covered over by a popular design for nineteenth-century arcades - an arching glass and cast iron roof. Its central octagonal space is topped with a gogerous glass dome. Now the Galleria is occupied by many luxury goods' shops, including Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, as well as fast food outlets such as McDonald's.

The Sforzesco Castle is one of the most famous monuments in Milan. Now it houses several museums.
You can take metro MM1 to Cairoli - castello Station.
This castle opens daily to public with free admission, except museums in castle.

Shopping

Milan is a world-known fashion shoppers' paradise. The main shopping area is called as Fashion Quadrangle (quadrilatero della moda), just nearby Piazza Duomo. There are in Montenapoleone Street, Della Spiga Street, Vittorio Emanuele Street and Manzoni Street, where are known as the most prestigious boutiques and showrooms in the world. You can reach there by metro MM1 San Babila or MM3 Montenapoleone stations.

If you are not interested in shopping, you can take a day trip to a beautiful lake - Lake Como. You refer more travel information for Lake Como in my upcoming article.

Useful links:
The travel guide to Milan - http://wikitravel.org/en/Milan

The website of Duomo Milano - http://www.duomomilano.it/ground1024_en.html
The official website of the Castello Sforzesco -http://www.milanocastello.it/ita/home.html
The guide for shopping outlets in Italy - http://www.factory-outlet-italy.com/en/FO/index.php

Travel Guide - Venezia, Italy

Beside taking vaporetti, walking is another option to explore in Venice. However, the lanes in Venice seems like 'maze'. So here is the important information for you to avoid 'Get Lost' in Venice. When you are lost, don't panic! Just look for the main road signs.

Road sign of Per Ferrovia P. Roma
Per means " for", Ferrovia means "Railway", P. Roma means "Piazzale Roma"
You can follow this sign to Railway station and Piazzale Roma.

Road sign of Per Rialto
This means "To the direction of Rialto bridge"


Road sign of Per Piazza S. Marco
This is for the direction to Piazza S. Marco


Attraction

The Santa Lucia Railway Station is the only railway station on the island of Venice. Just outside of the station, you can catch the Vaporetto (public water bus) or take a private taxi boat to explore. The Scalzi Church just stands on the left hand side of the station and facing to the Grand Canal. Follow the main street - Lista Di Spagna, you will reach Jewish Ghetto area.

If you turn right after leaving station, you can walk to Piazzale Roma, where is a bus terminal and car parking area.

The Grand Canal (Canałasso) is a large S-shaped canal in Venice. At one end the canal leads into the lagoon near Santa Lucia railway station and the other end leads into S. Marco through the central areas of Venice.

There are so many routes for you to wander lanes in Venice. Here is my suggestion.

Railway station --> Cannaregio --> (via Castello) -->Piazza S. Marco
Railway Station --> Piazzale Roma --> S. Croce --> S. Polo --> via Rialto --> Piazza S. Marco

Cannaregio

Museo Ebraico in Jewish Ghetto is a Jewish Museum of Venice situated in Jewish Quarter.

Ca' d'Oro is one of the most beautiful Palaces on the Grand Canal in Venice.

Castello

The Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo (San Zanipolo) is one of largest churches in Venice.

Campo S. Maria Formosa is the place where Church of Santa Maria Fomosa.

S. Croce

The church of San Simeone Piccolo, S. Giacomo Dell'orio and S. Maria Dei Frari all are noted landmark in the Santa Croce of Venice.

S. Polo

The famous Ponte di Rialto (or Rialto Bridge) is one of the oldest bridges across Grand Canal.

S. Marco

Piazza San Marco

Saint Mark's Basilica is on the large and broad public Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). There is one of the highlights of a visit to Venice. On this square, you will find St. Mark’s Cathedral (Basilica Di S. Marco), the Doge’s Palace, the beautiful Clock Tower and museums.

Piazza S. Marco --> S. Maria Della Salute in Dorsoduro
Piazzale Roma --> S. Croce --> S. Maria Della Salute in Dorsoduro

Dorsoduro

The Accademia (Gallerie dell' Accademia) was a art school and now is a museum of art gallery in Venice. It is situated on the south bank of the Grand Canal, nearby one of oldest bridges - Ponte dell'Accademia. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of premier modern art museums in Europe. The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute is a Roman Catholic church situated in the Dorsoduro. After Salute, there is another museum - Punta Della Dogana.

Useful links:

The travel guide to Venice -http://wikitravel.org/en/Venice
The website of Jewish Ghetto - http://www.ghetto.it/ghetto/en/index.asp
The website of Museo Ebraico - http://www.museoebraico.it/english/home.asp

Transportation Guide - Venezia, Italy

Venice (Venezia) is a city in northeast part of Italy. The city stretches across 117 small islands in Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. Canals in Venice is very famous in the world. 177canals are formed in lagoon and islands are connected by 455bridges. So Venice has been known as the "City of Canals".

Venice is also famous for its musical, particularly opera and history. The city is divided into six areas - Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco and Castello. Other main districts are Isola Della Giudecca and Lido di Venezia. Venice is also famous for its musical, particularly opera and history. It is also known as one of the most romantic cities in Europe.

Transportation

Getting into Venice

By Air

Newly rebuilt Marco Polo International Airport (VCE) is located on the mainland. This airport runs a shuttle bus service at approx. Euro3/person/way to jetty. Or it takes less than 10mins walk from terminals to there. If you take water-buses (vaporetti ) to Venice, it costs approx. Euro13/person for 75mins boat trip to San Marco via Murano, Lido and the Arsenale. If you hire a speedy water-taxis, it costs approx. Euro100/way for 30mins' journey.

Another gateway airport is Treviso Airport in Treviso, where is 25 km away from Venice.

The San Nicolo Airport (ATC) is situated on the Lido. This airport handles only private small aircrafts due to no scheduled flights available and short runway.

By Rail

The Venezia - Santa Lucia train station is situated on mainland and it is just few steps away from a vaporetti jetty. This railway station serves direct trains from nearby international destinations.


The easiest way to travel within in Italy is by rail.

The length of train journey to Venezia from following cities,
Rome is less than 4hrs away
Firenze is just 2hrs away
Milan is around 2.5hrs

The tricky way for taking train is to check the ticket price. Let's say the ticket for Firenze to Venezia. The direct train costs approx. Euro42/person for 2nd class and it takes around 2hours' ride. However, if you interchange in Bologna, the ticket costs much cheaper, approx Euro18.9/person for 2nd class. You also can stopover in Bologna for few hours, before getting into Venice. It takes around 1hrs from Firenze to Bologna and another 2hrs to Venezia. Bologna is a small nice town. Why not spend less in ticket and visit one more Italian town? There is a left luggage counter at Bologna railway station.


Useful links:

The official website of Trenitalia - http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=3fdbe14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD

Online ticketing for getting in Venice - http://www.venicelink.com/

Travel Guide - Pisa, Italy

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is easy to reach Pisa by train from Firenze. The train journey is around 60mins to Pisa Centrale. The return ticket costs approx. Euro 11.40/person. So you can have a day-trip to Pisa if you staying at Firenze.

It takes around 30mins’ walk to Piazza del Duomo from Pisa Centrale station. Walking on the streets is the best way to enjoy the sight and local atmosphere.

Piazza Garibaldi and Piazza XX Settembre, these two squares are linked up by a bridge - Ponte di Mezzo, where is considered as the center of the city. So you can walk along an old street, Borgo Stretto with lots of shops, pass by a middle bridge - Ponte di Mezzo across Arno River to another street, Corso Italia. In Piazza XX Settembre, the Logge dei Banchi is a building created to host textile market in 1600, and the town hall is in the Palazzo del Comune.

Piazza Delle Vettovaglie is now a main city shopping area: markets, towerhouses and shops.

S. Francesco Quarter is the place where Galileo Galilei was born. The church founded by St. Francis of Assisi stands here, too.

The Piazza del Duomo ("Cathedral Square") is a wide, walled area at the heart of the city of Pisa. This square is partly paved and partly grassed and also is dominated by the Duomo, the Leaning Tower, the Baptistry and the Camposanto. It is also known as Piazza dei Miracoli ("Square of Miracles"). The whole square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The heart of the Piazza del Duomo is the Duomo, which is built by grey marble and white stone set with discs of coloured marble.

The world famous Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa) is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest building in Piazza del Duomo after the Cathedral and the Baptistery. Climbing the tower requires reservation. The ticket costs Euro15/person. Please purchase your tickets once you arrive at Piazza dei Miracoli. You are expected to wait for 45 minutes to 2 hours. But you can visit other sites while you are waiting.

The Baptistery , is the largest baptistery in Italy, which stands opposite the west end of the Duomo. The Campo Santo monumentale ("monumental cemetery") is a beautiful walled cemetery lies at the northern edge of the Square.

On the Southeast edge of the square there is the Gothic style brick building of Spedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito ("New Hospital of Holy Spirit"). This hospital was to help pilgrims, poor, sick people and abandoned children with a shelter. Nowadays this building is no more a hospital.


Useful links:
The official website of Visit Pisa - http://www.visitpisa.it/en/
The website for Ticket office of Leaning Tower of Pisa - http://boxoffice.opapisa.it/Torre/index.jsp