Varenna Off The Beaten Path

3 more images

Not necessarily off the beaten path, but a fun days outing anyway. I booked a day trip thru the local Varenna travel agency, Tiviano Tours, which was right across the street from where I stayed. It was a guided bus/train tour that left at 8am from across the lake in Menaggio, so first I had to take an early ferry across the lake. We drove north all along Lake Como then headed east on the route to Sondrio with a short pit stop there. Continued on to Poschiavo and changed from our bus to the Bernina Express train. What great views going up the mountain pass. Then back on the bus for the rest of the short ride to St Moritz. We had a couple of hours here, for lunch or shopping before heading back. This time a different route back down over the Maloja Pass with an incredible series of hairpin turns down many many miles. What an engineering feat to built that road. The pit stop on the way back was in the pretty town of Chiavenna, nestled in the foothills of the mountains. Lots of photo ops here. Eventually ending back in Menaggio at 5pm. Worth the money for the scenery and the no hassel of driving.