BY RAIL
VERONA, LAKE GARDA AND LAKE GENEVA BY TRAIN TOURING HOLIDAY
7 nights / 8 days From £ 2,210 per person
Lake Garda
LAUSANNE • LAKE GENEVA • VERONA • GARDONE RIVIERA • LAKE GARDA
This rail holiday to Verona and Lake Garda combines the beauty of the artistic city of Verona with chance to visit the opera in season, and the serenity of the largest lake in Italy. You travel to Verona on a day-time service stopping for one night in Lausanne on Lake Geneva. You return by sleeper train from Milan.
DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY
DAY ONE London to Lausanne by train Start your rail holiday to Verona and Lake Garda by taking an early morning Eurostar train from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. Transfer from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon by taxi and board the high-speed TGV Lyria train to Lausanne on Lake Geneva where you arrive just after 16.00 hrs. Spend the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring the lakeside city. The promenade at Ouchy Harbour, when lit up in the evening, is one of the highlights of your stay in Lausanne.
DAY TWO Lausanne to Verona by train Depart from Lausanne just before 8.30 hrs on a direct train to Verona. This scenic journey through the Alps takes a little over five hours and takes you through some spectacular landscapes as you follow the Rhone upstream, travel through the famous Simplon Pass and along the shores of Lake Maggiore before heading east through Italy. You reach Verona at about 13.30 hrs and are met at the train station by a private car and transferred to your hotel. Stay two nights in Verona.
DAY THREE In Verona You have a full day at leisure in Verona to explore this small but beautiful city, packed full of places of historic and cultural worth, particularly dating from Roman and mediaeval times. There are not only iconic sights such as the Arena, the venue for the opera performances and the house said to be Juliet’ s, but other Roman remains such as the Roman theatre, the Ponte di Pietra and Porta Borsari, and mediaeval masterpieces such as the Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore, the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the church of Santa Maria Antica, as well as the Piazza delle Erebe. Within and near the city are several notable gardens worth a visit, including the Giardino Giusti. If your stay in Verona coincides with the opera performances, you may want us to book seats for you in advance.
DAY FOUR Verona to Lake Garda Enjoy a relaxed breakfast at your hotel before being collected by a private car to take you west to Lake Garda. Reach your hotel on the lake in the early afternoon and settle into your room before dinner.
DAYS FIVE AND SIX Lake Garda You have two full days on Lake Garda. On the lower slopes of the hills around Lake Garda are a profusion of lemons and olives, chestnuts and palms, magnolias and camellias. Pretty villages hug the sheltered bays and fishing boats moor next to sailing boats. Monte Baldo, above the lake, can be reached by cable car and affords spectacular views. At Gargnano on Lake Garda you can see the stone pavilions where lemons were traditionally cultivated. Sirmione behind its mediaeval walls enjoys a beautiful position at the southern end of the lake, dominated by Scaligero castle. You can also visit the residence of Gabriele d’ Annunzio, Il Vittoriale, at Gardone Riviera. Another beautiful excursion is the Isola del Garda, an island in the lake where you can visit the Italian and English gardens and some rooms inside the neo-gothic Venetian-style villa dating from the early 1900s. In terms of getting around whilst you are staying on Lake Garda, if you don’ t want to have the use of a hire-car, it is easy enough to use the lake ferries that criss-cross the lake between all the main points.
DAY SEVEN Milan to Paris by sleeper train You have much of the day at leisure before leaving your hotel with a private transfer to Desenzano where you take the train to Milan. Change trains and board the Thello sleeper service that leaves Milan at about 23.00 hrs. We include a double cabin aboard the train.
DAY EIGHT Paris to London You arrive into Paris Lyon at about 9.30am, and after changing stations you then take the Eurostar back to London where you arrive at lunchtime.
42 To speak to our specialist rail holidays team telephone 01392 441250 or see www. expressionsholidays. co. uk