We took a 3 day road trip from Switzerland to Italy, destination Milan and back. Our main aim was to run Milano Nord parkrun, but we visited some of the city’s top attractions as well, with the exception Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. If you want to see this famous 15th Century Mural, booking in advance is key. In addition, we stopped in Monza on the way there and Como on our return. A pleasant little weekend trip.
Italy 3 Day Road Trip Itinerary
| Day 1 | Monza Drive to Milan Picnic in Monza Park Autodromo Nazionale Monza Accommodation – Smarthotel Re Milano Nord |
| Day 2 | Milan Milano Nord Parkrun – Parco Nord Milan Cathedral Museo del Novecento Da Vinci’s the Last Supper Pizza for Dinner |
| Day 3 | Como Drive to Como Picnic by Lake Como Tempio Voltiano Life Electric Sculpture Funicular Railway |
Italy Day 1 – Monza
This morning, we are up early. Breakfast is served from 8 am, so the old man is on his starting blocks well before 8. We paid £108 for our little motel room, so I’m expecting great things from breakfast. We get a bread basket, some cold cuts and 3 sachets of jam.
Drive to Milan
After breakfast, we set off for Milan. At the world’s most complicated road junction, we take a wrong turn and end up on the right road in the wrong direction. To rectify the situation, we must pass through a 10 km tunnel (twice). The issue arose at a fork. I said ‘don’t go right’ and we went right. Apparently, it’s my fault: I should have said ‘keep left’.
Finally, we are heading south, or not north, depending on your point of view. Today’s drive is a combination of beautiful mountain scenery interspersed with numerous tunnels. In all, we notch up 54 km underground – I feel a bit like a Womble. Half way through the 17 km long Gotthard tunnel, the road signs change from German to Italian and when we finally emerge, we are in the Italian part of Switzerland.
We cross the Italian border and are happily driving along, when we spot a not particularly large sign stating that we are in a booth free toll area and have 15 days to pay online.
First stop, on the outskirts (10 miles north east) of Milan is Monza. We stop for supplies in a supermarket. One thing that I often miss when I travel is good cheese. Not a problem I will be having in Italy!
Picnic in Monza Park
We reach Monza Park and find a nice spot for a picnic lunch. The park is enormous, with 700 hectares of parks, gardens, a villa, sports facilities etc. But I am here for one thing; to visit the iconic race track.
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Situated inside the park is the Autodromo Nazionale Monza race track. Apparently, during the week, the track is open to the public. I have told daughter No 2 that we are taking her hired van for a spin and take a photograph of the van by the track sign to send her. I find this way funnier than she does.
After lunch, we walk through the woods to the track. It takes a while to work out where to go in the huge 113,000 seat complex. Parts of it are closed. But there’s also a lot of action; people with passes, security guards, visitors milling around. I’m all for striding on brazenly until stopped. But the old man is way too square for such behaviour.
Eventually, we find our way into a stand on the Ascari Chicane. We watch three cars pass by, then nothing. We wait a while, thinking we’re too late. Then all off a sudden, there’s a crescendo of noise and proper GP style racing cars appear. It’s an unexpected bonus.
During a break, we move to the main stand, opposite the pit lane to watch the next session.
Acccommodation – Smarthotel Re Milano Nord
Then we head to our hotel in Milan, Smarthotel Re Milano Nord, excited but deaf. It’s a pleasant hotel with clean, spacious rooms. And right opposite the park, so a nice setting. Ideal for getting to parkrun or just a general stroll in the park.
At the hotel I attempt, unsuccessfully, to access the motorway toll (Pedemontana) website. It’s not easy; apart from the fact that it’s all in Italian, the validation link doesn’t work and the website is incompatible with my phone, with all the text boxes overlapping each other. Let’s hope I can sort it within 15 days, as the fine for non-payment is €338!
Italy Day 2 – Milan
It’s Saturday – AKA parkrun day. Today, we’re going to Milano Nord parkrun in Parco Nord.
Milano Nord Parkrun – Parco Nord
This morning’s run has pros and cons. Pros; (1) it’s a scenic route, (2) it’s flat (3) the participants are of diverse ability, so I’m not on my own at the back. Cons; (1) there are a lot of other park users to avoid, (2) I’m not fit (3) it’s bloody hot. I persevere and make it to the finish line.
Note, that as mentioned above, Parco Nord is a pretty park. Even if you don’t intend to run round it, it’s well worth a visit.
There was supposed to be water at the finish, but the fast runners have drunk it all. So I hobble off to the supermarket dehydrated and grumpy. For breakfast, I buy spoonable Gorgonzola. Cheese you can eat with a spoon! I love Italy. We return to the hotel and I have Gorgonzola and blueberry jam sandwiches. Literally the best breakfast ever. No longer grumpy!
In the afternoon, we take the Metro into Milan. Outside, the temperature is 31 degrees. The train is like a sauna on wheels. The lady opposite keeps wiping the sweat off her face with a tissue. She started the journey with pencilled on eyebrows. By the time we arrive, she looks like Harry Potter’s nan.
Milan Cathedral
We arrive in the main square, the Piazza del Duomo, overlooking the enormous Milan Cathedral with its 135 spires and 3400 statues of pink marble. It’s quite spectacular!
To visit, you need to queue to get a ticket, to join the queue to buy a ticket, before you can queue to get in.
Finally, we have negotiated all the queues and make it into the cathedral, which is equally as grand as the exterior, with its carved pillars and stained glass windows.
Back outside, there is a lot of noise in the piazza. We go and investigate – it’s the Milan Rally Show. The competitors and their vehicles are all lined up. Italian Stig appears to be among them.
Museo del Novecento
We continue across the piazza to the Museo del Novecento; a modern art gallery housed in the Palazzo dell’Arengario.
The Palazzo was built in 1936 as the seat of the fascist government, with a balcony from where Mussolini used to deliver speeches to the masses in the piazza below.
Through the middle of the stone building is a large glass spiral staircase. You work your way up the stairs through a series of chronologically arranged galleries.
There are great views across the piazza to the cathedral from the top floor.
Leaving Milan is complicated. We need €1.90 interurban tickets but accidentally purchase €2.00 intraurban tickets (or maybe the other way round – I’m not sure). Anyway, our tickets don’t work in the turnstiles next to the machine that dispensed them. We are sent to the office to swap tickets. After filling in some paperwork, we must pay €1.70 to change 2 x €2 tickets for 3 x €1.90 tickets. We don’t want three tickets, but the cashier explains that they can’t give refunds and their books must balance, so we must buy a superfluous ticket. There is a full and frank exchange of views. The old man accuses them of robbing tourists. We are asked to leave.
Da Vinci’s the Last Supper
We would have loved to see Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper, which hangs in the refectory adjoining the Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie. But tickets sell out well in advance. So, if this is on your wish list, more foresight is required that merely jumping in a van and hoping for the best! Tickets go on sale in 3 month blocks (in September, reservations open for November, December and January, etc). Adult entry costs €15.
Pizza for Dinner
It’s been a long day, so we decide to head back towards the hotel in search of pizza and beer. We return to our hotel, via a pizzeria. Our weekend in Milan has been interesting but exhausting.
Italy Day 3 – Como
It’s time to start the first leg of our 900 mile drive home from Milan to London.
Drive to Como
First stop, 30 miles north for brunch in Como. After four circuits of town trying to find a parking space, we are finally successful.
Picnic by Lake Como
We pick up supplies from a supermarket next a a giant hand sculpture for a picnic on the shores of Lake Como.
Tempio Voltiano
Alessandro Volta, inventor of the battery, was from Como. There is a museum in his honour, Tempio Voltiano, beside the lake.
Life Electric Sculpture
You can walk along a jetty to the Life Electric Sculpture in the middle of the lake. It’s not a very pleasant walk – both the jetty and the lake are covered in debris.
Funicular Railway
We stroll along the prom until we reach the Funicular Railway. From here you can, theoretically, travel 720m up the hillside for a stunning view of the lake. However, the old man declares that the queue is too long.
So, we return to the van and continue to our overnight destination of Morcote; a picturesque town just the other side of the Swiss border.
- Trip taken: June 2019
- Updated: June 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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