funivie in Laveno is one of the best way to see a beautiful view of Lake Maggiore. You can board…read morea confortable cable car that takes you near the top of Sasso del Ferro ( 1100 m.) From the top, you can see The Alps, the Prealps, Some Lombarde Lake and far away the Po's River plain. The Sasso del Ferro , cool in summer and pleasantly mild in winter , is the ideal destination for serene week-end and pleasant walks trough its evergreen woods. The trip takes 16 minutes. At the cableway station , together with a Souvenirs Shop there is an Hotel with Restaurant an Bar where you can share the thrill of the taking off of HandGliders and ParaGliders.

My son and I wanted to go to the top of the mountain to experience the extraordinary views. I…read morerecommend that you pay attention to the weather before you go up because we did not, and everything was totally fogged in at the top of the mountain, and there was no view. The gentleman at the cash register did give us a special discount, which was very nice. You need your ticket to get back on to come down the mountain, so make sure that you have it available. You can also hike down, but it looked like the hike was expected to take over an hour and, there was snow and ice on the ground so it did not seem to be a wise decision for the day we were there. There is a restaurant on top of the mountain and a small church that was locked up. We enjoyed our trip, but I'm sure it would have been much more impactful if there had been a great view visible.

Mind the doors. On…read morea recent family trip to Milan, we used the subway to cross the city. Always making sure to enter each subway car in a timely manner. At the Duomo M3 a lady ran to make the train, but her long braided hair got stuck as the doors shut and she could not pull it from the closed doors. I pulled the emergency brake before the train started to move. This opened the doors and allowed her hair to be released from the tightly closed doors that had trapped her hair. Of course this caused a delay in transit, but someone just came to our car, reset the lever and once again the subway was back in service. Thank goodness she was okay, but definitely mind the doors.

The Duomo metro stop is larger underground than it appears. There are many, and I do mean many,…read moreentrances/exits to this station. Some has chair lifts to navigate steps but most entrances have many steps and some have long hallways leading under the Piazza del Duomo. Exiting you will end up in one corner, or another of Piazza del Duomo or near Via Torino if you walk a bit further along. Once underground, you will see several automated ticket machines near the underground entrance turnstiles. Sometimes you will find a person there who wishes to 'help' you purchase your tickets. These folks are looking for a tip. If you don't need help, just say 'no grazie' and go about your business. The machines have language options to help. Once you have your ticket, scan at the turnstile and make your way down the escalators. There are maps throughout the underground to check you get on the correct train. If you prefer to purchase your tickets from a person, head up the ramp (turnstiles will be on your left) and here you will find a small area with some shops and a ticket area. Many shops in subways throughout Milan will sell tickets. Just look for the "Biglietti" sign and have cash ready. The is often a line. If you look around this area, you will see underground walkways leading off to the left. This long corridor is lined with cafe's and stores. Eventually, you will end up in the San Babila metro station where you can exit behind the Duomo shopping area. Lots of shops and some churches between San Babila and the Duomo. Exiting at Piazza del Duomo you will find the Duomo, Duomo museum, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele the oldest indoor shopping arcade in Italy, Museo del Novecento, shopping and restaurants behind the Duomo, across the street from the Duomo you will find Piazza dei Mercanti a medieval square off the pedestrian zone that leads to Castello Sforzesco. You will find many stores, restaurants and theaters in the pedestrian zone. Teatro alla Scala, a statue of Leonardo Di Vinci and Palazzo Marino are on the other side of Galleria Emanuele, just walk through. Panzerotti Luini, Milan street food, is on Via San Radegonda where you'll get a sweet or savory 'panzerotto' for just a few euro. In the west corner the metro station exits onto Via Falcone, one block south of Via Torino which includes many clothing stores. Wander the streets off Via Torino into the Centro Storico section of Milan where you'll find cobble stone streets, archeological sights, many churches and ancient piazzas. Good metro stop.