Things to Do along Glamorous Lake Como

Lake Como is a post card studded paradise in northern Italy offering stunning views, water activities, luxurious villas, and gardens, delicious food, and fun people watching.

If there is one place I’ve been, where beauty created by humans matches its surrounding natural beauty, it would have to be along the shores of Lake Como, Italy’s third largest lake located in the northern Lombardy region. The steep, green vegetated hills surrounding the deep crisp blue lake are dotted with elegant villas and palaces, stately hotels, promenades, Romanesque statues and well manicured gardens. Lake Como’s stunning landscape is evident in movies such as ‘Casino Royale.’ Eighteenth century Villa Oleandra, owned by George Clooney, was a set in the movie ‘Oceans Twelve.’

I recently spent a week at Lake Como with friends, prior to another week in Tuscany. During this time, we also visited the nearby cities of Milan, Bergamo, and Varese, but here I will focus on the places we visited around the lake.  

Como

Como, located at the south end of the lake, is the largest town and a good place to use as a base to explore the surrounding area. Como has been settled since the first century B.C., and the current town location was ordered by Julius Caesar, who had a swamp drained and laid the plan for a walled city. This very attractive and orderly city contains many museums, gardens, piazzas, villas, churches, and the Duomo or cathedral. An outdoor market is held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday mornings. A fun thing to do is stroll along the waterfront promenade, especially in the evening when locals do the leisurely ‘passeggiata.’ Piazza Alessandro Volta (named after famous locally born Italian physicist and chemist who invented the electric battery) is a great place to people watch and has numerous outdoor cafes.

Como offers the best and largest variety of hotels, restaurants, and transportation along the lake.  We stayed at the Hotel Metropole Suisse, a 19^th century hotel conveniently located directly across from the lake and ferry terminal. While the hotel was perfectly adequate, it appeared to have bypassed its more grandeur days. Discounted hotels in Como and the Lake Como region can be found on Trivago.

A fun way to explore the area while getting a great view is to take the funicular up the mountain to the village of Brunate. The funicular provides expansive views over Lake Como and the Alps. The funicular entry in Como is located just off the waterfront along Lungo Lario Trieste (street) a few blocks to the northeast of Piazza Cavour. The service takes approximately seven minutes, and a roundtrip ticket is approximately 6 Euros. There are numerous restaurants in Brunate that provide excellent views.

Menaggio

Menaggio is a very pretty and colorful town along the west side of Lake Como, about half way up the lake from Como. It can be accessed from SS340, or by ferry. The town has a number of small piazzas and has a very elegant promenade along the shore offering views toward the town, the small harbor, and the lake. Throughout the compact town’s streets, alleys and piazzas are many restaurants, cafes, and shops.

Villa Del Balbianello

Located in Lenno, Villa Del Balbianello is so beautiful that it was used as a setting in ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,’ as well as in ‘Casino Royale.’ Originally a Franciscan monastery, the property was converted by the church to a villa in the 18^th century. Since then, the villa has had various owners, including an American businessman, and later the first Italian to reach Mount Everest. The villa is now owned and maintained by the National Trust of Italy. After you park, you will need to walk a fairly lengthy and hilly trail before reaching the villa. Once you reach it, you will be amazed by the stunning views, the ornately designed gardens, and classical architecture. The various terraces and adorning statues overlooking the lake provide good spots for taking selfies.  The price for the tour of the gardens and villa is 22 Euros, or 11 Euros for just the garden.

Bellagio

The inspiration for the humongous hotel in Vegas, Bellagio is a postcard perfect town located in a beautiful setting at the tip of the triangular shaped land that forms the two branches of the lake. Because it is so heavily visited, the town is very polished, and may not feel as authentic as other places along the lake. We visited Bellagio on the one day that it rained during our trip, and therefore it somewhat hampered our experience. We spent a lot of time hanging out under café canopies drinking cappuccinos, and ducking into shops and covered alleys while waiting for the rain to diminish. Nonetheless, there are many good restaurants and shops throughout the town, including dai Viga (located along Via Giuseppe Garibaldi), an Italian deli and wine store, where I purchased numerous types of pasta and risotto. You can reach Bellagio from Como by ferry or taking SP583, a very narrow and twisty road.

Varenna and Villa Monastero

We took the short ferry from Bellagio to picturesque Varenna, and the rain stopped by the time we disembarked. While Varenna is a bit less polished than Bellagio, it matches in beauty. The town has a more authentic feel than Bellagio. From the ferry dock, we walked along a pretty promenade that lead us to the town center, where we ate at an excellent restaurant on a small piazza called Al Prato. Afterwards, we continued south along narrow roads and alleys, passing a small rocky beach, before coming to Villa Monastero. The villa includes a museum and gardens along the lake shore. The botanical gardens stretches a mile along the lake, and contains rare native and exotic tree species interspaced with ornate statues and various terraces affording beautiful views toward the lake and Varenna.

Cooking with Locals

On our last day, we had a wonderful time experiencing a pasta cooking class that we booked through Viator. We really enjoyed our five hours that we spent at the private home of a local woman named Anna. She showed us and the other two couples around her garden which afforded views of the lake, and told us about her background. She and I especially connected because we both have backgrounds as urban planners. We sat on her patio enjoying appetizers and wine, then we all shared her kitchen where she taught us to make tagliatelle and ravioli pasta from scratch, as well as tiramisu. We enjoyed getting to know her, and the other guests, while sharing a delicious meal. By the end of the evening, we all shared our contact information. I would highly recommend this fun activity.

Restaurants

We ate well in Como and some of the nearby towns. Local specialties include polenta, and rabbit dishes. Below are some recommendations.

Restaurante Antica Darsena (Como) – Within the elegant Palace Hotel, this restaurant had excellent service, and both indoor and outdoor seating. I had a delicious dish of light and airy gnocchi smothered in a pesto sauce with green beans.

Ristorante in Teatro (Como) – This outdoor café is located directly in front of the historic Teatro Sociale.  While dining on Veal Milanese, we could overhear music playing for a special event in the theater.

Trattoria Dei Bracconieri (Brunate) – this small restaurant is located in the village of Brunate at the top of a hill on the east side of Como. To get to the restaurant, we took the Como – Brunate Funicular for 6 euros roundtrip. We sat at a table offering a spectacular panorama of the city and lake below, and enjoyed the sunset while dining. I had a hearty beef in a tomato sauce over polenta, and creamy panna cotta with berries for dessert. The others in my group enjoyed the wild boar in a brown gravy over polenta.  

Al Prato (Varenna) – This restaurant is located on the small Piazza del Prato, near the waterfront in Varenna. The dishes are beautifully / artistically served. I had a delicious entrée of pistachio crusted lamb chops with roasted vegetables.

Pizzeria Don Vito (Sormano) – If you happen to drive off the beaten path to the small village of Sormano, you will find this small family owned restaurant that specializes in pizza. We were taking a drive through the hills east of Como and found this gem of a place, and were the only customers. When we visited, the pizza oven was shut down, but the friendly family (who didn’t speak English) served us what they were making for themselves, including steak, homemade bread, and a tasty spaghetti with tomatoes, garlic and onion.

Getting Around

Ferries – Ferries and high speed hydrofoils connect Como to all of the key towns along Lake Como throughout the day. Service is provided by Navigazione Laghi. You can purchase tickets online (excluding rapid service) or at the ticket office located on the waterfront. There are essentially four types of service.

• Como to Colico – This route connects Como on the southwest end of the lake to Colico at the very north end of the lake, stopping at many points along the lake. You can purchase a one-way or round trip ticket online or at the ticket office.
• Como to Colico Rapid – this is similar to the above route, with fewer stops taking about half the amount of time. You need to purchase this ticket at the ticket office the day you use it. I recommend purchasing it early in the morning to avoid the crowds and secure a spot.
• Central Lake Como – this route is a triangular route that connects Menaggio, Varenna, Cabbenabia and Bellagio. The ferry allows for transport of cars. You can purchase your ticket online or at one of the ticket centers in those towns.
• Lecco to Bellagio – This route connects Lecco at the southeast end of the lake to Bellagio in the center of the lake, stopping at a number of points in between. You can purchase a one-way or round trip ticket online or at the ticket office at the points served.

Trains – The city of Como is served by two railway lines, Trenitalia and Trenord. Train service runs between Como and other cities in Lombardy, including Milan (1.5 hours by train), Bergamo and Mantua, as well as Lugano, Switzerland (30 minutes by train). There are two stations in Como, including the main station Como San Giovanni located on the west side of the city. This station serves trains coming from Milan. Como also has other stations, including Como Nord Lago, Como Nord Borghi and Como Nord Camerlata.

Buses and Taxis – Bus services in Como are run by ASF Autolinee. ASF also connects Como to Bellagio, Tremezzina, Cernobbio and other tourist destinations. On the eastern side of the lake, bus services are operated by Linee Lecco. Taxi hire is also readily available throughout Como.

Driving by Car – We had a rental car that we rented at the Milan airport (Malpensa) which we used on a few trips to visit local towns such as Menaggio, Porlezza, and Bergamo. A few things to note while driving in the Lake Como region: the roads along the lake can be very busy and very windy and narrow, with only one lane in some sections.  We found this to be especially true along SP583, along the east side of the southwest branch of the lake. You will find that other drivers often drive at fairly high speeds, so it is important to drive cautiously. In the towns, make sure to watch for signs noting restricted driving zones (called Zona Traffic Limitato – or ZTL), where cars are prohibited (except for residents) in order to reduce congestion and enhance pedestrian comfort. Without the proper authorization, you will be served a steep fine (through your car rental provider) via a ticket camera. Make sure to observe signs with a red colored circle.