Lake Como

Italy has so much gorgeous coastline that I wasn’t sure what to expect about going to a lake. In my head, there was no way it could possibly compare. Lake Como proved me wrong! Not only does it have the beauty of the lake itself, but the backdrop of the mountains makes it truly breathtaking. You’re surrounded by the charm of Mother Nature everywhere you look.

Most people don’t realize quite how large Lake Como is. It’s huge! As in, you could spend a week there and not see all the parts of the lake. Its unique shape creates natural sections. You can reach these different segments of the lake by car, train, or ferry. There are also ferries that are specific to certain portions of the lake. We chose to spend our time in Como (the town that bears the same name as the lake) because we could take a direct train there from Milan. We also went to Varenna, Bellagio, and Menaggio, the triangle in the middle of the lake, because all are conveniently connected by a quick 10-15 minute ferry.

COMO 

The city of Como is sharp-looking. The main square looks like someone bulldozed it flat and then built the town on top of it. There’s a juxtaposition to the surrounding mountains that is really striking. So much of Italy is built into whatever the landscape happens to be that this was something unexpected. The water in the harbor of Como is not indicative of the cleanliness of the rest of the lake. I think things simply settle there because it’s the most southerly part of the lake.

You get to the main square and you find a bunch of restaurants and shops. High quality, Italian goods surround you from every angle. You’re not going to find many name brands here, just many impressive Italian shops. I bought Jeff a tie in Como that he gets complimented on every time he wears it. Not to be outdone by the shops, the restaurants are great too. I liked that there was a variety of restaurants in Como. One night we went out for pasta, another for the best salad I’ve ever had (Yes, I ate a salad in Italy!), and another time for a lobster dish that was not only delicious but led to the funniest meal of my entire life… Let’s just say not knowing the Italian word for lobster cracker led to hilarity ensuing and apology limoncello shots from the staff. For future reference for the lobster lovers out there, ask for pinze per aragoste.

COMO TIPS and INFO

• Train: There is a 45-minute direct train from Milan to the Como train station. It’s very convenient, with one problem… in order to get from the train station to the main part of town, you have to walk down an enormous set of steps. In retrospect, we should have taken a taxi. Carrying your luggage down those stairs is quite the feat, and walking the rest of the way into town just isn’t a good time. Shoutout to my sister who took those stairs twice, carrying our suitcases, because I was fresh off of knee surgery. 

• Great Breakfast: Fontana Ristorante Pizzeria Bar- Via Domenico Fontana, 21, 22100 Como
• Delicious Drinks: Vesper Club- Piazza Alessandro Volta, 55/a, 22100 Como
• Salad Place: La Vita e Bella- Piazza Domenico Croggi, 4, 22100 Como
• Housing: Fontana Rooms: Booking.com Cute little place to stay right in the heart of Como.

CERNOBBIO

A 20-minute bus ride from Como is the quaint town of Cernobbio. We found it by accident one day while googling for lidos close to Como. The Lido di Cernobbio came up with good reviews and since it was right off a bus line we decided to give it a try. I’m so glad we did! You walk from the bus into this adorable town square that overlooks the mountains and the lake. It’s surrounded by little shops, restaurants, and a place made famous by George Clooney, Harry’s Bar. You walk through the locker room of the lido, step outside, and have your breath taken away. Those mountains you couldn’t get over in Como seem like no big deal when you take in the view of the lake and surrounding mountains of Cernobbio.

After the initial shock of, “This was only a 20-minute bus ride, how does it feel so different?”, you simply spend some time taking it all in. I’ve had this feeling one other time in my life while sitting at a lake in Klagenfurt, Austria with the Alps overlooking. You’re no longer just on vacation, you’re getting to experience nature at its best and feel so grateful that you get to spend the day doing so. We got to spend the day, surrounding by unencumbered Italians, soaking in the sun and taking in the artistry of Mother Nature.

CERNOBBIO TIPS and INFO

• Bus from Como: Buy tickets for the bus at the newsstand (tabacaria) in the main square. Make sure to tell them the specific town you’re going to and buy your return tickets. Also, make sure you put your ticket into the validation machine on the bus. Validating on a bus is just as important as validating on a train.
• Lido di Cernobbio: Piazza Risorgimento, 5, 22012 Cernobbio CO

VARENNA

After a few wonderful days exploring the southern part of the lake, we decided to move up to the middle and head to our new home base for exploring Lake Como, Varenna. We took a train from the station in Como and switched at the connecting town of Lecco, before heading up to Varenna. We were met at the train station by Maria, the lovely woman we were renting our apartment from, and her husband. We initially didn’t understand why she offered to come to get us because the train station didn’t appear to be too far from the main square. We very quickly figured out why as we took the rollercoaster-like road down to the main part of town, passing horrified-looking visitors who were walking their luggage down this road and looking as though they were saying a few prayers to get there. I can tell you without reservation, that arranging a taxi from the train station to the town is well worth every penny. Or, you can stay at one of Maria’s places and she’ll come to get you!

After arriving in the main square, we reached the point where cars are no longer allowed and walked down the adorable alleyway to our apartment, stopping whenever we reached a crossway that showed that incredible views of the lake. We passed quaint restaurants and wine shops and personal apartments with classic Italian window boxes and shutters until we came to Casa di Mezzo, the smallest of Maria’s apartments. It was perfect for two people and gave us exactly what we needed. We dropped our stuff and went exploring. It’s not a very big area, so you can see it all pretty quickly. Our favorite spot became the bench overlooking the lake in front of the delicious gelato place. Varenna has a relaxing feel to it and that’s what you do there, simply enjoy the scenery.

VARENNA TIPS and INFO

• Home Base: Varenna is a great home base because it has the ferry between the major towns in the center of the lake and it’s the least tourist-filled of three that we visited. It’s has a nice calmness to return to at the end of the day. That said, there’s not much in terms of nightlife and the ferries don’t run at night. If you’re looking for something with more going on at night I would recommend you use Bellagio as your home base, just know that means a lot of tourists during the day.
• Great Gelato: La Passerella- 276M+G6 Varenna. This is right on the main walkway between the ferry and town. My sister and I still talk about how good this gelato was!
• Maria’s Apartment: http://www.mariashouse.it/en/ I can’t stress this enough, Maria is amazing! She is sweet, helpful, and kind. She has her own website with three of her apartments, but there is also a link on her site to Airbnb where she has a total of 8 properties. They are no-frills, but immaculately clean and give you the ability to be able to stay in this adorable little town and be right in the mix of everything.

FERRY INFO: VARENNA, MENAGGIO, BELLAGIO

• http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/doc/pdf/orari/como/05_Traghetto_A2018_per_sito.pdf
• This is updated throughout the year, based on the current schedule. The link above is the Autumn schedule.
• From Varenna, there are frequent ferries that can get you to Bellagio and Menaggio.

BELLAGIO

A quick ferry ride from Varenna will lead you to the beautiful town of Bellagio. This is the most central of all towns in the Lake Como area, which may explain why it was the most populated while we were there in the summer. We came to Bellagio for our love of lidos and were pleasantly surprised by all the shops and restaurants. The lido was great, but the shopping and dinner after were even better.

The number of shops and restaurants in Bellagio made it clear why travelers were coming here. The main street had beautiful clothing and jewelry shops and several amazing-looking restaurants. I’d been looking at scarves since we landed in Italy and I found them in Bellagio. They were beautifully made and of fine quality. Walk off of the main street and head up the alleyways to find even more shops and restaurants. We found a great little restaurant up one of the many hilly alleyways and were able to have a delicious meal before we made our way back to Varenna on the ferry.

BELLAGIO TIPS and INFO

• Ferry: Prepare yourself for a crowded ferry ride to Bellagio and get there a little early for your departing ferry if you want to ensure that you make it at your intended time.
• Lido di Bellagio: http://www.lidodibellagio.com/?lang=en. This is a little bit of a walk away from the main shops and restaurants, but the views make it worth the walk.
• Great Restaurant: La Fontana Bellagio- Via Centrale, Salita Monastero, 7, 22021 Bellagio

MENAGGIO

We got up early to take the ferry to Menaggio because we’ve heard it was wonderful and wanted to get the most we could out of the day. I’m so glad we did! Menaggio’s beauty is evident before you even get off the ferry. We walked down the main street and eventually came upon an adorable main square, Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi. We picked one of the many restaurants and enjoyed a yummy breakfast with amazing views of the lake.

Although we could have easily spent the day in that charming square, we were once again on a mission to find another lido. Off we went to Lido Menaggio! This lido was neat because we were able to rent a gazebo with a luxury mattress, which felt like lounging in the sun on the comfort of your couch. The area was neat because they had both a beach and a pool with food and changing rooms. We spent most of the day here until we took a group of children whose parents didn’t seem to be too concerned with watching them as a sign that we should explore more of Menaggio.

We couldn’t get over how cute Menaggio is! We found ourselves walking through adorable shops and made a challenge for ourselves of trying out all of their gelato shops. There were a few and they were all yummy!

MENAGGIO TIPS and INFO

• Ferry: You have to walk about 5 minutes from the ferry to get to Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi.
• An important point to note is that the last ferries leave Menaggio at 7:30pm, so you won’t be able to have dinner in Menaggio if you’re staying in staying in Varenna or Bellagio.
• Lido Menaggio: http://www.lidomenaggio.eu/