Ciao! I spent the last couple of days putting together a mini guide for my cousin and I figured it was time to sit down and put together a real guide to one of my favorite places in the world. I am so excited to look back on my trips to Lake Como and share with you what I know about one of the beautiful great lakes of northern Italy. My first trip to Lake Como was in May of 2015 and I was lucky enough to return this past summer in July of 2016. The logistics of getting to the lake were a little different for each trip, so I’m going to share with you what both itineraries looked like:

Itinerary 1 (2 nights)

Day 1:
• We flew from Paris to Milan via easyJet and friends of ours picked us up from the Malpensa airport. It was about an hour drive from the airport to our hotel in Como. If you don’t feel comfortable renting a car, you can grab a taxi from the airport (the taxi rate was between 50 and 100 euros depending on traffic).

• We checked in to Hotel Villa Flori and enjoyed a tasty lunch with a view. This was our first time stepping foot in Italy, so we were speechless over the delicious pasta and breathtaking views! We then borrowed a few bikes from the hotel and rode about a mile up the lake to our friend’s hotel where we rented a boat for the rest of the day. Our friends were staying at Hotel Regina Olga and the boat rental station was located on the water behind the hotel. It couldn’t have been more convenient! No need for a reservation or a boat license…just show them your driver’s license. We cruised along Lake Como and traveled about an hour up the lake to the beautiful town of Bellagio. We grabbed a bite to eat, walked around the town and then it was time to return the boat before dark.

Day 2:
• Allison and I loved Bellagio so much, we convinced Andy and Gus to let us go back for some of the day. We found out the hard way that taking a boat is the better option from Como to Bellagio. We do NOT recommend driving from Como to Bellagio due to the incredibly narrow and windy roads. We DO recommend taking the ferry from Como to Bellagio instead of driving. Click here for more information about the ferry. Bellagio is the perfect town to walk around and check out the darling little shops.

• We spent the second part of our day in the city of Como. We walked around the historic town and checked out a few sights (be sure you check out the duomo) and even tasted some yummy cheese from a street market! We had a delicious dinner in the Piazza Cavour and ended the evening with gelato and a tasty cappuccino.

Day 3:
• We said goodbye to Allison and Gus and we caught a train from Como to Florence. The train station was just a short drive from Hotel Villa Flori. Our fabulous hotel was about 10 minutes from the city of Como on a quiet part of the lake and we loved it! We would happily stay there again if we ever find ourselves back on Lake Como 😉

Itinerary 2 (Day trip from Milan) 

If your time is limited, Lake Como can easily be visited in one day! Here is what our day looked like:
• Caught an early train (1 hour) from Milan to Varenna. Make sure you purchase roundtrip tickets in Milan because Varenna’s train station is very small and the ticket office is often closed.  (There is a small tourist office near the train station if you need assistance when you arrive!)
• After arriving in Varenna, we walked about 10 minutes from the train station to the ferry pier where we bought a day pass for the ferry and checked out the schedule.
• We rode the ferry from Varenna to Bellagio and grabbed a bite to eat and walked around Bellagio for a few hours.
• We left Bellagio and rode the ferry from Bellagio to Menaggio. We spent a few hours in Menaggio and really enjoyed the spectacular views that the little quiet town had to offer. We loved Menaggio so much, we decided to rent a boat for a few hours and spend some time in the sun on the lake before it was time to head back to Milan.
• To get back to Milan, we hopped on the ferry from Menaggio to Varenna and then caught our train from Varenna to Milan.

So if you’re thinking about visiting Lake Como, I hope this post helped give you a few ideas on how you want to spend your time on this sunny lake! Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about your upcoming Lake Como adventure!