Lake Como is incredibly beautiful.
We stayed in the central triangle, the one formed by Varenna, Bellagio and Menaggio, the three villages that face each other where the lake splits in two.
Lake Como overview
When: 22 and 23 September 2026.
Where we slept: Hotel Adler, in Menaggio.
How we got around: the ferries across the triangle.
How long I would stay: a week, easily, if you change village every day.
Where we stayed: Hotel Adler, Menaggio
Via Luigi Cadorna 91, Menaggio.
Good to know: it is a family run hotel with a garden and a pool looking out over the lake and the mountains, on the hill above Menaggio. Count five minutes by car or about thirty five on foot down to the centre, with the bus stop right outside the door. Breakfast is a buffet.
What made it: the owner. He is adorable, he speaks French, and it is a genuinely good hotel.
Varenna, my favourite
The coloured houses are what did it. Varenna climbs straight out of the water in pink, ochre and green, and the streets are stairs.
We visited Villa Cipressi and its terraced gardens, and the gates that open straight onto the lake, the ones people call the gates of heaven. That is the photo everyone comes for, and it is worth being there before the first boats.
Good to know: Villa Cipressi is a late Renaissance villa turned hotel, but the gardens are open to visitors for a few euros, terraced down to the water between cypresses and magnolias. The lakefront path next to it is the Passeggiata degli Innamorati, the lovers' walk, which runs from the ferry landing along the shore.
What else there is to do in Varenna
- Villa Monastero, next door to Cipressi, a former monastery with a botanical garden that runs almost two kilometres along the shore. Usually open from April to November.
- Castello di Vezio, twenty minutes uphill from the village. Eleventh century ruins, four euros, and the best view of the middle of the lake, with Bellagio straight across and Menaggio to the north. There are falconry displays in season.
- The Passeggiata degli Innamorati, four hundred metres of walkway between the ferry dock and the villas. Walk it before the first boats, and again at sunset when the mountains on the western shore catch the last light.
- The church of San Giorgio, on the main square, and the small beach below the village if the weather is with you.
Breakfast at Bar il Molo
On the waterfront, with the lake right there. Eggs, salmon, and the view.
Bellagio
We walked, ate, and drank spritz. That is the honest version, and it is enough.
What else there is to do in Bellagio
- The gardens of Villa Melzi, along the lakefront south of the centre. A neoclassical villa from 1808, with a botanical garden full of camellias, rhododendrons and Japanese ponds, a family chapel and a small museum. Ten euros, open from late March to late October. The villa itself stays private.
- Punta Spartivento, the tip of the promontory, a ten minute walk from the centre. This is the point where the lake splits into its three arms, with Varenna on one side and Menaggio on the other. It is free, and it is the best photograph in Bellagio.
- The old town stairs, the stepped alleys between the waterfront and the church of San Giacomo, which are the postcard everyone comes for.
- The park of Villa Serbelloni, on guided visits only, above the village.
And a red Ferrari parked on the cobbles, because Bellagio is also that.
Lunch at Bistrot Antichi Sapori
A pizza diavola, and it was good.
The silk
Silk is the speciality of this lake, and Bellagio is where I bought mine, at Azalea.
Good to know: Como has been weaving silk since the sixteenth century, and the lake still produces a large share of Europe's silk. The scarves and ties sold in the villages are the souvenir worth carrying home, and the small shops are usually cheaper than the ones facing the ferry landing.
Menaggio
Same, and it is where we slept. Menaggio is the quietest of the three, and the one where people actually live.
What there is to do in Menaggio
- The lido, a lakeside pool and pebble beach at the edge of the village, open in season, with a bar and a view of Bellagio.
- The Greenway del Lago, a marked walking path that starts near Menaggio and follows the western shore through old villages, gardens and lanes.
- The hiking, more than fifty marked trails start from here, from a flat hour by the water to the ridges above the lake.
- Villa Carlotta, a few minutes south by bus or boat, at Tremezzo, with its terraced garden and its sculptures. It is the one big villa of the western shore.
- The flattest waterfront on the lake, which sounds like nothing until you have spent two days climbing the stairs of Varenna and Bellagio.
Dinner at La Grolla
Tagliolini with pistachio cream and prawns, which was incredible, and a tiramisu for dessert that was just as good.
Nesso
The village in the gorge, with its stone bridge over the waterfall and its houses stacked above the water. It is smaller than the other three and far less walked.
How we got there: by bus from Bellagio. The bus stops on the main road above the village, and from there it is stairs down to the water.
What to see: the Ponte della Civera, the humpbacked Roman bridge over the gorge, the waterfall of the Orrido di Nesso that drops between the two halves of the village, and the small harbour below, which is where the postcard photograph is taken from. Count an hour, maybe two with a drink.
Como, before the train
Comocafé
Excellent pizza before taking the train home. I had the Luciferia, their diavola, and it really burned, which is exactly what I wanted.
Getting around: the ferries
The three villages are linked by the ferries of the central lake, and crossing from one to the next takes about fifteen to twenty minutes.
Good to know: Varenna to Bellagio and Bellagio to Menaggio are the two short hops, and the car ferry also takes foot passengers. Buy at the landing stage, check the last departure of the evening before you settle in for a spritz, and remember that timetables thin out a lot outside the summer season.
Short on time? Book a day trip from Milan with a private boat
Things to know before you go
- Give yourself time, and patience. Everything moves at the speed of the boats, and so do the crowds.
- Get up early. Very early. It is the only way to have Varenna and Bellagio to yourself.
- Buy a silk souvenir. It is the speciality of this lake, and it has been for centuries.
How long do you need at Lake Como?
A week, easily, if you change village every day. Two days gives you the triangle and nothing else.
Lake Como FAQ
How do you get to Nesso?
By bus from Bellagio. It is not on the ferry triangle.
Which village should you stay in?
We slept in Menaggio and my favourite to walk was Varenna, for its coloured houses.
How do you get between Varenna, Bellagio and Menaggio?
By ferry, fifteen to twenty minutes between each.
What should you buy at Lake Como?
Silk. It is the local speciality.
How long do you need at Lake Como?
Two days for the central triangle, a week if you want a village a day.
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- Florence travel guide: sunrise over the city, the Boboli Gardens and vintage shopping
- Naples travel guide: dirty, intimidating, and very good for street photography
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