Destination: Lake Como, Italy

Since seeing the photos online, I fell in love with Lake Como, and I knew that I had to go see it for myself. Located at the base of the Alps, this part of northern Italy is the scenic dream with a deep-turquoise lake and dozens of charming villas dotting the edge. Especially when spring arrives and the weather is better, it’s not surprising that Lake Como gets packed with tourists who want to see the beauty of this region of Lombardy.

As it’s a popular resort destination, Lake Como can be expensive to stay overnight in. However, as a day trip from Milan, it would reduce the cost– I opted to do just that, starting early in the morning and returning in the early evening. While it can be exhausting, especially if you want to visit more than one town, it’s a good option to at least get a feel for the lake and its surroundings.

While looking up the best way to maximize my visit in Lake Como online, I came across a travel blog that advised readers first to visit Varenna, one of the northern villages on the lake, before heading down to Bellagio and ending in Como to take the train back to Milan at the end of the day. I found it to be a wise choice, and I did just that: from Milano Centrale, I caught an early-morning train to Varenna, which took about 1 hour and 40 minutes (a 10-minute delay due to the train randomly stopping in the middle of one stop– oh, Italian trains at their finest!).

I arrived into the Varenna-Esino station around 9h40, and I spent the next couple of hours exploring the small village. As I would notice in Varenna and the other villages in Lake Como, there are many steps to climb to get to the center, as they’re built along the mountains in the region. Of course, that meant hoofing it uphill a lot of times, which was a great, naturally built-in leg workout– at least it helped to burn off the Italian food consumed!

In Varenna, I started off by strolling the peaceful Walk of Lovers, situated along the quay with red railings and a lush archway on the way into the center. That morning was warm and sunny, with few clouds in the sky. It made for the perfect photos, as I ended the walk at one of the cafes along the water and got gorgeous views of the colorful houses, the deep-blue waters, and snow-capped Alps in the distance. Plus, the flowers on the railings were charming!

Following suit, I explored the center, with St. George’s Church dominating much of the main square. I ended up getting on a hiking road out of Varenna, as I was looking for some of its villas. Instead, I found myself walking up the road incline, seemingly to the next village– however, I stopped short, since I had to return to the town center to catch the ferry to Bellagio; otherwise, I wouldn’t have the time to see it as planned. What I did discover before returning was a vantage point at an random hotel on the cliff, and it offered probably the best views of Varenna: the colorful center seemed to be melting into the trees and lake, and overall, I was perfectly-content with Varenna as I made my way back down.

I caught the 11:30 boat to Bellagio. It was a really-short ride, perhaps no longer than 20 minutes, and I was soon in the most-famous village of Lake Como. In fact, Bellagio is the most-touristy, as everyone goes there for vacation– whether for a day trip or a weekend jaunt. The skies were still blue as the ferry pulled in, and I hopped off to begin exploring. However, I ended up getting lost for about an hour in the countryside after passing the Villa Melzi (which I didn’t enter, because I didn’t want to pay), so I wasted some time in Bellagio before getting myself on track and back into the center.

Absolutely starving, I popped into a random take-away restaurant where it served pizzas, savory pastries, and crepes. I got a spinach rustica and a vegetarian arancino for a total of 7€, and they turned out to be one of the best, inexpensive meals I’ve had in Italy. Both were heavy, but considering I had been super hungry, they satisfied me just right. The arancino was a game changer, and I’d order more arancini if I could!

I checked out the chiesa San Giacomo afterwards (but didn’t go inside) before ending at the Punta Spartivento at the very-northern tip of Bellagio. I didn’t find the views that stunning, for unfortunately, grey clouds were beginning to roll in. I returned to the ferry’s port to catch the next fast ferry to the village of Como, where it would be my final stop of the day.

Compared with the slow ferries, the fast ones cost much more (about 15€ one-way), but they get you from Bellagio to Como in about half-an-hour. I reached Como close to 15:00, and from there I headed to the Brunate cable car to take it to the top for views of Como and its eponymous lake.

I would say that the cable car wasn’t completely worth the experience, due to the fact that it was already completely overcast by the time I’d arrived and that there was a notable queue to take the cable car. I also happen to take the cable car with a massive group of obnoxious Italian schoolchildren, so it made what I’d hope to be a pleasant, tranquil ride a noisy one. The views from the top were just mediocre, as much of the lake and town were covered by trees. I caught the ride down within 10 minutes of being there, so as not to waste my time and avoid the schoolchildren who would eventually go down, too.

While in the center, I visited the Como Cathedral, along with the Porta Torre. After a quick photo opp at the modern Life Electric statue on the water, I decided to catch the next train back to Milan. The train I ended up taking from the Como Nord Lago train station took longer than expected, since it stopped at literally every stop– think the TER in France! In any case, I soon returned to Milan in the early evening, utterly exhausted and ready to get dinner before resting up for the night.

Although it’d been a long, tiring day running around three of Lake Como’s villages, I’d say it was well-worth the effort. It was a matter of timing the ferry and train times to make sure that I had the time to visit, along with being back in Milan at a reasonable hour. Visits to each village were brief, but enough to get the essence of the place. I’m glad to have seen the beauty of Lake Como, as it’s certainly one of the most-picturesque spots in Italy. Definitely worth visiting!

I’ll post more of my trip to northern Italy this past April soon!

 

— Rebecca