Lake Como is a spectacular escape from Milan, with snow-covered Rhaetian Alps, green hillsides, elegant villas and villages arranged around an upside-down Y of water. Bellagio, Como, Varenna and Villa del Balbianello each offer a different way to experience the lake, so choose your priorities before setting out.
The lake lies between verdant slopes beneath the Rhaetian Alps and is often considered the most dramatic of Italy's major lakes. Its inverted-Y shape creates distinct arms toward Como and Lecco, while the shoreline is dotted with beautiful villages and grand residences.
There may be Bellagio imitations around the world, including a luxury hotel-casino in Las Vegas, but the original sits at the point where Lake Como's two lower arms divide. Boats bob along the waterfront below steep stone stairways, red roofs and green shutters; cypress trees and rhododendron-filled gardens add darker, richer layers to the view. The Como and Lecco branches stretch away on either side of the promontory like the two sides of a vessel's bow.
Bellagio is especially busy on summer weekends, when international visitors mix with day-trippers arriving from Milan. A midweek visit in the off-peak season offers a better chance of breathing room. When the waterfront is crowded, the gardens of lakeside Villa Melzi d'Eril and the higher Villa Serbelloni provide a graceful retreat on the promontory.
At the southern end of the lake, Como occupies a lush but busy basin. Julius Caesar established it in the 1st century BCE as an Alpine garrison and Roman holiday resort. Later, eighteenth-century Austrian rule gave the town a neat Central European character and a lively cafe culture, while money from the silk industry financed its Liberty villas. Today Como is positioning itself as the lake's most fashionable base, with modern hotels and creative restaurants.
Among Como's small civic museum, archaeological collection and villas, the standout is the free, marble-clad Duomo. Built over a long period from 1396 to 1770, it combines Romanesque, Renaissance and Gothic elements beneath a Rococo cupola. For a high viewpoint, follow the waterfront northeast from the centre to the century-old Funicolare Como-Brunate. An adult/child ticket costs €3.60/2.40, and the railway climbs to Brunate, a village set 720m above sea level. In Bellagio, modern lunch at friendly Dispensa 63 costs €40-60 per meal.
A short ferry ride from Bellagio brings you to Varenna, a village of luxuriant plants, unusual floral scents and birdsong. Its pastel houses rise up the slopes, and its narrow lanes often feel like extended staircases, much like Bellagio's. The difference is atmosphere: Varenna generally keeps more distance from the crowds.
For a panorama, climb to Castello di Vezio, a 13th-century stronghold that once belonged to a medieval chain of warning towers. Admission is adult/child €5/3. From Olivedo at Varenna's northern end, a steep cobbled route takes about a half-hour to reach Vezio. Another option is the roughly 40-minute path along the Sentiero Scabium, reached by taking the uphill ramp opposite Villa Monastero.
Varenna's two lakeside gardens are Villa Cipressi, now a luxury hotel with an adult/child ticket of €10/5, and Villa Monastero, 100m farther south. The latter began as a convent before the Mornico family transformed it into a large residence; its gardens descend to the water, and an adult/child ticket is €10/5 at Villa Monastero. For a casual meal, family-run Da Luciano is a contemporary butcher-shop restaurant with a waterside terrace; a cold-meat platter costs €7.50.
From Lenno's main square, follow the lakeshore for 1km to Villa del Balbianello. The villa and garden ticket is adult/child €24/16. Its terraces and water views have appeared on screen in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and the 2006 James Bond remake of Casino Royale, but the setting is impressive even without its cinematic history.
Many visitors head straight for the proposal-ready gardens, especially the oak with its helmet-like shape and the loggia columns designed for dramatic views. Stay longer and the house reveals Guido Monzino's story. The son of one of Italy's wealthiest men at the time, Monzino worked as an entrepreneur, collected art and travelled as an explorer. He filled the eighteenth-century mansion with objects from Africa, the Himalayas and the polar regions, turning it into a personal memorial. The rooms also suggest a lonely life: there are only two guest rooms, including one carefully prepared for his mother, who never used it. A heart condition and a smoking habit stopped him short of Base Camp during his Mount Everest expedition.
Ferries are the most scenic way to move between the lake's settlements. The slower services run on the Como-Colico route and, in summer only, the Lecco-Bellagio route. Faster hydrofoils and large ferries that can also carry vehicles connect the principal hubs. Depending on the area, an adult day pass costs around €15-25. Arrive at the ticket office early, since queues can build before departure.
A villa on Lake Como was once a status symbol for VIPs such as nobles, cardinals and politicians, long before modern celebrity culture made the shoreline famous. Villa Carlotta is one of the grandest examples, pairing Neoclassical architecture with carefully composed gardens. Its grounds contain celebrated rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias, plus a fern valley, bamboo grove, Zen-style rock garden, tall cedars and an elevated lookout edged with olive trees. Inside the seventeenth-century villa, bright rooms hold a restrained selection of sculpture, paintings and tapestries. Admission is adult/child €15/6.
Across the water, Villa Melzi d'Eril contains the lake's first English-style park. Built in 1808 for one of Napoleon's associates, it combines a Japanese garden, grotto and an orangery museum displaying Roman busts and Etruscan tombs; adult admission is €10 and children enter free. Nearby, Villa Serbelloni's gardens cover much of Bellagio's promontory and open to broad views along both the Como and Lecco arms. Adult/child admission is €10/5, and the grounds can be visited only with a guide.
The mountains are more than a scenic backdrop: a dense network of trails makes hiking possible throughout the year. The relaxed Greenway del Lago di Como follows the western shore between Colonno and Cadenabbia, linking a string of attractive villages. Hikers looking for a harder challenge can aim for the rocky summits of the Grigna massif. On the lake itself, smaller motorboats can be rented without a licence from €75, while kayaks cost €20-30 per hour.