Day Trip to Lake Como From Milan Italy: Varenna, Bellagio and Lenno

Lake Como and the villages that dot its shores comprise one of the most beautiful settings imaginable.  Historic villas with views of the surrounding mountains showcase the landscape, while the villas and their gardens are like miniature Italian versions of Versailles in France.  Of course, like all of Italy, the amount of tourists is almost overwhelming especially for such small villages--but the natural and man-made beauty here makes you quickly forget any such negatives.   Our journey here was approximately 1 hour via train from Milan Central Station, and the ticket is around $15 per person round-trip!

Transportation around Lake Como can be done by ferry boat, water taxi, bus or car.  Ferry boats are crowded with tourists because they are relatively cheap, the docks are pretty easy to find, and the rides offer great views--plus you won't really save any time using the bus system.  Because we only had one day to explore all that Lake Como has to offer, we decided to take the train directly to Varenna from Milan, which is mid-way up the lake on the eastern side, rather than starting our day in the town of Como (as many people suggest).  The journey by ferry is rather long from Como to Varenna (between 1-2 hours), and we knew that we'd be taking ferries between other villages, so didn't feel it necessary to add this stop to our itinerary.  TIP: When building your itinerary, check the duration, frequency and cost of ferry rides online to ensure you plan accordingly.  Most trips across the lake are between $8-$11 per person (one-way), and fares will be higher for faster-service (Service Rapido) on a hydrofoil (maybe a few dollars extra)--to us, the most important thing was to board whatever boat was coming next that would take us to our destination!  You can also purchase a one-day unlimited pass for about $26 per person, and if you will be taking 3+ ferry rides this is great because you don't have to keep waiting in line to buy individual tickets.  The boats themselves aren't very comfortable, and if it's a hot day getting a nice view often means being in the scorching sunlight, so the ride isn't always as glamorous as it seems on paper.  Folks with mobility issues will have a tough time exploring the villas and backstreets of the towns around Lake Como, as much of the area is situated on steep hillsides--it is indeed a good workout for anybody getting around here!

Arriving in Varenna isn't very glamorous--the train station is very small, and faces the side of a mountain.  But as you find your way toward the lake, its beauty becomes quickly apparent.  We recommend grabbing a bite to eat before you are engulfed in a sea of tourists and expensive plates of pasta--below the train station is a great little cafe called Natural Mente that has vegetarian options and some grocery items like fruit, veggies, bread and salami.  If you are vegan stock up here, because there are VERY few grocery options around the lake.

Make your way down the Greenway dei Patriarchi (a beautiful walking path along the lake) and you'll soon arrive at the Varenna Ferry Terminal.  Another 20 minutes walking (mostly uphill, unfortunately) and you'll arrive at Villa Monastero, which is well worth the $8 admission for exploring the house and gardens.  A $12 admission is also available that includes a walk around Hotel Villa Cipressi, which is almost right next door, but not as impressive as Monastero.  You can easily spend an hour at Monastero, soaking in the natural man-made beauty around the luxurious property.  The interior of the villa is worth peaking into, if only for a few minutes of shade--it's a lovely historic building with some great furnishings, almost a miniature personal Versailles. 

Catching a ferry proved to be like showing up for a hit movie on opening night--first is the stressful wait in a slow moving line, hoping that your plan isn't ruined by a sell-out, and ultimately communicating with somebody whose first language isn't English.  TIP: Know where you're going before you get to the counter, and don't be picky about whether the boat is a fast or slow boat--just take whatever is going to get you there the soonest!  Next is the slow but frantic funneling of a sea of people onto a narrow, single-file platform to the board the ferry, and quickly find a seat or a spot in the shade.  Yes, you can get some great views from the ferries, but honestly the views don't vary that greatly from those that you'll find on land--we thought they'd be pleasant sight-seeing experiences, but the summer heat and the crowds make them feel like just another means of public transport.

Thankfully you can get between the villages around the central part of Lake Como within 15-45 minutes (depending on whether you catch a fast or normal ferry).  And so we found ourselves finally in Bellagio, without much of a plan of where to go (rare for us!).  Rather than heading straight toward the bustling northern part of town (where most of the shops and restaurants are), we took a walk heading south along the water down a beautiful path lined with trees and flowers which eventually ended at the entrance for Villa Melzi.  This Villa doesn't seem to get as much traffic, but it boasts a sprawling landscape (albeit not as lushly cultivated as at Monastero) and, of course, great views across the water.  As we wandered back toward the bustling village center, our appetites began to emerge, and so we sought a restaurant with an empty table (hard to find during the lunch rush!)--it can be a challenge to navigate up and down those steeply-inclined sidewalks on an empty stomach, so if you see somewhere that looks tasty, go ahead and try it.  TIP: Restaurants in this area often have certain rules, like credit card minimums or not even accepting credit cards--try to pay attention for any signs when entering and examining the menu (and use Google Translate if you're in doubt), AND don't be surprised if your order is prepared incorrectly, as this is very common in Italian restaurants. We ate at Vecchio Borgo, and while the food was good and reasonable, they gave us some grief about using our credit card (unfortunately we had very little cash on-hand)--they accepted our card after we gave them some grief in return 😁

After fighting through crowds up and down the picturesque pathways of Bellagio for a few hours, we were getting pretty worn out--so, we got the next ferry to our last village for the day, Lenno (which is sort of a district within Tremezzina, along with Tremezzo, Mezzegra and Ossucio--although Google Maps seems confused about which is which).  Our primary goal here was to visit one more villa, the famous Villa del Balbianello, which was used for brief scenes in the films Star Wars Episode II, and James Bond: Casino Royale (the 2006 version).  From the Lenno ferry port, it is a deceptively long and exhausting (but beautiful) walk along the water and then uphill to the villa--if you are patient, you can catch the villa's taxi-boat for 7Euros round-trip per person, and trust us, it is worth it especially for the walk up to the villa (plus it is a fun, small boat).  The entrance fee is 10Euros per person to explore the gardens only, or if you wish the see the interiors of the villa, for 20Euros per person you will take a (required) group tour--either method is a fantastic experience, although we opted to just walk ourselves around the gardens.  The landscaping of the property is as elegant as the view from the hill-side is breathtaking.  The town of Lenno itself is relatively small with only a few eateries, so definitely bring a snack and beverage for this part of the day.

By the time we returned to the Lenno ferry dock we were pretty exhausted, so we decided to head back to Varenna for a little more exploring before we took the train back to Milan.  We also considered taking one of the ferry boats all the way down to the city of Como, which can take 1-2 hours from Varenna depending on whether you catch a fast or regular ferry--we had also pre-paid for our return train ticket, although it was so affordable that we wouldn't have minded terribly to have to have to purchase a replacement.  But we stuck with our plan, and after re-visiting our favorite cafe Naturalmente for a take-home dinner, we were soon back in the air conditioned comfort of our train.


To be completely honest, exploring Lake Como was the part of our trip I was most looking forward to, but the experience wasn't quite what I had dreamed it would be--this is mostly due to the amount of tourists (my first time in Italy), how stressful it was getting onto the ferry boats, and how hot it was.  That being said, it was still one of the highlights of our trip, and we highly recommend visiting, more so outside of the summertime peak season for travelers.  There are also many villas that we didn't get to visit, such as Villa Carlotta--but based on our research we did visit the most spectacular ones.  Let us know if you have any questions or comments, and travel safely!