Day trip to Lake Como from Milan

It's entirely feasible, trains to Como are fast and frequent and you can even reach Bellaggio by boat, spend a few hours, then turn back. But you don't have to: you can spend a few hours in Como, then head to Brunate up the funicular for the views.

We just returned from Italy and we did a day trip by train to Lake Como from Milan. We went to Varenna by train and then we took the ferry to Menaggio where we rented a boat from AC Boat rental. We spent 3 hours touring around the lake from the rental boat and it was a wonderful afternoon. We returned by ferry from Menaggio to Varenna for dinner (It's a very short ferry ride!) and then took the train back to Milan. Have a great time. Lake Como is beautiful.

My wife and I did this trip last fall. 9am'ish train from Centrale to Varenna, with a couple of hours to tour the town and have a coffee. Then the ferry to Bellagio for lunch, followed by time to walk and shop. Then the slow ferry from Bellagio down the lake to Como, only looking at the places we stopped but not getting off. Finally some time for a quick walk through Como town, stopping for a aperol spritz before returning to Cadorna Station in Milan. A long day but not tiring … we were lucky with the weather and had a great day.

Thanks for the itineraries. Super helpful. I've got the day planned based on all the suggestions.