Italian Lakes

To my memory the lake front at varenna is pretty flat. There is a large hotel w restaurant that gets great reviews here....i dont know about its accessibility ....but someone here should come up w name of hotel.

Albergo Milano in Varenna receives great reviews on this Forum, and the town is recommended by many who stay in Lake Como. We stayed there 3 nights last September. The hotel and its rooms are not too accessible, as many stairs are involved. Other hotels in the area appeared to have the same issues, though I can be sure about all of them.

While we thoroughly enjoyed Varenna and Albergo Milano, I would not recommend staying there as the hotel does not have an elevator and the town is very steep with lots of stairs.

Are you set on Lake Como? We stayed at the northern end of Lake Garda last summer and really enjoyed Malcesine. The town seems like it might be easier to traverse for someone in a wheelchair. Try Hotel Vega; not sure if they have an elevator though. The ferry dock is easily accessible too so you can take day trips to neighboring towns. Just my two cents!

Lynn,

My mom (age 88 at the time) and I stayed in one of the apartments of Albergo Milano in Varenna.

Do beware that Varenna is very hilly and there are many stairs. There is a beautiful lakeside promenade that is flat, but I don't quite recall if there are also some stairs at the end.

We took a taxi to/from the train station and as I recall, the taxi could not drop us off at the hotel because the street is very narrow and cars are not allowed, so we had to walk downhill on a cobblestone street to the hotel.
On the day of our departure, we walked uphill (not steep) to wait for the taxi.

Have you considered going to Lake Maggiore or Lake Garda? These 2 lakes may be more accessible than Lake Como.

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Hi,
You might like to checkout this website http://www.accessibleitaly.com. I don,t know if the have info regarding the Lake Como area. Good luck.

Take a look at Stresa , on Lago Maggiore . The town is fairly flat , with a stunning lakefront promenade , and easily walkable ( advantageous for maneuvering a wheelchair ) . There are numerous hotels which most certainly have lifts . take a look at these two short videos to get a feel for it - https://youtu.be/mUMtp6NUl5k and https://youtu.be/zCztktfWAIw

Many thanks everyone, I will check out the other Lakes and the hotels suggested. We will have a car so getting out and about may be a bit easier but our accomodation will most definitely have to be ground floor and an accessible bathroom is essential. Thanks again, Lynne.

lynne,

I would also suggest taking a look at Stresa on Lago Maggiore. As mentioned, it's reasonably flat (although the rail station is on the side of the hill). It's also large enough to have a good choice of larger hotels, with elevators. If you get a hotel right along the waterfront, the views should be great.

You may find this website interesting, although the posts are a bit "dated".....

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g187847-i853-k1675329-Wheelchair_access-Stresa_Lake_Maggiore_Piedmont.html

I believe wheelchair access is possible on the larger boats, but it's been a few years so my memory is a bit "foggy" on that. However, I'm not sure whether it would be possible to tour Isola Bella with a wheelchair (you could probably tour the main level anyway). Hopefully one of the others can provide some information on that. Isola dei Pescatori is smaller and you could probably manage with a wheelchair there. The main walkway along the lake is packed gravel, and the walkways in other parts of the small town have flat paving stones for walking.

Good luck!

I'll just add my voice to the chorus - Varenna and Bellagio are NOT wheelchair-accessible places, and your husband will be miserable there.

I have vague recollections of Riva del Garda (at the northern end of Lake Garda) being relatively flat, but it's been far too long for me to be sure. It was a nice town, however. I haven't been to other lakes.

As soon as I saw people suggesting Alberto Milano in Varenna, my response was that it would not work at all. You cannot reach the entry without going either up from the lakefront or down from the street level, both on very steep stone stairs. Most of the town is built on a steep slope and not at all wheel-chair friendly.

But. . . . Down at lake level, on the plaza where the ferries come and go, sits Hotel Olivedo. One can reach it by car----you see the parked cars on Google maps, satellite view. Assuming they have accessible rooms (the website is silent on this but hotels.com says they have an elevator and at least one room with a roll-in shower), a stay here on the lake for a few days could be pleasant, as you could ride the ferry to see the other lake towns (assuming the ferry boarding ramp accommodates wheelchairs). You would be limited in dining choices, but there is a level path right along the water that goes past some cafes with outdoor seating at the same level.

So if you are interested in Lake Como and specifically Varenna, it might be worth emailing the hotel to ask. I think the rest of the town could be described as quite unfriendly to pedestrians, with or without wheelchairs. But the little plaza down by the ferry dock is quite nice.

Thanks everyone. I've had a look at stressa on Lake Maggiore and that does look promising. It's great to hear first hand experiences as we can never leave to chance just how accessible a place may be. I'll have a look at Garda also. Thanks again.