Hello - I am traveling with my husband to Lake Como in late November. We are staying in the town of Como for 4 night. We have never been to this part of Italy. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what not to miss? I would appreciate any and all suggestions.
Many thanks!
Anne
If you can change your hotel reservation, stay in Bellagio, Varenna , Mennagio, or Cadenabbia as they are located in the area with the prettiest scenery and there is more ferry service in that mid lake area too. If you can’t change your reservation, spend a full day exploring the mid lake area by taking a ferry there and back.
You can also visit Villa d’Este, near city of Como,
a short distance north.
I agree with Suki, stay further up the lake: Varenna or Bellagio. Read the ‘sad’ story about someone staying on Como and getting caught up lake and having trouble getting back down. Also note that a lot of restaurants are closing from November to March.
We were in Varenna, then Stresa, and then Casselrotto (Dolomites) and a lot restaurants and accommodation was closing for the season. One advantage of Varenna or Bellagio is that you can use the Mid- Lake day pass, or at least you could a couple of weeks ago.
We stayed in Como for four night last May. I'm not sure you can go wrong anywhere on the lake. Our hotel room was right over the ferry landing and we found it a lovely place to stay. Logistically, mid-lake might be easier with the ferry schedules if that's what you want to see. It takes a long but beautiful time to putt-putt across the lake. However, we were pleased with Como. You might find more open in the off-season. It's flat with lots of shops and plenty to do. It never felt crowded but maybe that's how it is at the place where you overnight. It's a working town. The Duomo is nice. We found a wonderful vegetarian restaurant on a back street that was cheap, delicious and we still talk about. We liked Bellagio a lot. Villa Carlotta was beautiful. Watch the ferry schedules and spring for the fast ferry when it works for you. Start early and remember that everything takes more time than you'd ever think. The aperitivos in Como were generally pretty good. Lots of motorcycles came through on the weekend so it's well-connected by road.
Cadenabbia has very limited ferry service outside of peak season. All ferry service becomes much more limited beginning early October, so moving to mid-lake makes more sense as there is more frequent access there. If you do remain in Como, keep in mind that the C10 bus runs the entire western shore of the lake and has frequent service.
As far as "not to miss", the villas: Villa del Balbianello, Villa Carlotta, Villa Monestero and the garden of Villa Melzi. The waterfalls of Orrido di Bellano. As is the case in the off-season, do your homework to see what days and times these sites are open, as it is different from high season.
The church of Sant' Abbondio is a beautiful 11th century Romanesque building just a few minutes walk from the train station in Como. Notice how the adjacent roadway has slowly risen up beside its walls over the centuries. Look up around the outside walls to try and locate some of the Corinthian capitals that the masons recycled from the Roman temple that once occupied the site. On the lake the Villa Balbianello is on a peninsula on the west side of the Lake. There are great 180 degree views of the Lake from its lovely terraces. It was the set for some scenes in Star Wars. Note that the walk from the ferry to the Villa is surprisingly long. We wished we had taken a cab.
While I would usually agree with the advice to stay further north on the lake, late November is really low seasons on the lake so staying in busier Como makes a lot of sense!
Besides the other tips you've got, close to Como, Cernobbio (where Villa d'Este is) and Brunate (at the top of the funicular) are lovely.
My wife and I were just there. We stayed in Varenna and were able to get to Como for a day. Being in the Lake Como area is incredible. It was like vacationing in a postcard. The only issue this time of year is the frequency of the lake ferries. It really depends on what you'd like to do in that area. If it's just a relax, checks out a few towns and villages, and explore type of 4 days then you will have a great time. Otherwise, it's worth planning around the ferry schedule a bit and not overscheduling (I axed a few items right before the trip due to the ferry).
I would suggest the Lake greenway hike which starts in Colonno (we started in Sala Comacina because that's where the ferry went). It was a delightful walk that did include some steep inclines through a town but was overall quite reasonable to manage. It went through a bunch of charming towns and we ended in Tremezzo where we bought tickets to Villa Carlotta. It was a great day. We also did the Viandante del Sentiero leg that went from Varenna to Bellano which was quite nice but much more of a true hike.
Bellagio seems obligatory so I'll suggest that you hop into Enoteca Cava Turraciolo - friendly, wines and snacks were amazing.
I'm sure you've already seen that Como has a funicular up to Brunate. It's definitely worth the up-and-back trip. I had wanted to hike from Brunate to some of the nearby mountain peaks but the timing didn't really work out to do that (partially back to the planning around the ferry schedule point above).
Have a great time!
Hi Anne,
For us, Varenna amounted to the best mix of attractiveness, relative lack of commercial tourism and transit convenience. Como was too large to allow for a village feel.
Have a great one.
I am done. the end.
