Milan Lake Como

Lake Como is a big lake. You have to decide where on the lake you want to go to.
And how are you planning to travel? Car or train?

Como town has many trains from Milan. It is however a large town and perhaps not the best part of the lake.
There is another line that goes up the east side of the lake. This includes Varenna, just over 1 hour from Milan. This is an option.
There are also buses to other locations, and ferries across the lake.
Other options are Bellagio or Menaggio, both accessible by ferry from Varenna, so you could combine them in your day trip.

You can look up train times and prices on the Trenitalia website: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Ferry times are here: http://www.comoanditslake.com/timetablenavigation.htm

Info about places on the lake: http://www.comoanditslake.com/

Hi Cyndi,

I have day tripped from Milan to Lago di Como. The lake district is just an hour away by train from Milan. For the day, you can tour the towns of Bellagio, Varenna, and Como.

When you're at the ticket window, ask for a 'Day Pass'. It prints 'liberal circulation' on the paper ticket. For the mid-lake area, i think that is like 20 euros per day. More $ if you want to range out farther than mid lake.

My personal opinion of the best way to see Lake Como is by taking a long trip on one of the boats. I think Mid lake to Como is a beautiful run. That trip is two hours on a normal/non-fast boat, so that trip will consume most of an afternoon.

Varenna and Menaggio are good stops. You might consider touring one of the gardens that are open to public. Monastero (near Varenna) has a nice garden and long lake frontage.

The daily pass includes the following stops: Varenna, Menaggio, Tremezzo and Lenno.

https://www.hipoverfifty.com/3-perfect-lake-como-villages/

https://lakecomotravel.com/how-to-get-to-lake-como/

I did this in May if this year, train from Milano Centrale to Varenna. I took the ferry to Bellagio for a couple of hours too. All highly recommended and very easy to do.

I would take the train to Varenna. Visit Varenna (very small) and Bellagio right across by ferry. After visiting Bellagio, I would take the boat from Bellagio all the way to Como. The Como branch of the lake, stretching south west (the lake is shaped like a Y upside down) is the most beautiful. The fast boat covers the distance in about 45 min, the slow ferry needs a couple of hours. Once in Como, you can take the train from Como Lago station (on the lake) to Milano Cadorna (1hr for about $5). You can also go to Como San Giovanni station (the main one) and go back to Centrale. Faster (and more expensive) trains stop at San Giovanni station, but once you account for the longer walking time from the lake, the Como Lago station is probably better.

Thank you all, this information is wonderful.
Blessings
Cyndi