staying in Bellagio or Varenna?

greg,

I've been to both but my preference would be Varenna, as I like the ambience in the town. However, a few here seem to prefer Bellagio. Either one would be a good choice.

Cheers!

We have just spent 5 nights in Varenna. We loved it there and were very happy with our choice. We visited Bellagio where there are many more shops, restaurants and hotels than Varenna. If you like a bigger busier town, then choose Bellagio. For a smaller, quiet town, choose Varenna. Both are beautiful.

We stayed at Borgo le Terazze earlier this year and can't wait to go back. It is quiet because it's just outside of Bellagio. Great views too.

How are you traveling to the towns? by Train or car? Varenna has a train station with access from Milan. easy to get to. if you stay at Bellagio you have to take the train to either Lake Como or Varenna then a Ferry to bellagio. If you have a car you can drive there. I would rather stay in the town the train station is then to have to rely on the Ferry to get to Varenna on the day I will take a train.

I stayed in Varenna and loved it. Will def return and stay there next time I visit Lake Como.

My preference is Varenna, peaceful, vistas that are unbelievable beautiful and a prommenade that people write poetry about. It screams "La Dolce Vita" imo. You can always ferry around the lake if it gets too quiet for you.

I agree with the others regarding Varenna. It's a peaceful, quaint and colorful little town and I thoroughly enjoyed staying there. I liked visiting Bellagio as a day trip but I enjoyed returning to Varenna at the end of the day! Bellagio was a little too hectic and upscale for my taste. We stayed at Albergo Milano in Varenna and thoroughly loved it. We were lucky enough to get a room with frontal lake views and I absolutely loved waking up every morning and staring out onto the lake!

My wife and I stayed in Varenna at the Hotel Olivido in the Villa with a terrace and a view of the Ferry Boats coming and going which you will ride to Bellagio,Como and other sights around the lake.Lots of good restaurants in the area including the hotel Olivido and places to see like Villa Carlotta and Menagio.
Mike

I have never understood the logic of choosing a place because there are "more hotels and restaurants". How many hotels do you need? One. There are several very nice options in Varenna and that is all you need. I suggest a lakefront room in Albergo Milano which is wonderful. You are closer to the lake and with better views that at Olivedo, which has a street and ferry dock between your room and the lake.

As for restaurants, I would say all you need is one because the terrace restaurant at Albergo Milano is terrific. Good food and wonderful views and ambiance. VERY romantic. We ate there 2 nights out of 3, and had a lighter dinner at the pizza place ( Bar Nido? ) the other night. We did the cooking class at Il Cametto that day ( highly recommended) and stillmwere not hungry enough for a full dinner. But there are some other nice places in Varenna, tucked away here and there.

Varenna gets my vote too.

On a personal note, I loved Varenna and didn't like Bellagio at all. But obviously, many people do like both. I'm sorry I didn't get to Menaggio, but would like to on a future visit.

As long as you're going in season, the boats between the mid lake towns (the three I mentioned above) are frequent enough that you can stay in one town and eat lunch or dinner in one of the others without difficulty. So, don't let dining choices stop you from staying where you want.

Add our vote for Verenna. Loved the quiet town. Bellagio was so much busier and crowed. So it's what you are looking for that counts.

thanks for all your replies everyone! We decided to stay at the Borgo leTerrazzo in Bellagio. It looks awesome. We plan on visiting Varenna and Mennagio.