Varenna

If you are seeing Varenna and want to relax, then it is probably not enough time. If you are there just to see the sites, then I think it is enough time.

I stayed in Varenna 2 nights on a RS tour. I would recommend getting an all day ferry/boat pass and also visiting the other towns around the lake.
We walked all around Varenna in about 1/2 day, but did not go to the top of the hill - just stayed in the main parts of the town.
On the ferry we visited Bellagio, Menaggio, Como, Lecco and one other that I can't remember the name of. Lovely way to spend the day. We bought a picnic lunch in Bellagio and ate in the park.

We have booked for 4 nights in Varenna next year, the first day we are travelling there from Rome so that will take 2/3 of the day. i have been wondering if 4 nights is too many as we stayed in Como last year and did a boat ride on the lake and only stopped at Bellagio and had lunch, a lovely town. We plan to see more towns next time, but if i can take 1 night off and add it to our next stop i would? any thoughts

Marg, it would be best if you started a new thread with your question? It get can become confusing when respondents are trying to handle multiple questions from multiple people in the same thread. :O)

One and a half days will be enough to see the high points and "check" it off the list. However, if you really want to kick back and relax, then it is not enough time. We could probably spend at least twice that long just chilling out. Apologies if I fracture the language, but the Italians have a saying "Il Dolce Far Niente" -- The sweetness of doing nothing. And Varenna is an excellent place to do nothing.

I was in Varenna for two nights in September, and it was plenty for me. I absolutely loved it, but I didn't feel like I wanted to stay longer. I always think the idea of relaxing sounds great, but then I get bored pretty quickly. If I had had a second full day, I would probably have taken a day trip to Lugano.