Journal
Where to Stay on Lake Como: Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio or Cernobbio
Lake Como is three arms and a dozen villages, and where you stay decides how your week works. How to choose, how to get there from Milan, and whether you can swim.
Lake Como looks small on a map, but it is shaped like an upside-down Y, and moving around it takes longer than people expect. Where to stay on Lake Como comes down to one question: do you want to be on the ferry network's central hub, or somewhere quieter with a car?
A note first: our collection does not currently hold a house on Lake Como. This is a guide to the lake itself, not a sales page.
The central lake: Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio
These three villages face each other across the point where the lake's arms meet, and the car ferry links all three in minutes. For a first visit without a car, stay here.
Bellagio sits on the tip of the peninsula and is the most famous village on the lake: gardens, steep lanes and grand hotels, busy with day-trippers in summer. Varenna, on the eastern shore, is smaller and quieter in the evenings and has the lake's easiest rail link to Milan. Menaggio, on the western shore, is the most practical base, with more space, a lakeside promenade and the road north.
The southwest: Cernobbio and Tremezzo
Closer to Como town and Milan, this shore holds the lake's historic villas and the grandest hotels. It suits a shorter stay, or a car-based week that mixes the lake with Milan. The drive along the western shore road is slow in summer.
The north and the Lecco arm
The north of the lake is wilder and windier, favoured by sailors and windsurfers, with fewer hotels. The Lecco arm, the eastern branch, is quieter still and far less visited.
How to get from Milan to Lake Como
By train, Trenord runs direct regional services from Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino in roughly an hour, and from there the ferry reaches Bellagio and Menaggio. For Como town and Cernobbio, trains run from Milano Centrale and Milano Cadorna. Milan Malpensa and Linate are the nearest airports; a private transfer to the central lake takes around one and a half to two hours depending on traffic. Ferries are run by Navigazione Laghi, and the timetable changes between summer and winter, with a much thinner service from November to March.
Can you swim in Lake Como?
Yes, at designated bathing spots. Each year the region publishes the list of beaches and lidos approved for swimming after water-quality testing, and many hotels have their own lido or pool. Avoid swimming near ferry landings and in the ferry lanes, and note that the water stays cool well into June.
When to go
May, June and September are the best months: gardens in flower, warm days and fewer crowds than July and August. Many hotels close from November to March.