Lake Como, Italy

The Lakes District, Northern Italy

There are five major lakes in the Italian lake district.  From west to east they are Lakes Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo and Garda.  Each has its own particular character.

We were spoilt for choice so we had to do a bit of research when trying to decide on which one to stay at.  Do we stay put and travel around as many as possible on day trips, or stay a night or two at different lakes?

Lake Como

We decided to stay put at Lake Como which is the third largest lake in Italy after Lake Garda and Maggiore.  It covers 146 square km and over 400 metres deep.

It offered a bit of everything that we wanted, pretty towns and villages perched on the water’s edge.  A backdrop of mountains and historic buildings.  Most of all, stunning scenery with great walking tracks.

With a lot on our ‘Wish List’ ticked, we went about choosing which area around the lake we wanted to stay.  Lake Como is a little under an hour’s drive from trendy Milan so it is very popular with the more affluent local and foreign tourists.  Accommodation prices, therefore, reflect this with costs certainly up there with Rome and Venice.

There are a lot of options so it first had to come down to price and then availability.  We tried our luck with some Air BnB’s but most of our choices were already booked.  This would be thanks to our rotten timing of it being over a weekend.

Accommodation

We wanted somewhere close to the lake but to steer clear of the stereotypical tourist hot spots.  We have our own transport so that was not an issue (just parking).  When trying to decide on where to stay, it appeared that most people end up shortlisting the same four towns/villages.  These are Como, Menaggio, Bellagio and Varenna.

Our final choice was at Locanda Posta in Argegno.  Argegno may not have the glitz and glamour of its larger, more popular neighbours, but it makes up for it with plenty of authentic restaurants/cafe’s, fewer crowds and tranquil atmosphere.

At only €288/$503NZ for 4 nights, it was at the cheaper end of the scale.  They have different standards of rooms and our room was probably saved for straggler bookings.  You know the type, the only one left once everything else is booked out.

We’ve Stayed in Worse Places

It certainly wasn’t the worst room we’ve stayed in.  It was spacious with its own kitchenette and large fridge freezer.  There was a washing machine (which wasn’t working) and the shower was so small I struggled to put my arms up to wash my hair.

We didn’t have a lake view but once we walked out our front door and turned slightly to the left, we could see the lake.  It was only a very short walk across the road to the lakefront and numerous eating options.

Our check-in process was also not straightforward.  There was no one there to greet us and the place was locked up.  Thankfully we had a mobile data plan which allowed for local calls.  After two conversations we worked out that our room key was in a Bistro around the corner.  We also had to work out where to park via reviews on TripAdvisor as his e-mail instructions weren’t clear as to where to park across the road.

All of these issues aside, we only needed somewhere to sleep as we were going to make the most of our time out and about exploring the area.  We certainly would recommend the area if you were going to choose to come to Lake Como.

Things to See

Hiking the Greenway Trail

The Greenway del Lago di Como is a pleasant hike that begins at Colonno which was the next settlement along from where we were staying (2.8km away).

The route follows the road that was built by the Romans to connect Como with the territories over the Alps.  Once we found the start of the path, it was mainly away from the road so it was a quiet and leisurely 10km hike.  It gave us a different perspective of Lake Como.  

We wandered through several villages and came across some great examples of architecture, spectacular villas and gardens.

We continued all the way to Menaggio where we jumped on the local ferry and travelled back to Argegno by water.  We covered a total of 18km by foot that day so Happy Hour certainly tasted sweeter than usual.

Funivia Argegno-Pigra Cable Car

We walked to the Funivia Argegno-Pigra Cable Car which was only about 300 m up the road from our guesthouse.

It is one of the steepest cable cars in the world and takes passengers from Argegno to a little settlement called Pigra.

It only cost us €4.50/$7.80NZ for a return trip. We made sure we were the first car up and wandered around Pigra.  It seemed that we had the entire village to ourselves.

There are numerous walking tracks but we took the shorter track called Belvedere which offers panoramic views back down towards the lake. 

We enjoyed wandering around the village, up hills and down dale – very steep alleyways and getting lost of course! 

Shooting of Mussolini

Back down again, we hopped in the car and Scotty had researched the site where Benito Mussolini and his mistress were shot near the end of WW2. We found the plaque, a cross and an information board marking the exact spot where it happened.  Click here if you want to find out more about the history of the shooting.

Varenna

We carried on up to the town of Menaggio, managed to find a car parking space up the hill a bit and caught the passenger ferry over to Varenna. It only takes around 20 minutes to cross the lake and it cost us €18.40/$32NZ for a return ticket.

We were interested in looking around Varenna as this is supposed to be ‘THE’ town to stay in. When we researched it, we found that the accommodation was horrendously expensive.

The town was very touristy, prices were inflated and we only wandered for a short time around the small laneways before we had had enough. We had another half hour before the ferry back so enjoyed an Aperol spritz and a limoncello tiramisu.

If you are the type of tourist who loves a more vibrant vibe with some great shops, restaurants and don’t mind paying a higher price for the privilege, then, by all means, head for Varenna.

We returned to our car on the western shoreline of the lake and had a short drive onwards to look at another lake in the district called Lake Lugano. This is a smaller and much quieter lake with quite a sizable town.  It also a pretty spot and much quieter lake than Como.  

Click on the link below for highlights on our stay at Lake Como.

 

Lake Maggiore

Our ‘roadie’ to Lake Maggiore took us into Switzerland twice, a car ferry and a cable car ride.  

Lake Maggiore is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland.  It extends for 65 kilometres and yes, it is a multi-cultural lake with a portion of it in Swiss territory.

Bucket Cable Car

Our first stop was to Funivie del Lago Maggiore cable car which is a bucket cable car ride.  Yes, it’s how it sounds – you ride in either an enclosed or open bucket.

We waited for 40 minutes but it still did not open.  Apparently, they were having some technical difficulties.  We took this as an omen and headed for the car ferry across the lake to Stresa instead.

Car ferries run regularly across to the western side of the lake. It takes around 20 minutes and cost us €13.50/$23NZ for car +2 one way.

Stressa

Stressa is a small town with only around 5,000 residents but attracts a large number of tourists.  It was certainly a very pretty town and after wandering around the lakefront, we could understand the attraction.

Another Cable Car

We headed for our second attempt at a cable car. The Funivia Stresa – Alpino Mottarone is a much larger cable car, in fact, the cable cars can take up to 40 passengers.

It is in two stages, both about 10 minutes for each stage. Once at the top, you can continue up to the summit by chairlift. This was a 10 minute, challenging ride for my height phobia but the views were amazing.  I have no problem in enclosed cable cars but my legs dangling over the edge of an open chair lift is another story!

The return trip cost us €38/$66.50NZ which included our chairlift ride.

The return trip to Como

We decided that we didn’t want to take the direct route back to Lake Como and so our return journey once again included a stint through Switzerland. It was all a bit of an anti-climax crossing the borders and there wasn’t much difference being in Switzerland at all. Besides the fact that we couldn’t really buy anything as they, of course, aren’t part of the EU so still operate in their own currency (francs). There were some places which had signs stating that Euro was accepted.

On the way, we followed Lake Maggiore for what seemed like ages and passed through some really quaint and historic looking towns. If we had more time, it would have been lovely to wander through some of them. It is a very touristy area, although nothing like Venice or Rome of course. It would be nice to return and stay a night or two to look around some of the little villages.  A couple of really pretty spots stood out and they were Cannobio (old town) and Cannero Riviera (the prettiest).

Click on the link below for a video on our highlights in Lake Maggiore.

Summary

The Lakes District is definitely our sort of destination.  It had so much that appealed to us.  There was something quite therapeutic about being beside the water.  I guess that some of the landscape reminded us of the South Island in New Zealand.

We almost felt a connection to our surroundings and although it is on the list for many local and foreign visitors, it has not been spoilt or loved to death.

It was a breath of fresh air after spending time in some of the most tourist-heavy destinations in the world.  We will certainly hold fond memories of our days at Lake Como.