Lake Como is a stunning lake in Northern Italy. George Clooney made it famous and is now a vacation destination for the rich and famous. But it’s actually affordable and easy to visit as a normal person.

The views of the lake are stunning, and the little towns that line the shore are easy to explore.

Plus, you can see the highlights of Lake Como in 2 days. See the main towns, take in the views, and get a little bit of adventure.

Itinerary Overview

Day 1 – Bellagio and Varenna + villas and gardens

Day 2 – Vespa Tour, boat tour, or Villa Balbianello

Why Visit Lake Como?

If you’re here, you’re looking at Lake Como, it’s at least on your radar. 

You may be interested in it because you’ve heard people mention it or because you’ve seen that famous people vacation there. I mean, if it’s good enough for a Taylor Swift vacation, it’s gotta be good, right? Not that I’ll vacation like her. But, still.

Lake Como is a truly beautiful lakeside vacation option. You can see beautiful towns, eat great Italian food, and enjoy the lake. If you want to wander around gardens and explore villas, then you’ll find even more to do here.

Lake Como is just surrounded by beautiful sites. You don’t need a month here, but it’s certainly worth a couple of days.

Day 1 in Lake Como

Most of the beautiful photos you see from Lake Como are taken in Bellagio and Varenna. These two lakeside towns earn their reputations for being Instagrammable. So, they’re also super popular, and you’ll have some crowds to battle on your visit.

In both towns, you’ll mostly wander the streets and check out the little shops. You could visit these in either order, depending on where you’re staying (more on that later).

Bellagio

In Bellagio, you’ll find a picturesque walkway along the waterfront. This is an easy flat walk that has excellent views of the water in the morning.  If you’re looking at the boat dock, turn left and walk along the water. At the end of this walk, you’ll come to the entrance to the gardens at the Villa Melzi.

The lake is known for villas of former noble houses and perfectly kept gardens. Strolling through one is a great addition to your itinerary. Especially if you haven’t explored lots of villas and gardens before. We don’t have anything like this in the US, so it’s fun to see. Wear a nice dress and you can feel extra fancy on your day trip.

These will be one of the easier gardens to visit if you only have two days. The gardens are up from 10:00 am until 7:00 pm from the end of March until the end of October.

Tickets are €10 per person. Check the map of the gardens before you go so you can see if it’s something you’d like to do. 

There was a short line to enter the gardens at 10:00 am. It wasn’t anything too busy, though. But, you’ll want to decide if you’d rather see the gardens without the crowds or walk around the town with fewer crowds.

One of the most photogenic streets in Bellagio is the Salita Serbelloni. The stone steps snake up the hill, lined by picturesque little shops.

I’m not much of a shopper, and I don’t bring home souvenirs. If you do, you’ll certainly find something here. If not, you’ll still enjoy the window shopping! This street was just as pretty in person as it is in all of the pictures. It made me wish for a second that I was someone who packed beautiful dresses for photos.

At the top of Salita Serbelloni, you can turn left and continue winding along the streets. Try to stay at the top of the hill once you’re up there. You can easily weave up and down the streets. It’s a beautiful place to get lost in. But, I didn’t want to go up and down the hill a lot!

Head for the Parco di Villa Serbelloni. You’ll find the little Basilica di San Giacomo near there. Go in and have a look around if you’d like. Or, have a seat in the park and just enjoy where you are.

Since Bellagio is at the tip of a sort of peninsula that points out into the lake, you can see the water on both sides of it. If you’d like, you can walk toward the Scalotta per Pescallo and keep going down to the other side.

After you’re done exploring at the top of the hill, head back down to the Parchetto della Punta. It’s another waterfront park. But, you’re mostly in Bellagio for the views, and there are some beautiful ones from here!

Please check out Smooth Operators gelato in Bellagio. There may be a line. But it’s amazing. Especially on a hot day. Plus, they use exclusively gluten-free cones, so it’s an easy snack to enjoy.

You can hang around to enough to grab lunch in Bellagio if you’d like. You can also grab lunch in Varenna, where you eat depends on how much time you take in Bellagio.

If you’re gluten-free, I’d wait to eat in Varenna.

Next, board the ferry and head to Varenna. 

Varenna

If you’re looking for a gluten-free lunch option on your day trip. I’d start with Locanda Cavallino in Varenna. It’s not AIC-certified or dedicated gluten-free, but they seem to do well with gluten-free pasta. I decided to pack my lunch on my day trip to Lake Como. I find that’s easier for me when I’m not sure what the day will look like. But, in hindsight, I could’ve prioritized getting a good lunch.

In Varenna, you’ll find another walking trail along the water.  The La Passeggiata Degli Innamorati takes you along the water. It may sound like the same thing as the path in Bellagio. This one is along the cliffs at the edge of the water, with bridges and tunnels built along the side. It’s not sketchy or anything. I enjoyed that it was different. In the spring season, some flowers bloom and make a tunnel for you to walk under. I visited too early in the year, but I hope you get to see them!

Follow Riva Garibaldi for one of my favorite views of Lake Como. Look for Bar Il Molo. If you happen to be able to grab a table, it would be worth it to grab a drink and enjoy the view. But, even if not, there is a little space at the top of some stairs where you can get an incredible photo of the lake and Varenna. Bonus points if the flowers are blooming like they were when I was there. 

Villa Monastero sits along the water in Varenna. It’s €10 to visit the gardens and €14 to visit the gardens and the villa. Look for opening hours by month on their website.  You can buy your tickets early, which isn’t a bad idea if you have solid plans and want to see the villa. 

You have to pick a ticket time, but you aren’t stuck to it, so it takes the pressure up. You’re free to visit on the day you have the ticket.

You may not have time to visit both of the villas and gardens in one day. But, if you’re willing to take a long day trip, you could! It just depends on how much time you want to commit to.

I wish I’d spent more time checking on the gardens. It’s such a popular thing to do around Lake Como, and I feel like I missed out a little bit by not seeing more of the gardens.

Should I also visit Menaggio?

If you have time, you can visit Menaggio. It’s a quick ferry ride from Bellagio or Varenna. I found Menaggio was less picturesque than the other two cities, so I wouldn’t rush to cram it in.

The waterfront park and the Grand Hotel Victoria are fun things to see. 

The square is beautiful with shops and gelato (of course). The walk from the ferry station to the main part of the city was less pretty than the others, but it wasn’t bad. There’s just a high bar for pretty around Lake Como.

If you aren’t staying in Menaggio, I’d spend time visiting the gardens instead of trying to cram in a visit to another town.

Day 2 in Lake Como

There are so many great ways to see Lake Como. So, after exploring the main sites, I wanted to try something different. 

To see Lake Como differently, consider booking a tour. You can do a Vespa tour, a boat tour, or take a tour to the Villa Balbianello.

Vespa Tour

Maybe it’s the millennial in me with Lizzie McGuire dreams, but when I found this Vespa tour, I knew I wanted to do it! If it doesn’t show as bookable, it’s likely because they will open bookings when the season starts in Lake Como.

If you can drive a motorcycle or a car with a manual clutch, you can drive your Vespa. If not, you can ride on the back of the Vespa. I rode, and I’m so glad. There was a lot of traffic that day, and I wanted to enjoy my Vespa ride.

My favorite part of this was getting to see some off-the-beaten-path little towns.

We started in Cernobbo, made our way past George Clooney’s villa. He’s from Kentucky (like me!), so that was cool. Plus, he was one of the first big celebrities to start vacationing in Lake Como.

Brienno and the other small towns were special to see. They’re mostly home to locals now and don’t see the same kind of crowds that Varenna and Bellagio do. 

The guides do a great job of sharing life with you, and we got to go to a little cafe and have a Coke or a coffee.

It was a special way to experience Lake Como, and I think you should do it if you’re up for an adventure.

If you want to drive your own Vespa and don’t want to deal with a vintage Vespa, look at this option.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Vespa tour, though. It was so much fun.

Boat Tour

If you’re looking for more relaxation and less adventure.

Take a boat tour of the lake. This one is a shorter tour that allows you to view many of the villas from the water.

You can also go big and have a private boat.

It’s an easy way to slowly tour the towns and see a bit more of the lake.

I didn’t do that because I will almost always pick the adventure option if there is one. Plus, this met my Vespa riding dreams!

If I go back to Lake Como, a boat tour will be high on my list.

Villa Balbianello

Villa Balbianello is one of the most popular villas on Lake Como. It’s the one that’s been used as a film set for movies like Star Wars and Casino Royale.

It will also require planning to visit it.

You can your the gardens on your own but if you want to tour the villa you have to take a guided tour. Tickets start selling out months in advance.

To plan your day, take the ferry to Lenno. Find information about the ferries below, but the ferry schedule can be checked here.

When you get off in Lenno, you can take a water taxi or a bus up the hill to the villa. You can also walk, but it’s a 25-minute uphill walk.

Make sure you get your entrance ticket early and that you give yourself plenty of time so you don’t miss the tour. If you’re looking for iconic sites, you may not need to tour the villa. For example, the scene from Star Wars is on a balcony in the gardens.

Get tickets early, but first decide if you want to see the villa or just the gardens.

Here are tickets to the gardens only.

Here are tickets to the villa and gardens.

Always double-check that the description of the tours hasn’t changed to make sure you get what you want.

Then, if you have some time, you can check out the town of Como. It’s less pretty than the others for sure. Again, it’s a high bar. But the walkway along the water is stunning. You can also walk around Villa Olmo.

Where to Stay in Lake Como

Bellagio, Varenna, and Menaggio are certainly the most picturesque places to stay.

But if you’re gluten-free, you’re going to want to look at staying in Como. It’s not the most picturesque. But it is practical and, most importantly, there are more gluten-free options for you here. When I was looking, I didn’t feel good about my food options outside of Lake Como. At least, not good enough to sleep there.

I stayed at the Hilton Lake Como and have no regrets. I was able to eat at some good restaurants in the city and was able to see enough of the smaller cities to feel like I got a good feel for them. 

If you’re not celiac and are looking for a hotel splurge, or you have Hilton points, look at the Grand Hotel Victoria in Menaggio. We didn’t stay here, but friends of ours have enjoyed it.

Getting Around Lake Como

When I was planning my trip. This was honestly harder to find than it needed to be. If you look at Google, you just get weird bus schedules. 

Ferries that connect the towns around Lake Como from the spring to the fall. The ferries are easy to navigate once you know what you’re looking at. Note that you won’t find anything in the search if you don’t change the dates to be the open season.

First, you can use the website to search for ferry schedules and make a note of the times they run. Your hotel can also give you a printout when you get there. Take one if even if you usually do everything online. It’s just nice to have the paper copy to consult since it’s not the easiest to find online.

You cannot purchase speed ferry tickets online. And you want the fast ferry if you can. It’s 40 minutes vs the 2 hours and 40 minutes of the regular ferry.

So, you’ll need to buy your ferry ticket the day of.

If you’re heading to Bellagio from Como, get there earlier than you think you need to. I got there about 30 minutes early and wished I’d come about an hour early. I made it, but I wasn’t confident.

The speed ferries run enough, but not so much that it wouldn’t have disrupted the day to miss it. Get there early. Waiting is better than missing the boat.

Later in the day, as I moved from town to town and then back to Como, it wasn’t the same situation. It was much calmer. It’s just that initial ferry that was a lot. But, you’ll still want to know the ferry schedule so you can try to time your exploring and don’t wait for a long time at the dock waiting for your boat.

What if I don’t want to deal with all of this on my own?

I get it if this is not what you think of when you think of a relaxing vacation.

Take a tour or hire a private boat for the day, depending on your budget.

The ferries are more affordable. If you can take some time to look at it before you travel, it won’t be too bad to figure out.

But, there are always options if you just don’t want to deal. 

Getting to Lake Como From Milan

The easiest way to get to Lake Como from Milan is by taking a train.

You can take a train to Como, or you can take one to Varenna. 

If you’re staying in Como, you’ll want to take the train from Milano Centrale to Como San Giovanni (listed as Como S Giovanni). From there, the buses in Lake Como are easy to use, or you can take a taxi to your hotel.

If you’re staying in Varenna, you’ll want to go to Varenna Essino. It’s a slightly longer ride on the train, but you’ll save time since you don’t have to get on the ferry from Como.

If you’re staying in Bellagio or Menaggio, you should consult your hotel. They may be able to provide a car for you from Como. Or, you can take a ferry, which would be much closer to do from Varenna. Most people I saw took the train to Varenna Essino and then the ferry over to Bellaggio.

I book all of my train tickets in Italy using Trenitalia.

If I purchase them before I leave, I’ll use the website. I downloaded the Tren Italia app and have all of my tickets stored there. If I need to buy a ticket using the app when I travel, it’s easy. The trick is that you need to know the Italian name for the city. The rest of the app is in English and easy to navigate. 

Trainline is another popular website that I’ve used before.

Is 2 days in Lake Como Enough?

I think 2 days were plenty for Lake Como. I don’t like sitting around, and lakes have never been my thing. I liked having a day to explore the towns around the lake. They are stunning. I’m also glad I had another day to do the Vespa tour. But, I don’t feel like I missed anything spending two days in Lake Como.

If you want to see every villa and enjoy lounging in beautiful places, you may want to stay longer. Or, if you want to see all of the villas and gardens, you’ll need time to do that. Our friends have spent longer and enjoyed relaxing there. That’s just not what I was looking for on this trip.

Is Visiting Como Worth It?

Yes, it’s beautiful. After visiting, I fully understand why the rich and famous flock there. 

That said, two days were enough for me and I don’t feel like I’ll want to go back. 

Looking for other things to do around Lake Como?

While you’re visiting Lake Como, don’t skip out on Milan. It’s another Italian destination that doesn’t require a lot of time. But, it’s 100% worth a stop to see DaVinci’s The Last Supper and The Duomo.

Plus, if you’re gluten-free, Milan is home to several of my all-time favorite gluten-free restaurants and bakeries.