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The lake without steps

Wheelchair access to the lake's sights, piers, stations and tourist offices.

Worth knowing

For wheelchair travel, check both access to the pier and boarding the vessel. For trains, request assistance before departure.

How the lake is built

The villages extend from the shore onto the hillsides: their inner lanes can have steps and steep slopes. Access to villa gardens depends on the route. At Villa Carlotta, two lifts in the park and a lift in the museum provide access between levels.

Reaching the pier and boarding the boat are separate stages. The gangway's slope varies with the lake level and vessels differ: check your chosen sailing before setting out. For trains, check access to the platforms and request any assistance in advance.

Official access information

Access information for wheelchair users and people with reduced mobility at 120 places on the lake.

  • Anglican Church of the Ascension, Cadenabbia

    Assistance dogs are welcome.

  • Antonia Pozzi's House and Poetry Trail, Pasturo

    The wash-house is reached by a narrow path along the Cariola stream.

  • Antonio Stoppani Monument, Lecco

    The monument is accessible to disabled visitors, with no architectural barriers.

  • Argegno–Pigra Cable Car

    The cable car is accessible to wheelchair users. The municipality of Pigra provides a shuttle between the lower and upper stations for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility,…

  • Baradello Castle

    The castle can only be reached on foot, a fifteen- to twenty-minute walk with a modest climb; the tower is entered by an outside staircase hanging about fifteen metres up, and the floors…

  • Barro Archaeological Museum and Piani di Barra, Galbiate

    The museum is on two floors, with a stairlift that takes wheelchairs down to the basement too, and it has accessible toilets.

  • Basilica of San Carpoforo

    The way in is through the door on the south side, as the façade has none. The presbytery sits above the crypt and is reached by two large stone staircases.

  • Basilica of San Fedele

    There are two steps at the entrance from Piazza San Fedele and a single low step at the side entrance on Via Vittorio Emanuele; inside, the aisles are free of obstacles, with one step up…

  • Basilica of San Giacomo

    There is one step at the façade entrance and two low steps at the one on the right side; seven steps lead up to the high altar and one to the side chapels. On the cobbled square alongside…

  • Basilica of San Nicolò, Lecco

    A ramp on the right of the façade leads into the basilica, bypassing the six steps of the main entrance.

  • Basilica of San Pietro al Monte

    The basilica can only be reached on foot, by mountain paths: the main one climbs about 350 metres in an hour's walk.

  • Basilica of Sant'Abbondio

    There are two steps at the main entrance and two low steps at the side entrance on Via Sant'Abbondio; inside, the aisles are free of obstacles, with one step up to the altar and another to…

  • Beata Vergine del Fiume, Mandello del Lario

    There are steps at the sanctuary entrance.

  • Broletto, Como

    The exhibition hall is on the first floor, reached by stairs or by lift.

  • Carcente Rural House Museum

    The museum, like the whole village of Carcente, is hard to get into and around for people with reduced mobility or impaired senses.

  • Castello dell'Innominato, Vercurago

    The climb from the Valletta to the fortress follows a woodland path with bends and zigzags. The Scala Santa to the hermitage is a flight of steps.

  • Castello di Vezio

    The paths up to the castle cannot be walked with a pushchair, and the way back down towards Olivedo is a cobbled mule track, steeper than the way up.

  • Castelvedro

    From Dervio you climb a steep but easy mule track through woods and chestnut groves, then a footpath: 182 metres of ascent.

  • Church and Museum of Blessed Serafino, Lecco

    The doorway is at street level; inside, a flight of stairs leads up to the nave.

  • Church of San Giorgio

    There are nine steps from the square up to the forecourt, which a double porphyry ramp on the left of the church bypasses, then one step to go in; inside, the nave is free of obstacles and…

  • Church of Sant'Antonio, Domaso

    The two side chapels and the presbytery are raised two steps.

  • Civico Museo Setificio Monti

    The entrance has no architectural barriers.

  • Como Cathedral

    In the facade, beside the central door that is almost always closed, there are two side doors 106 centimetres wide; the aisles can be visited without obstacles, and three steps lead up to…

  • Como–Brunate Funicular

    The funicular is accessible to wheelchair users.

  • Corenno Plinio

    Known as “the village of a thousand steps”, the hamlet is explored by stairways and flights of steps.

  • Fiumelatte

    The path to the spring starts at the top of a flight of steps and then runs along the hillside above the lake.

  • Giuseppe Garibaldi Historical Museum, Como

    The exhibition rooms are on the first floor of Palazzo Olginati; the offices and study rooms, on the second floor of Palazzo Giovio-Lucini, are reached by stairs or by lift.

  • Greenway del Lago di Como

    The route cannot be done in a wheelchair or with a pushchair: it often has cobbled stretches and steps.

  • Isola Comacina

    The Antiquarium, the island's museum on the mainland at Ossuccio, is accessible to people with motor disabilities.

  • Istituto Carducci and the Nobel Room

    The rooms of the Museo delle Scienze Casartelli are on the first floor of the building.

  • La Crocetta

    The detour to the Crocetta viewpoint is a narrow, steeply climbing path.

  • Lake Como Landscape Museum

    The museum is accessible to people with motor disabilities, with an alternative entrance and a lift.

  • Lido di Lenno, Tremezzina

    The footpath to the villa is uphill and partly on gravel.

  • Madonna del Ghisallo

    The sanctuary's entrance is wheelchair accessible, and so is the car park.

  • Madonna del Ghisallo Cycling Museum

    A ramp provides access to the entrance and exhibition rooms. The lift allows evacuation to a safe place in an emergency; accessible toilets are available.

  • Madonna della Pace, Nobiallo

    From the lakefront the way climbs about six hundred metres on asphalt and cobbles, with a few steps, then sixteen cobbled steps and a flight of forty-five with handrails up to the little…

  • Madonna di Breglia Sanctuary, Plesio

    The last stretch of the road up to the sanctuary is cobbled.

  • Madonna di San Martino Sanctuary, Valmadrera

    The sanctuary is not accessible to disabled visitors: it is reached on foot, along a road that follows the Via Crucis.

  • Menaggio Castle

    The climb up Via Castellino da Castello is made of steps, and the lane along the walls is cobbled.

  • Molino Maufet, Colico

    The museum visit covers the ground floor with the machinery. Access points and interior spaces are narrow; the upper floors are outside the visitor route.

  • Monte Barro

    The Monte Barro park has started a programme to open it to people with motor and sensory disabilities, with new lifts and a path that makes it easier to reach the Piani di Barra…

  • Monument to the Fallen

    The top is reached only by a steep, narrow staircase.

  • Museo Barca Lariana

    The museum is accessible to disabled visitors, with a lift and dedicated toilets.

  • Museo delle Grigne

    Every part of the museum is accessible, including to visitors with reduced mobility.

  • Museum of Milk and of the History of the Muggiasca, Vendrogno

    The four rooms of the dairy, with the permanent display, are on the ground floor.

  • Museum of the End of the War

    The museum is on the ground floor of Palazzo Manzi, reached from the courtyard by a ramp and a wrought-iron gate. A wide staircase leads to the upper floor and the Sala d'Oro.

  • Oratory of San Rocco, Moltrasio

    The oratory is on the ground floor.

  • Oratory of Santa Marta

    Three steps lead up into the oratory.

  • Orrido di Bellano

    The route has stairs and narrow passages, which is why pushchairs and wheelchairs are not allowed.

  • Our Lady of Fatima, Gera Lario

    The presbytery is two steps up.

  • Palazzo Belgiojoso

    The palace is fully accessible thanks to a large lift: visitors with reduced mobility use the step-free entrance at the back, asking the custodian for help.

  • Palazzo Cernezzi

    The offices are spread over four floors, served by stairs and lifts, and all of them are accessible to disabled visitors.

  • Palazzo delle Paure

    The palace is fully accessible to people with reduced mobility, thanks to two large lifts.

  • Palazzo Gallio

    The loggia is reached by eleven steps or by a platform lift beside the staircase. A lift links the palace's three floors, and the adapted toilet is on the lower floor. From the private car…

  • Paolo Giovio Archaeological Museum, Como

    The exhibition rooms are on the ground and first floors of the Giovio-Lucini and Olginati palaces. The offices and the study rooms for the finds, on the second floor of Palazzo…

  • Pescarenico, Lecco

    The walking and cycle route along the Adda passes through Pescarenico and is mostly level.

  • Pian di Spagna Reserve

    The route from the Trivio di Fuentes to the mouth of the Adda is a flat dirt road about three metres wide, with a beaten-earth surface marked by bumps and hollows. Halfway along there is a…

  • Piana di San Tomaso, Valmadrera

    The plateau is not accessible to disabled visitors.

  • Piazza Garibaldi, Lecco

    The square is accessible to disabled people, with no architectural barriers.

  • Piazza Manzoni and the monument, Lecco

    There are no architectural barriers on the approach to the monument.

  • Pinacoteca Civica, Palazzo Volpi

    Ramps and a lift make the museum accessible to people with reduced mobility or using a wheelchair. Wheelchair users go in by a ramp through the door to the right of the main entrance,…

  • Piona Abbey

    There are four steps at the abbey entrance, which a ramp with a 13 per cent gradient bypasses; then two steps into the church, which is free of obstacles inside, and more steps to the…

  • Rezzonico village and castle

    Flights of steps run through the village between the castle and the lake, with houses opening onto them.

  • Riccardo Villa Botanical Garden, Valmadrera

    The main entrance on Via Fatebenefratelli is free of architectural barriers, with disabled parking a few metres away; the paths are gravel, so a wheelchair can get around, but with more…

  • Roman baths of Como

    The baths are visited along a route of raised walkways.

  • Sacro Monte of Ossuccio

    The Via Sacra, about a kilometre on foot, has demanding climbs of 16 to 34 per cent on cobbles and paving that are uneven in places.

  • San Bartolomeo, Domaso

    The presbytery is raised by four steps. Besides the main entrance on Piazza Chiesa, there is a secondary one on the south side.

  • San Benedetto in Val Perlana

    The way up from Lenno is a cobbled track that climbs all the way and, near the monastery, becomes a narrow, steep path crossing the valley on a wooden bridge.

  • San Giorgio, Mandello

    The church, on the Sentiero del Viandante, is accessible to disabled visitors.

  • San Giovanni, Bellagio

    From the Piazza Don Miotti car park, which has two disabled spaces, the way to the church is on cobbles and paving. There are four steps at the entrance; inside there are no obstacles,…

  • San Lorenzo, Mandello del Lario

    The church is accessible to disabled visitors.

  • San Martino, Perledo

    The church can be reached on foot only.

  • San Martino, Pianello del Lario

    The lakeside walk from Musso to Cremia passes beside the church. The route is almost level, on unpaved ground and porphyry paving.

  • San Miro al Monte Hermitage, Canzo

    The road up to the hermitage, beyond Gajum, is cobbled and easy going.

  • San Miro, Sorico

    The route up from Sorico follows paved steps and a sloping mule track towards the church.

  • San Nicolao Arte Contemporanea, Bellano

    The temporary exhibitions are on the ground floor, Danilo Vitali's works on the first floor.

  • San Nicolò bell tower

    The bell chamber is reached by climbing 396 steps. There is no lift.

  • San Vincenzo, Gera Lario

    The entrance avenue to the church is cobbled.

  • San Vincenzo, Gravedona

    The walk through the centre of Gravedona, which starts at the little harbour and passes the sacred precinct where San Vincenzo stands beside Santa Maria del Tiglio, is easy going and…

  • San Vito, Cremia

    The lakeside walk from Musso to Cremia, which runs as far as the church, is almost level, on dirt road and porphyry paving, and suitable for pushchairs too.

  • Sant'Agata, Moltrasio

    The forecourt, at the end of a gravel avenue of cypresses, is reached by three and then five steps, with two more at the entrance; inside, the church is free of obstacles, with two steps…

  • Sant'Agostino, Como

    The church stands at the top of a flight of steps.

  • Sant'Andrea, Brunate

    The main spaces, the altar and the sacristy are accessible; there are steps up to the choir.

  • Sant'Antonio Abate, Valmadrera

    There is a ramp in front of the entrance, built in the 1990s.

  • Sant'Eufemia, Musso

    Reaching the church means walking along a footpath.

  • Santa Maria and Museum of Sacred Art, Scaria

    The museum is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility.

  • Santa Maria del Tiglio

    The walk from Gravedona's little harbour past the church is easy going and suitable for people with reduced mobility too.

  • Santa Maria delle Grazie, Gravedona

    From the car park on Via San Gusmeo the way climbs about fifty metres on cobbles, with a strip of paving. There are eight steps at the main entrance and five at the side one. Inside, the…

  • Santa Maria delle Grazie, Varenna

    There is one low step at the entrance, from a forecourt of compacted porphyry; inside, one more step leads up to the altar.

  • Santa Marta, Carate Urio

    The church is reached up a flight of steps lined by the fourteen chapels of the Via Crucis.

  • Santi Giacomo e Filippo, Ossuccio

    The nave lies lower than the entrance.

  • Santi Gusmeo e Matteo, Gravedona

    The church is reached from the centre of Gravedona by a cobbled flight of steps; the route, which carries on uphill to Santa Maria delle Grazie, is unsuitable for disabled visitors because…

  • Santi Martino e Agata, Moltrasio

    There are no architectural barriers at the entrance.

  • Santi Pietro e Paolo, Dervio

    There are no architectural barriers.

  • Santi Quirico e Giulitta, Dervio

    There are no architectural barriers.

  • Santo Stefano and the Lenno Baptistery

    The eleventh-century crypt beneath the church is reached by two symmetrical stairways on either side of the nave.

  • Santo Stefano, Menaggio

    There are five steps at the main entrance. The side door on Via Caronti, on the left flank, leads step-free into the side aisle, and a short ramp goes up to the nave. Two steps lead up to…

  • Scanagatta Ornithological Museum, Varenna

    The museum is entered through the tourist office, by an automatic door after a low threshold and a low step; a lift serves all three floors, and the adapted toilet is on the second floor.

  • Silk Museum

    The museum is one floor below street level, reached by a 25-metre ramp. Disabled visitors can drive up to the entrance.

  • Tempio Voltiano

    Thanks to a lift, people with reduced mobility or using a wheelchair can visit the exhibition rooms safely and on their own.

  • Torre dei Lafranconi, Rongio

    The tower is not accessible to disabled visitors.

  • Torre del Barbarossa, Maggiana

    The tower's rooms are spread over several floors. The toilets are on the ground floor.

  • Torre di Fontanedo

    The tower, built for defence, can only be entered at first-floor level.

  • Val Sanagra Museum and Park

    Thanks to the lift, the museum can be visited in a wheelchair, except the Diorama Room and the Ethnographic Room, which can be seen on video.

  • Villa Bertarelli, Galbiate

    In front of the villa there is a large car park with four spaces reserved for disabled visitors and an automatic double gate; the Centro Flora Autoctona is entered by a short ramp, and…

  • Villa Camilla, Domaso

    The entrance hall and some rooms are on the ground floor; the upper floor is reached by a staircase.

  • Villa Carlotta

    Most of the park is accessible to people with a motor disability, although several paths climb: two lifts in the garden and gravel-stabilising grids on the paths help those who find…

  • Villa Cipressi Gardens

    The garden is only partly accessible to disabled visitors: it steps down to the lake in flights of stairs and terraces.

  • Villa del Balbianello

    The villa and park are partly accessible to people with reduced mobility or using a wheelchair; the villa's staff should be told before the visit.

  • Villa Erba

    Villa Erba is accessible to disabled visitors.

  • Villa Gomes, Lecco

    The building housing the music library and Sala Brasilia has architectural barriers.

  • Villa Manzoni

    The Museo Manzoniano is on the villa's ground floor.

  • Villa Melzi Gardens

    The gardens are accessible to disabled visitors.

  • Villa Monastero

    Some parts of the botanical garden are not accessible to disabled visitors: at the entrance an avenue runs downhill and has to be climbed again on the way back, the second part has steps,…

  • Villa Olmo

    The villa and the park are partly accessible to disabled visitors.

  • Villa Pizzo, Cernobbio

    The park extends over several terraces, with flights of steps and narrow passages.

  • Villa Serbelloni Park

    Of the roughly two-hour guided visit, the first hour is uphill.

  • Visconti Tower, Lecco

    The tower is not accessible to people with reduced mobility: the first floor, where the exhibitions are, is reached only by a staircase with a handrail.

  • Volta Lighthouse

    A long flight of steps leads to the viewing terrace; the platform at the top is reached by the spiral staircase inside, 143 steps.

  • Votive lighthouse, Gera Lario

    The lakefront path connects the lighthouse with the harbour square.

Places

Wheelchair access, place by place.

Piers

Access to the pier, not to the boat.

Vessel accessibility and boarding assistance: Navigazione Laghi.

Stations

Access to the platforms; assistance at the station is booked in advance.

Assistance for wheelchair users must be requested before the journey from Trenord.

Accessible tourist offices

Where you can get in to ask.

Accessible public toilets

Public toilets with information on wheelchair access and distance from places to visit.

  • Basilica of San Giacomo147 m away
  • Bellagio28 m away
  • Bellano-Tartavalle Terme26 m away
  • Cernobbio244 m away
  • Lecco50 m away
  • Menaggio131 m away
  • Monument to the Fallen112 m away
  • Museo Barca Lariana145 m away
  • Piona Abbey53 m away
  • Tempio Voltiano77 m away
  • Varenna97 m away
  • Victoria Beach30 m away
  • Villa del Balbianello39 m away
  • Villa Erba154 m away
  • Villa Manzoni219 m away
  • Villa Serbelloni Park92 m away

In the villages

Public toilets with information on wheelchair access, village by village.

Data source

Access data updated: 24 September 2026 · OpenStreetMap.