Como · Cernobbio · Brunate
Como and the First Basin
Como, the funicular to Brunate and the villas along the shore as far as Argegno.
From Milan 40 min
Understanding Lake Como
Lake Como is shaped like a Y, forty-six kilometres long. Six areas, from Como and Lecco at the foot of the two branches to the upper lake.
The six areas
Bellagio · Varenna · Menaggio
Centro Lago — the Heart of the Lake
Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio, linked to one another by ferry.
From Milan 1 h 25
Gravedona ed Uniti · Domaso · Colico
The Upper Lake
The upper lake, north of Menaggio: beaches, sailing and the nearby Alps.
From Milan 1 h 35
Lecco · Mandello del Lario · Lierna
The Lecco Branch
The eastern branch: the Grigne above the lake and a train that stops in almost every village.
From Milan 45 min
Bellagio · Nesso
The Lariano Triangle
The mountains between the lake's two branches: trails, the Ghisallo and the gorges.
From Milan 1 h 15
Argegno · Lanzo d'Intelvi
Val d'Intelvi and the Western Balconies
The valley above Argegno, between Lake Como and Lake Lugano, on the Swiss border.
From Milan 1 h 20
46 km
North to south
410 m
Maximum depth
170 km
Of shoreline
54
Comuni on the water
The areas on the map
Como and Lecco, at the ends of the lake's two southern branches, are far apart: to get from one branch to the other you cross the lake in the centre or go round the Triangolo Lariano. It is worth bearing in mind before you book.
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Como and the First Basin
The first basin is the southern part of the Como branch, from the city up to Argegno. Como, a city of about eighty thousand people, lies at the end of the lake between two ridges that drop steeply to the water; along the shores villas follow one another, many of them from the nineteenth century. From Milan the train takes about forty minutes.
- Best for
- Arriving and leaving without a car
- A first or last night, close to Milan and Malpensa
- Architecture, silk, museums
- How long to stay
- 1–2 nights, or as your gateway
- Less suited to
- Anyone looking for beaches and open water: here the lake is narrow and deep, and the shore is lined mostly with private villas and gardens.
Journey times
- From Milan40 min
- From Como—
- From Lecco1 h 05
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Centro Lago — the Heart of the Lake
The centre of the lake is where it divides into the Como and Lecco branches. On all three shores there are villas with gardens running down to the water, and the ferries link one village to the next in about fifteen minutes. So you can stay a few nights without a car and see all three shores by boat.
- Best for
- A first visit to Lake Como
- Travelling without a car
- Historic villas and gardens
- Couples, photography, boat trips
- How long to stay
- 3–4 nights
- Less suited to
- Anyone who wants to get about by car: the centres of Bellagio and Varenna are limited-traffic zones.
Journey times
- From Milan1 h 25
- From Como1 h
- From Lecco50 min
Places in this area
The Upper Lake
North of Menaggio the lake widens and the mountains draw back from the shore. In fair weather the Breva blows up the lake from the south in the afternoon, which is why Domaso and Gera Lario are centres for windsurfing and kitesurfing. There are also several Romanesque churches here, and campsites on the lakeshore.
- Best for
- Windsurfing, kitesurfing, sailing
- Swimming and spending whole days in the water
- Cycling and bike touring towards the Valtellina
- Family trips
- How long to stay
- 3–5 nights
- Less suited to
- Anyone wanting the villas of the central lake within walking distance: from here they are far away, and reaching them takes time.
Journey times
- From Milan1 h 35
- From Como1 h 20
- From Lecco55 min
Places in this area
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The Lecco Branch
On the eastern branch the mountains drop steeply to the lake: these are the limestone walls of the Grigne and the Resegone. The Sentiero del Viandante runs along the hillside along the eastern shore, from Lecco to Sorico, and the railway stops in almost every village. Manzoni set The Betrothed here, in Lecco and the villages around it.
- Best for
- Hiking and via ferrata
- Rail travellers
- Swimming at the beaches of Abbadia and Lierna
- Engines, industry, twentieth-century history
- How long to stay
- 2–4 nights
- Less suited to
- Anyone coming mainly for historic villas and gardens: there are few here, and the best known are in the centre of the lake.
Journey times
- From Milan45 min
- From Como1 h 05
- From Lecco—
Places in this area
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The Lariano Triangle
The Triangolo Lariano is the mountain country between the Como and Lecco branches, with Bellagio at its tip: a wooded upland rising to the 1,682 metres of Monte San Primo. It draws cyclists, whose chapel is the Madonna del Ghisallo, and walkers who want the mountains while staying half an hour from the lake.
- Best for
- Road cycling and bike touring
- Walks looking down both branches at once
- Going up high on hot August days
- Anyone with a car who wants to use it well
- How long to stay
- 1–2 nights, or as a day out from Bellagio
- Less suited to
- Anyone travelling without a car: buses inland are few.
Journey times
- From Milan1 h 15
- From Como45 min
- From Lecco40 min
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Val d'Intelvi and the Western Balconies
From Argegno a cable car climbs in six minutes to Pigra, about six hundred and fifty metres higher. Behind it opens the Val d'Intelvi, the valley linking Lake Como to Lake Lugano, from which for three centuries stuccoists and architects left to work all over Europe.
- Best for
- High viewpoints without hours of walking
- Easy walks and families
- Sleeping in the valley, half an hour from the lake
- How long to stay
- 1–2 nights, or half a day out of Argegno
- Less suited to
- Anyone who wants to stay by the water: from here the lake is seen from above, hundreds of metres below.
Journey times
- From Milan1 h 20
- From Como35 min
- From Lecco1 h 25
Places in this area
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