Upper Lake
Gravedona ed Uniti
A Romanesque church on the water and the historic capital of the Tre Pievi.
The Upper Lake
The upper lake, north of Menaggio: beaches, sailing and the nearby Alps.
- How long to stay
- 3–5 nights
- From Milan
- 1 h 35
- From Como
- 1 h 20
- From Lecco
- 55 min
- Places
- 7
- LauraPiatti · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kaitu · CC0
- Pymouss · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Torsade de Pointes · CC0
- Kaitu · CC BY 4.0
- Superpainik StudioThe original uploader was Ominotondo at Italian Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0
- Corradox · CC BY-SA 4.0
Character
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.
This is the part of the lake for water sports. The shores are more often open to the public: there are beaches where you can get into the water or set off on a board, and campsites a few steps from the lake. Behind it open the Valchiavenna and the Valtellina.
Wide horizons, reed beds and the Pian di Spagna reserve, the profile of Monte Legnone, sails and kites on the water by mid-afternoon.
On the map
© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Places in this area
Upper LakeDomaso
An upper-lake village with a long beach and areas for sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing.
Upper LakeColico
A railway junction between Lake Como, the Valtellina and the Valchiavenna.
Upper LakeDongo
A wide lakefront, the old ironworks and the Museum of the End of the War.
Upper LakeMusso
A village on the western shore of the upper lake, below the Sasso di Musso, the marble quarry whose stone faces Como cathedral.
Upper LakeSorico
The last village on the lake, where the Mera flows into it: a village of the Tre Pievi below San Miro, with Dascio on the water and the Pian di Spagna reserve.
Things to see
Santo Stefano, Sorico
Sorico's parish church, begun in 1443 beside a massive square bell tower and remade in the eighteenth century for the Giulini family, with a Musso marble doorway, a Renaissance triptych and the altar of 1766.
15–30 min
San Biagio, Musso
Musso's parish church, founded in the twelfth century as Santi Nazaro e Celso and rebuilt in 1507 in Lombard Romanesque style: a nave and two aisles separated by columns of white Musso marble, lunettes with the life of Saint Blaise and the bell tower of 1730 on the road.
15–30 min
Santa Maria del Tiglio
Gravedona's Romanesque church on the lakeshore, in bands of white and black stone, with the bell tower rising from the middle of the facade.
30–45 min
Piona Abbey
An abbey on the Olgiasca peninsula near Colico, with a thirteenth-century cloister and a community of Cistercian monks.
45 min – 1 h 30
Fort Fuentes
The Spanish fort that closed the valleys above the Pian di Spagna, dismantled by Napoleon's troops.
1 h – 1 h 30
Church of Sant'Antonio, Domaso
An early seventeenth-century church in the centre of Domaso, on the old Friars' square: a nave with two corridors running round it, a roof of Valmalenco stone slabs and a small bell gable.
5–15 min
Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime
Dongo's sanctuary, with the Last Supper and Crucifixion groups carved in wood in the seventeenth century by Fra Diego Giurati.
20–40 min
Palazzo Gallio
Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio's palace of the four towers, on a spur of rock above the lake at Gravedona.
20–40 min
Experiences
Upper Lake
Wind and board on the upper lake
Windsurfing, kitesurfing and sailing on the upper lake, where the Breva can strengthen in settled weather.
3 h – 5 hCar needed
Upper Lake
By bike on the upper lake
Almost level cycle and foot paths between the Pian di Spagna, Lake Mezzola and the Valtellina, with the train to bring you back.
3 h – 7 h27.5 km · +71 m
Upper Lake
Birdwatching at the Pian di Spagna
Ducks in winter and migrants in spring and autumn, in the reserve where the Adda flows into the lake.
2 h – 4 hCar neededOpen access
Upper Lake
The Romanesque of the upper lake
Four eleventh- and twelfth-century churches in twenty kilometres of shore.
3 h – 5 hCar neededOpen access
Events
Until2Nov
Fiera dei Morti
On 1 and 2 November the centre of Sorico fills with stalls, with the livestock area that tradition requires.
The centre of Sorico
21Nov
Colico Christmas markets
Christmas stalls on Piazza Garibaldi, by the lake, at weekends and on holidays until after Epiphany.
Piazza Garibaldi, Colicountil 10 January 2027
7Dec
Christmas in the heart of Gravedona ed Uniti
The nativity trail through the whole village, the lakefront lit up and the “1000 luci sul lago” on Christmas Eve, from early December to Epiphany.
The nativity trail through the village and the lakefront, Gravedona ed Unitiuntil 6 January 2027Indicative dates
30Dec
Year-end concert
On 30 December, in the hall of Palazzo Gallio in Gravedona, a symphony orchestra and a toast to the new year.
Palazzo Gallio, Via Regina Levante 2, Gravedona ed UnitiIndicative dates
Indicative dates follow the annual recurrence and should be confirmed with the organiser.
The other areas
- First BasinComo, the funicular to Brunate and the villas along the shore as far as Argegno.
- Centro LagoBellagio, Varenna and Menaggio, linked to one another by ferry.
- Lecco BranchThe eastern branch: the Grigne above the lake and a train that stops in almost every village.
- The TriangleThe mountains between the lake's two branches: trails, the Ghisallo and the gorges.
- Val d'IntelviThe valley above Argegno, between Lake Como and Lake Lugano, on the Swiss border.