Two daysTwo days in the centre of the lake
Three shores, four gardens, and never more than twenty minutes of ferry.
Public transport
Two romantic days
The Bellagio headland on foot, the Balbianello at opening time, Villa Carlotta and an hour on the water before sunset.
2days8stops
- Suggested base
- Bellagio, two nights
- Transport
- Public transport
- Pace
- Relaxed
- Best season
- Spring · Autumn
- Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Guerinf · CC0
- Ray in Manila · CC BY 2.0
- Pomptidom · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Navin75 · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Daderot · Public domain
Two days based in Bellagio, without a car, arranged around the light. On the first day you walk the headland.
Early in the morning you go to Punta Spartivento, with the Como branch, the Lecco branch and the upper lake all in view. For lunch you cross the headland to Pescallo, the little harbour on the Lecco branch. In the afternoon you visit the gardens of Villa Melzi, with lawns down to the water and the Moorish pavilion. Before sunset you board a taxi boat for an hour, to see the villas from the lake, as they were designed to be seen. On the second day you cross to the western shore. You reach the Balbianello at opening time, by taxi boat from the Lido di Lenno; after lunch at Lenno, a bus takes you to Villa Carlotta in ten minutes. In the evening the ferry from Cadenabbia takes you back to Bellagio in ten minutes.
Suited to
- Couples
- Anniversaries and slow trips
- Anyone who prefers a few unhurried visits a day
- Anyone travelling without a car: you get about on foot, by boat, by taxi boat and once by bus
- Garden lovers: Villa Melzi, the Balbianello and Villa Carlotta in two days
Book ahead
- Accommodation in Bellagio, for two nights
- Villa del Balbianello: booking is required, on the villa's website
- The taxi boat from the Lido di Lenno to the Balbianello, once your entry is booked: it is booked with the operator, not with FAI
- The taxi boat for sunset
The stops, today
Open on the map
The route, stop by stop.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Download the route (GPX)Stops and track for Komoot, OsmAnd, Organic Maps or a Garmin.
The page as a printable document, with the route drawn on it: useful where there is no phone signal.
Add to your calendar
One event per day, with the day's plan. Import the file into a calendar app that supports the ICS format.Day by day
- Day 1
The headland, from dawn to dark
One village, walked at the right hours.
Morning
Punta Spartivento, early
Before nine the light comes from the east.
Transfer: On foot20 min
Lunch
Lunch at Pescallo
Twenty minutes on foot across the headland towards the Lecco branch.
Transfer: On foot15 min
Afternoon
Villa Melzi gardens
Open lawns down to the water and the neoclassical temple.
Evening
An hour on the water before sunset
The villas seen from the side they were built for.
- Day 2
Balbianello and the western shore
The Balbianello at opening time, Villa Carlotta in the afternoon and the crossing back.
Transfer: Boat12 min
Morning
Villa del Balbianello
You arrive by taxi boat from Lenno, at opening time.
Lunch
Lunch at Lenno
On the square, in the shade, before the ferry takes you back.
Transfer: Bus10 min
Afternoon
Villa Carlotta
Ten minutes north by bus. In April and May the park is in full flower.
Transfer: Boat10 min
Evening
The last crossing
Cadenabbia to Bellagio, ten minutes, with the light falling on the point.
Worth knowing
- Taxi boats are cancelled in rough water: keep a plan B on land. The Balbianello can also be reached on foot from the Lido di Lenno, a kilometre uphill, partly on gravel.
- The Balbianello closes on some days of the week even in the main season: put the second day on a day it is open.
- The plan is made for the garden season, from spring to autumn: in winter Villa Melzi is closed, and Villa Carlotta and the Balbianello open on only a few days or not at all.
- Check the time of the last crossing from Cadenabbia to Bellagio: it changes with the seasons, and in winter the last sailing leaves much earlier.
