Two daysTwo days in the centre of the lake
Three shores, four gardens, and never more than twenty minutes of ferry.
Public transport
Lake Como in 24 hours
1day4stops
- Suggested base
- Varenna, as a day trip from Milan
- Transport
- Public transport
- Pace
- Balanced
- Best season
- Spring · Summer · Autumn
- Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Deensel · CC BY 2.0
A day between Varenna and Bellagio combines walks through the two villages, gardens and a crossing of the centre of the lake.
Varenna is just over an hour by train from Milano Centrale; continue to Bellagio by ferry. The crossing between the two shores takes a quarter of an hour.
Suited to
- Anyone with one day out of Milan
- A first visit
- Car-free travellers
Book ahead
- Nothing is essential, but buy the train ticket from Milan in advance.
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
Varenna and Bellagio, with the ferry in between
Two villages, two gardens and a ferry crossing, with walks between the stops.
Transfer: Train1 h 05· Milano Centrale → Varenna-Esino-Perledo
Morning
Arrive in Varenna and walk over the water
From the train you drop to the Lovers' Walk, pinned to the rock above the lake, and enter the village from below. Then Villa Monastero, whose botanical garden runs for almost two kilometres along the shore.
Lunch
Lunch in Varenna's little square
Piazza San Giorgio, above the old harbour, has the shade and the tables. It is also the moment to buy the ferry ticket if you have not already.
Transfer: Boat15 min
Afternoon
Ferry to Bellagio, Villa Melzi and Punta Spartivento
Fifteen minutes across and you land on the point that splits the lake. The Villa Melzi gardens are ten level minutes along the shore; Punta Spartivento is on the other side, another ten minutes, and from there the shape of the lake is clear at a glance.
Transfer: Boat15 min
Evening
Back at sunset
The ferry takes you back to Varenna in a quarter of an hour. From the pier to the station, which stands above the village, is a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk uphill, and the train reaches Milano Centrale in just over an hour.
Worth knowing
- The last evening ferry from Bellagio to Varenna changes with the season and leaves much earlier in winter: look it up in the Navigazione Laghi timetable before staying for sunset.
