A Lake Como tour from Milan Centre is really easy to plan and a fantastic addition to your city break. The lake is huge with an area of 146 square km making it is the third largest lake in Italy. You are probably wondering which part you should visit?! How do you get there? How much will it cost?! I will cover everything you need to know in this post.

 The middle section of Lake Como is known as the “Golden Triangle” – made up of three lake side towns; Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio. This is definitely the most picturesque part of the lake and a good starting point to your day trip. Trains run regularly between Milan and Varenna, so this is a great option for the start of your trip. Alternatively get the train to Como, the largest town on the lake. Located on the southern tip of the most westerly fork, there is a lot to explore here. Arguably not as picturesque as the towns in the Golden triangle but it has many more restaurants, bars and things to do. Also note that in winter months there will be a lot more going on in Como compared to the smaller towns of the Golden Triangle.

 You are going to want to arrive in Varenna as early as possible. A lake Como tour from Milan is going to be a long and busy day, so the earlier you start the better. The first train from Milan leaves at 06:20 and gets you into Varenna at 07:24. If you are looking to enjoy the town with no crowds, this will be your best option. There wasn’t a chance in the world of us getting up and ready that early. We had planned to get the 08:20 train but even that proved too difficult, and we ended up on the 09:20 train arriving in Varenna at 10:24. We visited in October so were able to easily buy tickets on the day.

Varenna is beautifully pictureque from the moment you step off the train. The station has a beautiful mountainous backdrop with lots of brightly coloured flowers and perfectly pruned trees. It was even more beautiful than I imagined. There are signs indicating where to go for the “Ferry Boat” and the swarm of people leaving the train will all be heading in that direction.

 

 What to do in Varenna

 First buy your boat tickets to your next stop.

Once you have your ticket, take the lake side walk way to the Centre of Varenna. A great place to take some photos as you pass ornate walls, colourful blooms of flowers and fantastic lake views.

 

Get a lakeside coffee

We stopped by the lake to have a coffee, some croissants and just take in where we were. To save money we didn’t want to eat any meals in restaurants whilst here, but by enjoying a coffee and pastry, we got to experience sitting at a table, next to the lake, and feeling a little bougie for half an hour.

 

Piazza San Giorgio

Walk towards Piazza San Giorgio, the centre of Varenna. The Piazza is overlooked by the church of San Giorgio, a 14th century church. Explore the cobblestone alleyways leading too and from this Piazza. There is a little beach by the Hotel Royal Victoria, a great place to go for a swim in the warmer months.

Villa Monastero

Lake Como is famous for its villas, and this is the one to see in Varenna. Explore its ornate botanical gardens and enjoy the beautiful views over the lake, be aware it is only open between March and November.

 

If you are planning on travelling on to Como after Bellagio, head to the ticket office on arrival in Bellagio. There is a ticket office as you get off the boat, don’t wait in this queue as it is the wrong counter. You want to follow the lake round into the busier area of town where you will find another ticket counter opposite the Hotel du Lac. There are both fast and slow boats between Bellagio and Como. The fast boat takes around 45 minutes and will cost €14.80 during the week. The slow boat takes 2 hours and will cost €10.40 in the week. We got the fast boat as we were limited on time. The boats leave every hour, with a 2 hour gap between some services. The most ideal time was sold out, so we ended up leaving Bellagio a little earlier than we’d have liked. I have attached the fast boat timetable from our visit below.

 

 

 

Visit the botanical gardens of Villa Melzi

One of the most popular attractions in Bellagio, villa Melzi was built in the early 19th century as the summer residence of Francesco Melzi d’Eril, vice president of the Italian Republic. Although the villa is closed to the public, you can still enjoy its impressive gardens. Tickets to enter the gardens are €8 and children aged 11 and under enter for free. The ticket allows entrance to the gardens, chapel and museum. The gardens are open between March – November and close during the winter months.

 

Take the tourist train

Probably best for those with children, but a great way to see more of Bellagio with a short amount of time. Our son Leo was getting a little bit bored but the “choo choo train” definitely cheered him up! It is €5 for adults and €2.50 for children age 3-12 and takes 30 minutes to do the full circuit. You can get on and off (it stops by the Melzi Gardens which I mentioned above) or just enjoy the whole route. You can pay with card or cash and it departs close to where you got off the boat from Varenna.

 

Get a street food lunch by the lake!

As I mentioned earlier, we are on a tight budget and so decided we weren’t going to eat at a restaurant. There is a street food stall close to where you will get the tourist train which is a fantastic cheap alternative. Panini’s were €5 and a margarita pizza was €3.50. A bottle of Peroni was €3.50 or €4 for an Aperol Spritz. There are a few benches around there looking out onto the lake, I would argue a much better (and budget friendly) experience than sitting in a fancy overpriced restaurant!

 We headed to the pier fifteen minutes before the boat was due to depart Bellagio and already a big queue had formed. The fast boat requires everyone to be seated so you will get a seat whether you are the first or last on. The service was very fast and actually only took around 40 minutes. Our son was able to stay sleeping in his pram and I simply parked it up next to where I was sat. We stopped at a few other towns en route and enjoyed some lovely views of the lake.

 Take the Funicular to Brunate

The entrance to this is pretty close to where you will get off of the ferry, so a good first activity. The Como-Brunate Funicular has operated since 1894 and connects Como to the town of Brunate. It is used by both locals and tourists. It runs every 30 minutes and the journey only takes around 7 minutes. It is just under €6 for the return trip so is a great budget friendly activity. Once in Brunate you will get to enjoy panoramic views of the lake.

 

Visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Como Cathedral)

The cathedral is located in the spectacular Piazza Duomo within Como town. This is a lovely place to walk around and maybe stop for a bite to eat. The cathedral is magnificent and said to be one of the most important religious buildings in northern Italy. Further into town you have ‘The Basilica of San Fedel’ which is also worth checking out.

 

Explore Villa Olmo

Set this as your destination but walk along the lake front passing Tempio Voltiano, a museum and impressive building and a World War 1 memorial. There are some little beaches to stop by and admire the views. It is a lovely walk allowing you to enjoy the cities best side.

 

After visiting Villa Olmo it was getting late so we started walking back towards the San Giovanni train station to get our train back to Milan. En route we passed a kebab shop and spent €12 on our dinner for us all. Not very Italian, but we are on a tight budget and just needed our bellies filling!