In June last year, we spent a long weekend in Lake Como, as part of our long trip around Italy and without any doubt it was one of the best parts of our trip.

Lake Como is a famous destination, near Milan and it’s not difficult to reach from any main city in Europe. We’ve rented a car in Milan aiport and drove to Lake Como since it’s the easiest way, but you can also use public tranport and take the train in Milan to the city of Como and then the ferry from the city of Como to one of the lake-side villages.

Here’s our TOP 5 for Lake Como

Ferry Tour to the Lake-side Villages

One of the best things to do when visiting Lake Como is to visit other lake-side villages by ferry. The most visited villages are Tremezzo, Cadenabbia, Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna, but there are many more. The price of the ticket to visit the five villages mentioned above including Villa Carlotta is about 23€ and it can go up to 28€ if you want to visit all the villages.

We had just one day to do the tour so we’ve chosen the most recommended and also the closest villages to Bellagio, since it was where we’re located. You need at least a full day to see these villages and even with one day you’ll only be able to visit them superficially.

Bellagio

Bellagio is known as the Pearl of the lake due to its position on the tip of the peninsula and is the most beautiful village in Lake Como; so if you have the chance to stay there, do not even think twice. Bellagio has plenty of nice restaurants and stores, it’s nice to walk around centre and visit Porticciolo della Punta. We stayed in Hotel Silvio, a beautiful hotel with breathtaking views to the lake and near Villa Melzi Gardens, we really loved it.

Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo

Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo was conceived by a rich italian family in the XVIII century and later on the XIX century was bought by Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, as a wedding gift to her daughter Carlotta, on occasion of her marriage.

It’s a beatuful property with amazing gardens. In the inside it’s a museum where visitors can see the art collection and the rooms of the princess.

The price of the visit is 10€ per adult and visitors can choose from the extended tour around the gardens or the fastest route, depending on the time available.

There’s a ferry stop in the front of Villa Carlotta so we recommend you to stop there, visit the villa and then take the next ferry from Tremezzo, this way you ensure you visit Tremezzo as well.

Villa Melzi Gardens in Bellagio

Villa Melzi is a historic villa situated in the town of Bellagio near Hotel Silvio. The gardens of the villa are incredible and the garden’s architecture and sculptures are really nice.

You can walk from Hotel Silvio to the centre of Bellagio through Villa Melzi Gardens, it’s actually an amazing walk and this way you kill two birds with one stone.

A single ticket costs 6,50€ and a two-days pass 8,00€ so if you stay in Hotel Silvio two-days pass is much recommended as you can walk in and out during two days.

Visit city of Como for lunch

We had lunch in the city of Como in our last day before we returned to Milan. It’s a beautiful city, a proper city actually with much more infraestructure than the lake-side villages but we don’t recommend you to stay there. It’s nice to visit, to have lunch there and then walk around the centre. It has beautiful monuments and nice restaurants but it’s good for just half-day.