All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Lake Como was formed about 10,000 years ago when an enormous glacier decided to budge, leaving a gaping cavity in the earth. The surrounding towns received an especially hearty influx of residents in 59 B.C. when Julius Caesar turned his eye toward colonizing the region, and over the ensuing two thousand-ish years, the area has been occupied by the Romans, the Goths, the Huns, the Longobards, the French, the Spanish, and the Austrians. But now, at least from early spring through late fall, it’s heavily occupied by tourists.
There are swarms of them, out for a taste of gelato, or a peek into one of the hulking historic villas perched beside the shoreline that date as far back as the sixteenth century. All of which you have likely seen splashed across the screen of one of your devices, whether it’s someone you didn’t really know in high school announcing an engagement from swanky hotel grounds, or Kourtney Kardashian posting a selfie from a private boat tour.
But there is so much more to Italy’s deepest lake than the conspicuously wonderful—no knock to lakeside Aperol cocktails, or the stately Italian men who captain the sleek Vaporina boats whisking tourists across the water. There are winding trails to walk and Semuda cheese to eat in thick slices. There are warm bowls of nutty polenta held together with finely grated cheese, Romanesque stone footbridges tucked into cobbled paths, and intimate restaurants up in the hills where the housemade pappardelle is equal parts tender and springy‚ where the roasted rabbit will force you to consider canceling your day for another carafe of the house wine. To truly get to know Lago di Como, take to some of these quietly stunning spots—and stay for a while.
All listings featured in this story are independently selected by our editors. However, when you book something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
How to get to Lake Como, and areas to know
Trains run multiple times throughout the day from Milan Malpensa Airport, and from downtown Milan. You could also rent a car at the airport and make the one-hour long drive, if you want to avoid renting a car in downtown Como, where the selection of vehicles with automatic transmission is limited. Should you prefer to forgo a rental car altogether, you can take the public ferry from the city of Como (where the train will leave you), to a number of larger towns around the lake, and from there, you can try your luck with the occasionally erratic public bus, or call for a water or land taxi.
The actual lake of Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down ‘Y.’ While there are certainly towns worth exploring on each of its flanks, the bottom half of the western shore, stretching roughly from Cernobbio up to Menaggio, is the most obviously cheerful, with sunny mornings and early afternoons, and tiny towns tucked off of the main road that runs all the way around the water.
The inner, western peninsula of the lake, from around Blevio to Lezzono, is also stunning in its own right, with villages perched higher into the cliffside, and which look down across the water between thickets of moody foliage. Should you visit Como to finish your novel, do it on this run of the shore. If you’re hoping to avoid especially dense areas, you’ll want to pick lodging outside of Bellagio, Lecco, downtown Como (the city), and Varenna, which won’t preclude you from exploring them via ferry or drive.
Lake Como off-the-beaten-path
A sunny summer day in Como should be spent beside a pool with a Campari spritz in-hand, or traversing the curves of the lake onboard some sort of aquatic vehicle. But should you find yourself facing off against dreaded rain with skies the color of cuttlefish ink risotto—not uncommon in the region—take a drive. Packing yourself into metal and plastic might seem wrong, but captaining the meandering route around the lake offers a look at the abundant flora of the region. Traffic can be heavy, but the epic rock faces and drop-offs you’ll find yourself loitering beside will force you to consider your speck-ish-ness like little else could.
Quench your thirst at any time of day in one of Lake Como’s tiny cafés or bars. At espresso hour, visit Da Luciano - Bottega e Caffe' in Laglio (skip the pastries) for a lakeside caffeine fix and provisions to go (don’t skip the charcuterie). A little later, use aperitivi as your ticket into the wraparound terrace at Grand Hotel Tremezzo, or the lakeside scene at MUSA Lago di Como. Or, if you’ve sipped enough gem-colored cocktails from excessively scenic armchairs to last you a lifetime, stop by Cantina Follie, tucked up a set of stairs off the main stretch of Tremezzina, for local wine and cheese.
If that gives you a taste for sampling the local fare, make a day of it. Latteria Alto Lario Lago di Como up in Dongo has a broad selection of goods from nearby cheesemakers for sale (ask for recommendations), and just a few minutes’ drive away, you can try regional wine and grappa by appointment at Sorsasso. There are also tons of agriturismi—farms with often rustic lodging—in the hills around each town, or a scenic drive away, where you can score things like homemade jam, milled grains, or in the case of Agriturismo Don Guanella in Valmadrera, beer made on the property.
Walk it off with a journalist-helmed tour of Lenno and Mezzegra, two historic towns on the western shore that encompass the site where Benito Mussolini was executed (call Paolo to book; +39 373 741 1607). Or take a solo walk up the Greenway, a ten kilometer trail stretching from Colonno to Griante. If you decide to stay on the inner peninsula, park in one of the public lots along the main road in Nesso, and walk down to the cobbled alley that abuts the lake. Follow it to the Romanesque bridge. Take the ferry to Varenna and walk through the gardens of Villa Monastero, home to a host of tropical palms, citrus trees, and fragrant botanical rarities. The garden and park at Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio is also worth a visit; aim to hit either garden earlier in the day, to avoid the thickets of fellow visitors.
Where to eat near Lake Como
For travelers who wish to dine away from the main strip of restaurants along the lake and bustling town corners, Il Gatto Nero (tucked just above Cernobbio) ticks every box, without demanding too much of a trek. Recommended to me first by local photographer Lilly Red, the charming hillside spot proffers a range of rich, meaty dishes, from a classic Milanese cutlet so crispy, cutting into it will make your ears twitch, to a plate of tortellini filled with braised meat and slicked down with a Barolo-butter-Parmesan bath. Erre, a cozy wood-walled dining room up a steed road, on the grounds of Italy’s second oldest golf course in Menaggio, offers a slimmer menu of more experimental fare, like fettuccine with beetroot, daikon, and capers. The dishes may seem at odds with the scenery (sweeping views of ancient lands, a crackling fireplace visible from most tables), but are delicious enough to override the dissonance. Not far off, in an equally cozy stone cottage, the family-run La Fagurida puts out spoon-tender roasted rabbit and grilled skewers of juicy meat best paired with a hearty red.
Further out of the way, Ristorante Crotto del Capraio in Pozzo—high above sea level with views of tiny sibling lake Annone—serves perfectly executed plates indicative of typical Lombardy cuisine, like pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese (short buckwheat tagliatelle with cabbage, potato, and cheese), grilled Missoltini (salted lake fish), and polenta uncia, which comes to the table warm, creamed with local mountain cheese, sage, and garlic, and crowned with melted butter. If you’re not too full, you can stroll down the adjacent path to the basilica of San Pietro al Monte once you’ve finished a few plates of apple strudel and panna cotta.
To immerse yourself in an imaginary game of being the dinner guest to a local nonna, concede all decision-making power to the rustic kitchen of Trattoria Pippi in Faggeto Lario. The set menu is 30 euros and often begins with a plate of cotechino—warm, thick-sliced salami–and polenta, before meandering into an enormous portion of pizzoccheri, then a plate full of braised bone-in meat and gravy-soaked potatoes, and finishing off with a plate of cakes and tarts made that day. Travelers from nearby Bergamo can be seen digesting in between courses with the aid of hand-rolled cigarettes outside the Trattoria in the stone square. Go for dinner on a cold fall night, and be prepared for the low-slung wooden beans and hissing fireplace to woo you into sticking around for a second round of after-dinner amaro.
If you prefer slightly more refined plating (and the illusion of control offered by a menu), head across the square from Trattoria Pippi to Ristorante Antica Molina instead; it’s a beautifully simple dining room on the second floor of a bed and breakfast with a wider selection of similar dishes. Begin with a stellar plate of local charcuterie (affettato misto) that includes ham and buffalo mozzarella—plus house pickles. Consider the tagliatelle with duck ragu, or the exemplary cheesy polenta. (Note: for Trattoria Pippi or Ristorante Antica Molina, park in the lot in front of Bar Pasticceria Tipi Tipici and walk up one of the narrow sets of stone steps, to the square.)
For lunch anywhere along the lake, do not sleep on piadine, a sort of Italian sandwich most similar to a flour tortilla quesadilla. You can get one at almost any bar or café, stuffed with oil-packed tuna and arugula and tomato, or with turkey and vinegary mayonnaise, and the best ones come hot with melty cheese inside and a crispy, flexible exterior.
Where to stay
If your budget is on the high end, post up at Passalacqua, the newest luxury hotel in town, which sits at the end of a narrow, winding road on the shore of Moltrasio. As a part of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo family, the restored 18th century super-villa offers impeccable service, vistas, and grounds—plus a bar cart that made me audibly gasp—with virtually no crowd. (It has only 24 rooms and a similar property footprint to the GHT, which has 90 rooms, so Passalacqua feels serene; though if you get lonely, you may visit the fuzzy chickens penned off to one side of the gardens, laying eggs for breakfast.)
For a moderate-to-high budget, if a remote and tranquil sanctuary appeals, consider Villa Lario, a contemporary hotel with 18 rooms tucked into the steep roadside midway between Como and Bellagio. Or if you’re after a sleek spot that allows you to explore by foot, book a room at MUSA Lago di Como, which opened on the shore of charming fisherman village Sala Comacina in June 2022. Its lakefront GAIA Bar has magical superpowers—it can convert work stress into another round of aperitivi in under ten minutes, flat—and a gracious patio with panoramic views from its comfy sofas. There are also plenty of private villas for rent, like the rustic-chic Villa Torno just a few minutes south of Villa Lario, or Villa Musa if you’re after the sunny western shore.
If you’re looking to spend less on lodging, count yourself fortunate if you can snag one of the three stylish rooms at Villa Lina, a bed and breakfast with a stellar location and the kindest owners. Each of its bedrooms is soothingly appointed in neutrals, with head-on views of the lake, and it is conveniently located on the walking path that connects each cluster of restaurants and bars in Tremezzo. For the intrepid, sporty traveler looking for chic-spartan lodging further north—Grand Central for windsurfing and other water sports, as well as some trekking routes—check out Casa Olea in Cremia, a minimalist joint newly opened in a restored 18th-century vicarage. (Come with a rental car, since there aren’t many options for dining nearby.) Or, for lavender-scented poolside slopes, make your way all the way up to Agriturismo Treterre, perched at the top of a looping road with a severe grade. Treterre offers scenic isolation and a landscape that basically forces your shoulders down from around your ears, with a restaurant that culls from the property’s farmland.
And if you do find yourself in need of a room in downtown Como, say to catch an early train, or because you prefer the convenience of staying within a city, book a room at Palazzo Albricci Peregrini, a 15th-century palace-turned-treasure chest of a boutique hotel with Venetian plaster walls, elegant furniture, and plush finishings well worth your time. Como is rife with people for good reason, after all.
