floridagal23

Thanks, everyone. My husband wanted to visit the chocolate factory if possible if it is an easy trip. No huge pressure to do so. We thought it would be a matter of a train or ferry ride over and back.

We did consider Garda and I think we would enjoy it on a longer stay as we like hiking, biking, etc. This is a really quick trip.

We have a reservation at Serbelloni and are toying with the idea of staying at Villa D'Este instead based reviews. Both seem to be 'grand dames' with unrenovated rooms, Villa D'Este looked a bit more updated. Price isn't an issue. The grounds at Villa D'Este look nicer, but we hear Bellagio is a nicer overall area to stay. The town directly near Villa D'Este is small and we'd have to take a ferry or train or bus to Como, I imagine.

Our main requirements are ease of getting around to other towns on the ferries and ease of walking into a town for dinner.

Perche

You are unique in going to Bellagio before the tourist crowds come. You should take advantage of that. Most people have to go in July or August, when it is a tourism nightmare. You will basically have it to yourself and there are not many other times when you can say that.

The main problem that people have when they visit Italy is that they keep flittering around, trying to "do Venice," or "do Florence." In Italy, you don't "do," unless you are a photographer. You go to Italy to experience how special it is. Bellagio is a pretty darn special. The only problem is, it's usually too crowded. Everyone is trying to experience it in July and August. By going in late April you have a unique opportunity to see it before everyone else is there. However, keep in mind, it will be cold.

Forget the chocolate factories, and touristy stuff like that. Just go to Bellagio and walk around, take a ferry to anywhere, eat, drink wine, with no itinerary.

Perche

BTW: you can eat very well in Bellagio, eating good lake fish, if you know where to go.

jimi727

I wish I had seen this before I posted . My situation is very similar except I am going for a little over two weeks , in May . I will scratch Lugano off our list, based on this thread
Jerry

zkzkz

I didn't see this thread until after we booked in Lecco. How does Lecco compare with Varenna? What is there to see or do in Lecco?

This is just a 2-night stop on the way from Switzerland to Venice for us but a chance to relax and recover between two large cities. We're not necessarily looking for any busy activities, just nice places to walk and do some relaxed sightseeing of old architecture or nature.

That said, is Belaggio so remarkable that it's worth a quick trip over just to see it? Or will we find ourselves busy enough in Lecco and environs? This is in September, so I'm not sure how busy Belaggio is then or whether there's a ferry from Lecco or we would have to take a train to catch a ferry (we'll probably be sick of trains by then though).

Perche

Lecco is an ugly industrial city. It's the first lake city that the train from Milan goes to. People have been known to turn around and go back to Milan after they get a bad opinion about Lake Como from seeing Lecco. I would not stay there. It has a decent downtown plaza, and that's it. It can't be compared to Varenna or Bellagio. It's apples to oranges. Varenna and Bellagio or picturesque alpine lake towns. Lecco is not.

floridagal23

I thought I would post an update. Our trip was great. We flew into Milan and our driver drove us to Villa Deste where we stayed for two nights. One day we walked around Como town and Cernobbio and the other we took the ferries and made stops at Bellagio etc. Villa Deste is of course stunning. We ended up enjoying the grounds for a half day rather than doing more exploring and it is beautiful. Then same driver drove us into Milan and we stayed for two nights and enjoyed the city. Took the train back to the airport. Easy! We did skip Lugano. Public transport wasn't easy and not worth the cost of a driver. Thanks for all the recommendations.

calville

Hi Perche and others- can anyone recommend 3-4 restaurants in Bellagio? We are staying at Serbelloni but not eating at Mistral- will try their more casual restaurant, La Goletta one night. Alle Darsene di Loppia gets good reviews but turned off by some photos of beef tartare and raw shellfish on top of risotto. Bilacus sounds OK but some prefer the more casual San Giacomo in this group. Terrazza Barchetta sounds pretty good. The view at Punto sounds better than the food. I don't know why I'm ruminating so much over this but I'm getting confused by reviews and recently had a very poor experience in Paris asking a concierge for recommendations. I'm a pescatarian- husband eats everything. Any suggestions most appreciated! I will look into Cavatappi. Thanks.

sydunipete

It's great to see this old thread resurrected. Como is far less touristic than Bellagio. Como has a quaint old centre. Bellagio is great if you're able bodied enough to cope with numerous stairs but expect tourist offerings and prices. Varenna is one of the prettier towns on the lake and yes, Lecco is a city with less attractions except for the old centre and lake front. Mandello del Lario is lovely. The old Mandello Basso is historic and beautiful on the water and just a bit off the tourist trodden path. If you're into motorbikes Mandello is the home of Moto Guzzi and the museum is free and easy to tour even if the open times are a bit restrictive.

To every visitor I recommend a day trip of Isola Comacina. (Google will give you their website.) It offers a set menu that hasn't changed in about 60 years. It's fantastic food and entertaining with magnificent views of the lake. You can get there by public ferry easily from Varenna, Bellagio or Como (and others) and also by private speedboat if you want the whole nine yards. This is a must.

calville

Thanks for the Isola Comacina recommendation- sounds like it could be fun but a long drawn out affair? Would you recommend a stop there instead of Varenna for lunch? We probably wouldn't do both. We're hiring a private water taxi for 3 or so hrs.

sydunipete

It takes a couple of hours and it would be a shame to rush. I always get the public ferries from Varenna - I booked a charter boat for an outing once with a big group but the ferries are much more cost effective and you still see the same lake.. The Island is unique so that would be my recommendation unless you're travelling in off season when the schedule is more difficult.

You can get timetable information here :

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/Risultati.aspx?lake=como