The BEST Things to Do in Lake Como

My husband and I spent 2 days in Lake Como, Italy. We visited in the month of September, so it was a little on the chilly side. I would love to go back during spring/summer when all the flowers are in full bloom.

Below are some of the best things to do in Lake Como. Info on where we stayed is at the bottom of this post.

1. Private Boat Tour

This was my favorite part of our trip to Lake Como. Seeing this place from the water is a must.

We booked our private boat tour with @como.boat.tours (find them on Instagram). The owner was very knowledgeable about the area and was helpful in giving us recommendations on things to do in the area.

I didn’t actually get to drive. Wish I could have though! Other places offer boats that you can rent and drive on your own.

2. Ride the Ferry

This is how we traveled to the different villages on Lake Como.

PRO TIP: The town of Como gets extremely busy and crowded in the summer months. This makes transportation (getting a taxi or even the ferry) very difficult and you may have long wait times. Our boat driver from our private tour recommended taking the train into Varenna (on the east side of the lake). From here you can take a short ferry to Bellagio (among other villages).

3. Explore the Towns

The pictures above are of Bellagio (my favorite town we visited). The views everywhere were stunning. It felt like we were in a movie set. My favorite part was the wine tasting (see #4 below)!

The pictures below are from the town of Como. Also beautiful and fun to walk around and ‘get lost’.

Below is a picture looking east across the lake from the village of Tremezzo (close to where we stayed).

4. Wine Tasting

I love trying local products.. especially when it’s wine! This was the Enoteca Principessa in Bellagio.

This was a fun place to try just samples of many different local wines.

5. Eat some Classic Northern Italian Food

The pictures above were from this small little restaurant in Tremezzo called Casa Aqua Dulza (which is also a hotel I believe).

The picture above was from a cute little coffee shop in Como that we stepped into on our way to the train station.

6. Enjoy an Aperitivo

We enjoyed our aperitivo from Bar Vittoria 1894 in Griante (not far from where we were staying).

7. Eat Gelato

We ate so much yummy gelato. It’s so much cheaper (and better) than anything you can get in the US.

Just be sure you don’t buy any from the fake gelaterias. We learned how to determine real vs. fake gelaterias while we were on a food tour in Rome. I highly recommend doing a food tour in new places. It is a great way to explore a place and get recommendations from a local.

8. Tour a Villa

We ran out of time before we could tour a villa, but it’s on my list for next time!

There are several villas that you can visit for free (or at least the garden area of the villa). These are great spots to get some beautiful photos.

Where to Stay

We stayed in a rental with a nice view of the lake in the town of Cadenabbia. It was in the same building as this rental (and same host). We loved it!

However, next time we visit Como (during the summer months), I would like to stay on the other side of the lake. This would be to avoid coming into the town of Como which is super crowded. I would take the train from Milan to Varenna and stay somewhere near here. Then, it is only a short ferry to Bellagio which was one of my favorite villages.

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