Lake Como, Italy - August 13th to 16th, 2025

Lake Como is the third largest lake in Italy, situated in the north, at the foot of the Alps. The Y-shaped lake has been a retreat for the wealthy for centuries. Villas and palaces with elaborate gardens dot the shoreline. We explored the area from Varenna, a small village near the middle of the lake, on the east side.

Wednesday was a long travel day, from Chamonix, France to Varenna on Lake Como in Italy. It was five trains and one bus. Fortunately, we didn’t have to start very early, so we got up at 6:30 am, had breakfast at 7 am, and were checked out of our hotel around 8:15 am. It was a short walk from our hotel to the train station in Chamonix.

Our first train was from Chamonix to Vallorcine, leaving at 9:28 am, on the Mont Blanc Glacier Express. It was the same train we came into Chamonix on. We remembered that the Mont Blanc Glacier Express runs between Martigny in Switzerland and Chamonix in France, stopping in Vallorcine. Because Vallorcine is the first/last stop in France, near the Swiss border, the train changes numbers. On our way to Chamonix, we thought we had to switch trains in Vallorcine, but we could have just stayed on the same train as it continued to Chamonix. So we thought that would be the case this time, but it wasn’t. Which trains continue straight through and which times you actually have to switch trains can vary. We had to switch trains this time, but it was no big deal.

When we arrived in Martigny, we had about an hour before catching our third train. That gave us enough time to use the restroom and buy a couple of Cokes with the Swiss coins we were trying to get rid of. Then we hopped on the SBB (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen - Swiss Federal Railways) train to Brig, Switzerland.

In Brig, we almost had two hours before our fourth train was scheduled to depart. We used up a few more of our Swiss coins on a Coke, having only about 2.50 CHF in coins leftover. That wasn’t enough to buy the pasta salad Ann wanted from the bakery/restaurant at the train station, so she used a credit card.

Then the bad news came. First our next train was delayed a few minutes, then a few minutes more. Before long, it was about 40 minutes behind schedule. That meant we would miss our connection in Milano Centrale. That was OK. Our fifth train and bus was a regional route that ran every half an hour. It just meant that we would get to our destination later than planned. We emailed our hotel to let them know we would be arriving later.

By the time our Trenitalia train arrived in Brig, it was 35 minutes late. While we were on the train heading to Milano, we adjusted our fifth train and bus in the Eurail app. You are supposed to have the exact trains added to your Eurail pass before you board the train. So we made the appropriate adjustments. However, a little later, we must not have had a good cell signal, because we noticed the changes reverted back and we had to make them again.

When we arrived at the Milano Centrale train station, it was hot. Southern Europe was in the middle of a heat wave. Luckily, we didn’t have to stand around long before we were allowed to board the train, a Trenord train, which had the nice air conditioning running.

Normally, the Trenord train runs from Milano all the way to Varenna, our destination. But they were doing construction on the rail lines between Lecco and Varenna, so we had to switch to a bus in Lecco. The bus made our trip about half an hour longer. It was a little confusing at the Lecco train station about where to catch the bus, but we figured it out.

After being dropped off in Varenna, we had about a 15 minute walk to our hotel, Albergo Milano. It was an unpleasant walk due to the fact that we were carrying our heavy luggage and it was hot outside, but it was also the most beautiful walk to a hotel, as we strolled along the lake promenade as the sun was setting over the lake.

So finally, after leaving Chamonix at 8:15 am, we arrived at our hotel around 8 pm, almost 12 hours later. We were hot and sweaty and a little hungry. After dropping off our bags in our room, we went straight to one of the two geletarias located right below the hotel. The gelato was very refreshing. Ann had lampone (raspberry) and cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate) while Keith ordered vaniglia (vanilla) and cioccolato (milk chocolate). Ann really enjoyed the dark chocolate.

Our hotel was wonderful. It was built into the hillside, right next to the lake shore promenade. Our room had a little balcony on the side of the building, with a view of the lake. There was a large ceiling fan which made the room very comfortable. AND there was a small air conditioner! Yay!

Keith purchased a beer from the hotel’s restaurant and enjoyed it out on our balcony, while Ann took a very refreshing shower. She washed the sweaty clothes she was wearing, knowing that they would dry in no time between the warm temperatures and the strong breeze of the ceiling fan.

Thursday was a relaxing day. We slept in a little bit, as breakfast at Albergo Milano didn’t start until 8 am and went until 10 am. The seating for breakfast was out on the roof terrace, overlooking the lake. We cannot remember a more scenic breakfast spot. The buffet was nice, a typical continental breakfast. There were hard boiled eggs, fresh cut bread, cereals, yogurt, fresh honeycomb, jams, butter, some fruit, cold cuts, cheeses, croissants and pain au chocolat.

After a leisurely breakfast, we strolled around the village. It is built into the hillside, along the lakeshore. There is a promenade along the lakeshore, with narrow walkways leading up stairs between the buildings. The main street through town is narrow and is shared by vehicles and pedestrians alike, but the traffic is slow so it is not too bad to negotiate.

There is a church, Chiesa di Santa Marta, on the main square, Piazza San Giorgio. From there, we took the street over to where the bus dropped us off the day before, and then went up to the train station. We wanted to find out where we needed to catch the bus back to Lecco when we leave. We found out that it was further along Viale dei Giardini than where we were dropped off. We found the bus stop and walked back to our hotel, timing how long it took. We needed to be on a really early bus when we leave, so we wanted to make sure we allowed plenty of time to catch it.

For lunch, we walked over to Nilus Bar. We got there around 11:30 am and the kitchen didn’t open until noon. So we drank a couple of peach teas while we waited. The bar is right on the shore, so we didn’t mind sitting there, enjoying the views. For our meal, we both ordered the gazpacho. It is a cold tomato soup from Spain. They added sesame seeds on top, which was a nice twist on a classic dish. The soup was very refreshing on a hot day.

We were all sweaty from our walk, so Ann took an early shower. We had a cooking class at 3 pm, and Ann didn’t want to show up there all smelly.

The cooking class was through a company called Cesarine. Our chef instructor was a local woman, Monica. She had a nice little place just a few blocks from our hotel. We signed up for a small party class, but we were the only two in it, so it was a private lesson. We made two types of pasta, spinach-filled ravioli and tagliatelle. For dessert, we made tiramisu. All the recipes were simple, no special equipment involved, and were very delicious. To start out, we had a glass of Prosecco along with focaccia bread topped with sautéed onions that Monica had baked earlier.

The pasta dough is just flour and eggs. We mixed the dough by hand, let it rest for half an hour, then rolled it out thin. The tagliatelle was cut with a knife into strips. Circles were cut in the dough with a glass, a dollop of spinach filling added, then the circle was folded in half and pinched shut.

The cooked tagliatelle was added to a sauce of tomatoes, capers, black olives, red onions, and garlic that was simmering in olive oil for about 20 minutes, then topped with, we believe, pecorino cheese. The cooked ravioli was added to browned butter and sage, with parmesan cheese on top.

The cream for the tiramisu was made with mascarpone cheese, sugar, and egg, whipped by hand. It was then layered with savoiardi biscuits (Ladyfingers), quickly soaked in strong coffee. Then it was refrigerated for half an hour.

All of the dishes were simple and easy to make, but everything was very delicious. Monica served red wine with our meal, followed by pairing limoncello with our tiramisu. We’ve never had limoncello before, so it was a nice treat. It is a liqueur, very sweet and lemony.

Ann found it interesting that it seemed like Keith was enjoying the cooking class more than she was. Maybe she can get him to cook more at home now?

After our fun dinner, we relaxed back in our room before taking one more short walk along the promenade, this time heading north. When we returned, we continued a little bit south to make sure we knew where the taxi boat dock 2 was. We had a boat tour scheduled for the following day and wanted to make sure we knew where to meet the boat.

Friday was another hot day, in the low 30’s Celsius (upper 80’s to low 90’s Fahrenheit). After a leisurely breakfast while we enjoyed the views of the lake, we went for a walk up to the castle.

Castello di Vezio is about a 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) walk from our hotel. To reach the castle, we followed a steep, cobblestone pathway. The path was mostly in the trees, shaded from the sun, but we still worked up a good sweat.

When we reached the castle, we ordered a couple of drinks from the cafe before exploring the castle. There isn’t much to see at the castle. The main attraction is the tower, which you can climb, with wonderful views out over Varenna and Lake Como.

There used to be a falconry training center at the castle, but, after some vandalism in 2022, it has been permanently closed. However, there is an Eurasian eagle owl named Artù, which is kept in an aviary at the castle, as he cannot be released back into the wild.

While we were there, a small archery range was set up where you can try shooting a bow and arrow at a target. Keith enjoyed the experience, which was included with the admission to the castle.

After exploring the castle, we stopped again at the cafe to have pizza for lunch. We both had the salame piccante pizza (pepperoni pizza). It was not the best pizza we’ve ever had, but it was satisfying.

Then we walked back down to Varenna the same way we walked up. It looked like there was another way back down, but our map was not very detailed and it didn’t show up in Google Maps, so we decided not to go that way. We had a boat tour coming up at 1:30 pm and we didn’t want to get lost and miss it.

After freshening up a little back in our room, we headed over to the dock to meet our boat tour. It was a two and a half hour tour with Taxi Boat Varenna. The tour we reserved was called the Central Lake & visit of Villa del Balbianello. It took about half an hour to reach Villa del Balbianello. A tour guide then gave us about a 45 minute tour of inside the main villa and a couple of outbuildings. Then we had about 45 minutes to explore the gardens, which was ample time for us.

Villa del Balbianello was built in 1787 on a pre-existing Franciscan monastery. The last private owner of the villa was Guido Monzino, who acquired the villa in 1974. Guido Monzino was a mountaineer and explorer, including Mount Everest and the North Pole. When he died, he left the villa to the FAI - Fondo per l’Ambiente italiano (the Italian Environment Fund), with instructions to leave the property in its current state.

The villa is filled with not only artifacts and maps from Guido’s expeditions, but also his extensive collections, such as glass paintings from around the world, and Chinese ceramics from the Tang dynasty (618-907) and the Qing dynasty (1736-1795).

After Villa del Balbianello, we boarded the boat again and rode it back to Varenna which took about half an hour. The boat stopped at the village of Bellagio, where about half the passengers got off. We could have gotten off there as well and taken the ferry back to Varenna, but we chose to stay on the boat.

Back in Varenna, we took showers before heading out for dinner. There was a restaurant just a couple of blocks away that opened at 6:30 pm and did not take reservations. It was called La Scarpetta. The name of the restaurant comes from an Italian phrase “fare la scarpetta” which directly translates to “make a little shoe”. The phrase means to mop up the sauce with bread.

We took a table outside, along the narrow walkway between the buildings. We both started out with the insalata di pomodori (tomato salad), which came with tomatoes, mozzarella, cucumbers, red onions, and croutons. Then Keith had the lasagna while Ann ordered the fettuccine al Alfredo. The lasagna was made with onions and barbecued pork. The fettuccine came with paper-thin slices of truffles.

Right after ordering dessert, a thunderstorm rolled in and it started to rain. We got up and took shelter along the wall, being protected somewhat by the roof overhang high above us. The staff at La Scarpetta managed to free up a small table for two inside so we could sit down and enjoy our dessert. Ann had the panna cotta with basil and strawberries while Keith had the tiramisu. The basil and strawberries were a nice flavor combination. All of the food was delicious and we were grateful we were able to finish our meal.

We returned to our room for the rest of the evening. It was stormy the remainder of the day, with rain starting and stopping along with loud claps of thunder. We turned off the air conditioner and opened the balcony doors to enjoy the fresh, cool air and watch nature’s show.

Saturday was a relaxing day in Varenna. We could have taken a ferry to one of the other towns on the lake and explored them, but we didn’t feel like it.

We had a long, enjoyable breakfast on the terrace of the hotel. The rain the night before had cleared the hazy smoke, so we had a clear view of the mountains on the far side of the lake. We’re assuming the haze we saw before was from the wildfires that are burning in Spain and southern France.

Then we walked over to Villa Monastero to stroll the gardens there. We wanted to also check out the gardens at Villa Cipressi, but there was a sign out front when we walked by that said the gardens were closed for a private event.

There are admission charges for both gardens. The museum at Villa Monastero is an additional charge, but we decided not to go into the museum. The gardens were nice, but not overwhelmingly special. It was a pleasant way to stroll along the shore and get some steps in.

For lunch, we headed back to Varenna Caffè Bistrot, down along the promenade. We both ordered the prosciutto and melon. It was very refreshing and light, just what we were looking for. We had a dinner reservation at Albergo Milano, so we knew we’d be eating heavy that evening.

After lunch, we hung out at our hotel, took showers, and packed. We needed to leave early the following morning, so we wanted to be ready to go.

Our dinner reservations were not until 8:30 pm, so we headed out for some gelato in the late afternoon. We tried a third place this time, part of Bar II Molo. Ann had her usual chocolate and mint while Keith had vanilla and chocolate. We still liked the first gelato place we tried, La Passerella, as their dark chocolate was really good.

For dinner, we ordered the three course menu. For a starter, we both had the gazpacho soup. It had an added ingredient of peaches, which was a very refreshing and interesting combination of flavors.

For the main, Keith had the salmon while Ann ordered the guinea fowl. The salmon was served on top of zucchini, with peaches on top. The guinea fowl was wrapped in bacon, served with small hash browns, red bell peppers, and mayonnaise. Both of the dishes were very tasty.

For dessert, Keith had the panna cotta and Ann opted for the chocolate mousse. Simply scrumptious.

After dinner, we settled up our bill, not only for dinner, but also for the beers and tourist tax that had been added to our room bill. We were leaving in the morning before the front desk opened, so they showed us how to exit the hotel. Then we went to our room, set our alarms for 5 am and went straight to bed.

We only explored a small fraction of Lake Como, but felt we had a good sampling. We seemed to be more in the mood for relaxing at this point in our trip, opting for strolling around Varenna over taking long boat rides to other places around the lake. We enjoyed Varenna as, despite the throngs of tourists, it retained its charm.

Check out our related video: Lake Como, Italy

(Ann)