The most delicious spots along Lake Como
Lake Como is the third largest lake in Italy, with beautiful villages like Bellagio, Tremezzo, and Varenna on its shores. Around the lake, you will find lush gardens and luxury villas, such as those of George Clooney and Donatella Versace. We can't blame them for coming here to recharge from time to time. These places and restaurants should be on the list for a trip to Lake Como.
Here you sleep like a prince by Lake Como
Bellagio – the pearl of Lake Como
At the point where the lake splits and takes on two legs, lies Bellagio, which is also called la perla del Lago di Como by the Italians. After a walk through the colorful center, with charming streets and views of the lake, you must not miss the gardens of Villa Melzi. In the early nineteenth century, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, the Duke of Lodi and reportedly a good friend of Napoleon, had a summer villa built in Bellagio, which he named Villa Melzi. Architect Giocondo Albertolli, landscape architect Luigi Canonica, and botanist Luigi Villoresi created a magnificent complex, with an English garden along the shores of the lake. At the pavilion in Moorish style with a blue dome, the bust of Melzi and his wife still overlook Lake Como.
For lunch, you can join Ristorante La Punta for pasta with a view. For a swim in the lake, it's best to head to Lido di Bellagio, where you can rent a sunbed. There is also a public beach just outside Bellagio, in San Giovanni, with a pebble beach.
Villa Carlotta – a garden with a Dutch touch
In Tremezzo, illustrious predecessors like Verdi, Stendhal, and Greta Garbo loved to spend their days. The village's great pride is a number of particularly beautiful villas, including Grand Hotel Tremezzo. There is also a place with a Dutch touch to be found in Tremezzo: Villa Carlotta.
The villa owes its name to Charlotte of Prussia, who lived here in the second half of the nineteenth century. She received the villa as a wedding gift from her mother, Princess Marianne of the Netherlands. The villa has since been transformed into a museum, where you get an idea of how the nobility furnished a country house at that time. Even more beautiful than the villa itself are the botanical gardens surrounding the villa, with blooming azaleas and rhododendrons in spring. Thanks to the green fingers and passion for gardening of Charlotte's husband, the garden became even more beautiful. Think: hidden corners, love-struck swans in the greenery, and especially the view over Lake Como.
Lake Como from the water
A holiday at Lake Como is not complete without a boat trip. There are various places where you can rent a boat. In Varenna, for example, you can go to Taxi Boat Varenna, which offers various tours. You can book a boat trip where the skipper stops along the way for a visit to Villa Balbianello, which notably shone in the James Bond film Casino Royale and in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
In Bellagio, you can go to Lake by Boat or Bellagio Rent a Boat. Would you prefer to be more active on the water? Then rent a canoe or a SUP at Bellagio Watersports and paddle across Lake Como. You can also join a golden hour tour, where you enjoy a spectacular sunset over Lake Como from your canoe.
Special restaurants by Lake Como
For a special lunch at, or rather in, Lake Como, go to La Locanda dell’Isola on Isola Comacina, where perfectly prepared seasonal vegetables and freshly caught grilled fish are served. Finally, you get a cup of coffee with brandy that is flambéed in a large pan over the fireplace while you listen to the legend of the island.
If you've seen Lago di Beau with Beau van Erven Dorens, you've seen Ristorante Vapore in the second episode. At the entrance, the family that has been running the restaurant for generations has created a kind of Hall of Fame with photos of all the famous guests who have dined at Vapore, from Robert de Niro to Harry Styles and from Berlusconi to the Dutch singer Maan. The best place for dinner is the terrace, with a view of the outlines of the villages across the way that are also beautifully lit at night.
At Figli dei Fiori, you can dine both in the bistro and in the osteria. Surrounded by flowers and plants, chef Gianni Tancredi prepares dishes such as ravioli filled with guinea fowl, with orange, pomegranate, and truffle cream, and gnocchetti made from potato and beet on a bed of buffalo gorgonzola and lemon thyme. At Figli dei Fiori Osteria, the selection is broader. Start, for example, with a tagliere full of meat or cheese to share, followed by lasagna with spinach, walnuts, and robiola, and then one of the famous meat skewers that are grilled here in a special way.
A few more recommendations for restaurants around Lake Como:
- La Colombetta in Como
- La Vita è Bella in Como
- Mosto & Carnazza in Como
- Osteria del Beuc in Cernobbio
- Trattoria del Glicine in Cernobbio
- Al Veluu in Tremezzo
- La Piazzetta in Argegno
