Lake Como - home to charming mountain-climbing villages, sweeping views, jasmine-scented gardens and George Clooney. While we didn't get to see the latter, we enjoyed the other beauties from this very special place in the world.
Varenna
Lake Como, Italy lies about a 2.5 hour drive south of Axalp, Switzerland. We once again had to traverse the Sustenstrasse on our way out of Switzerland, but this time, it was snowing on top and the road was a bit icy, making for a harrowing few miles of driving! We eventually made it back to Italy and found our lodgings in the sunny town of Bellagio, Italy.
Lake Como is long and thin, and shaped kind of like an upside down Y, or more precisely, like an armless guy running.
Lake Como is long and thin, and shaped kind of like an upside down Y, or more precisely, like an armless guy running.
Bellagio is centrally situated at the center of the Y, so you have lake views all around. Across the lake from Bellagio to the east is the town of Menaggio, and across the lake to the west is the town of Varenna. These three villages are the most popular vacation destinations, so there are regular ferries running between the three towns. At the southern tip of the lake is the city of Como, which we drove through on our way to Bellagio. Don't stay here because it's a more of an industrial city, and the southern part of the lake is polluted, so you can't swim in it. The northern part is fed by runoff from the Alps, so it features crystal clear waters and beautiful vistas.
We rented a 1-bedroom apartment at Casa la Rosa, about a ten minute walk outside of town. We were up a slight hill, which gave us a beautiful view!
We rented a 1-bedroom apartment at Casa la Rosa, about a ten minute walk outside of town. We were up a slight hill, which gave us a beautiful view!
Breakfast with a view
While it took us 10 minutes to walk down to town, it took us 15 minutes to walk back up to the apartment. A trade off for the nice view was a steep climb up the hill. In order to distract ourselves during the ascent, we played a movie-themed 20 questions. It helped a lot!
The apartment was huge by Italy standards - big living/dining/kitchen area and an equally large bedroom. We also had our own washer which was key! Our only complaint was one all too common in Italy: the beds were uncomfortable - lumpy to be specific. This would be the first of many tough mattress experiences as we are in Italy for 3 weeks!
Another added bonus to renting an apartment at Casa la Rosa is that the owner, Marco's, family runs a take-out place in Bellagio. They are super nice people and never charged us full price when we stopped by to purchase paninis, gelato, pizza or wine.
We spent our first day in town walking around and checking out Bellagio and some of the lake shore. Bellagio is a very nice little town, consisting of two main streets featuring lots of restaurants, bars and shops. It gets very crowded during the day - especially on the weekends - when people come to visit on the ferry from either Menaggio or Varenna, but quiets down nicely in the evenings.
The apartment was huge by Italy standards - big living/dining/kitchen area and an equally large bedroom. We also had our own washer which was key! Our only complaint was one all too common in Italy: the beds were uncomfortable - lumpy to be specific. This would be the first of many tough mattress experiences as we are in Italy for 3 weeks!
Another added bonus to renting an apartment at Casa la Rosa is that the owner, Marco's, family runs a take-out place in Bellagio. They are super nice people and never charged us full price when we stopped by to purchase paninis, gelato, pizza or wine.
We spent our first day in town walking around and checking out Bellagio and some of the lake shore. Bellagio is a very nice little town, consisting of two main streets featuring lots of restaurants, bars and shops. It gets very crowded during the day - especially on the weekends - when people come to visit on the ferry from either Menaggio or Varenna, but quiets down nicely in the evenings.
Bellagio
The quieter side of Bellagio
Bellagio
Bellagio Gardens
The next morning, we rented kayaks to see more of the lake and villages, while getting a workout. In the afternoon, we took the ferry over to the town of Varenna, which is similar to Bellagio. It was Sunday, and many of the shops were closed, but it was a really pretty little town to walk around.
Chris, on his kayak in front of Bellagio
Me, struggling to keep the kayak straight. I had a tough time with these Bic branded kayaks. Bic should stick to razors and pens.
Arriving in Varenna on the ferry
Varenna
The food in Lake Como is nothing original, but we found a couple of good spots. La Fontana is a nice place on a side street in Bellagio with standard Italian fare. We also found a neighborhood restaurant down the street from our apartment called La Bellagina, which had decent food and a really nice view of the lake.
View from La Bellagina in Bellagio. They also have a good seafood salad antipasti.
We loved Lake Como - it's one of the most picturesque places we've seen thus far and that is saying something after coming from Switzerland! I'll leave you with this sunset view over the mountains...
Lake Como sunset
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