The most enchanting lake in Europe and the most romantic holiday destination in Italy, lake Como must be on your Itinerary if you plan to spend your holidays in Italy. Lake Como is a popular holiday destination in Europe, especially for the wealthiest people in the world who prefer to spend more time in Lake Como due to the luxurious lake-side private villas and beautiful fresh atmosphere. It doesn’t mean that only wealthy people visit the Lake Como. Anyone can visit Lake Como with any Budget and can stay comfortably around Lake Como.
If you have time, we recommend staying at Lake Como for at least a week to explore every corner that Lake Como has to offer. If you are short on time, then Lake Como at least deserves 2 days from your trip to visit the best of Lake Como from your trip to Italy. Lake Como is located very close to the iconic city of Milan and therefore can be easily reached by car or train in less than an Hour.
In this article, we will take you through the best places to Visit in Lake Como in 2 days. 2 days in Lake Como are enough to explore the best of Lake Como and to have some time left to relax and to do shopping. To explore the best of Lake Como in 2 days, we have crafted a perfect Itinerary in this article to use your time more productively. We will cover the best destinations of Lake Como mainly, Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and finally Como.
If you have no time and want to explore Lake Como in just 1 day, check out these amazing, guided day trips from Milan to Lake Como:-
let’s begin exploring Lake Como in 2 days!
Varenna & Menaggio (Day 1):
Varenna offers the best possible views of Lake Como and Menaggio offers a calm and soothing atmosphere to relax.
Start with exploring Varenna on the 1st day of your trip. Start your day as early as possible to have more time to explore. If you are coming by train from Milan, you can reach to Varenna by direct train which takes around 50 minutes from Milan Central Station.
Varenna:
Varenna is a picturesque village situated on the shores of Lake Como which is more popular for the colourful houses and botanical gardens of Villa Monastero.
How to explore Varenna?
As soon as you reach Varenna train station, you need to walk towards the Varenna harbour and from the harbour, follow the walking path leading to Varenna village. The walking path towards the village is beautiful and will make you take out your Camera for some souvenir pictures.
Once you reach the Varenna, take all the time you need to explore its picturesque alleyways and then head towards the Villa Monastero to explore the botanical gardens and get the best views of Lake Como. The most popular pictures or videos of Lake Como you may have seen on Instagram are taken from the Villa Monastero.
Villa Monastero was originally built in the 12th century as a Cistercian Convent which later expanded and exchanged many hands of ownership and underwent many reforms. In 1569, the property was purchased by the wealthy Molino family who later in the 17th Century transformed it into a royal villa with elegant interiors and thoughtful decorations. Even after the 17th century, the Villa exchanged ownership a couple of times and finally at the beginning of the 19th century The wealthy Marchi family purchased the property and donated it to the Public as a Museum in year 1936. In the present day, the villa is open to the public as a house Museum where you can admire the rich interiors, furniture, unique decorative artefacts, vintage instruments and many more.
The Villa Monastero is divided into two parts, House Museum and Botanical Garden. You can buy entrance tickets to only botanical gardens or Botanical gardens including the House Museum. The entrance ticket to the Botanical Garden costs 10 Euros and entrance tickets including the Botanical Garden and house museum costs 13 Euros. It’s better to buy a combined ticket of 13 euros to explore the gardens and Museum together.
Important note: The Villa Monastero is closed to the public during the winter months typically from 1st week of November till the end of February. Check opening time of Villa Monastero Villa Monastero | Varenna
The entrance ticket to Villa Monastero can also be combined with the gardens of the adjacent villa cum hotel called Villa Cipressi. The combined ticket considering Villa Monastero Botanical Gardens, House Museum and Gardens of Cipressi costs 22 Euros per Adult. However, to explore Lake Como in 2 days, it is recommended to stick to the Botanical Gardens and Museum of Villa Monastero which offers the best views of Lake Como.
By the time you are done exploring Villa Monastero, you must be hungry by all the walking and clicking beautiful pictures. Head to any lake-side restaurant in Varenna. Most of these restaurants serve delicious local cuisines like traditional Risotto with seafood, typical Italian Lasagne, Ravioli Pasta stuffed with lake fish, Steak, grills and Varieties of delicious Pizzas to choose from. Restaurant Al Prato is the best one in the village (Google map location)
Varenna Village is situated on the hilly landscapes. Therefore, the alleyways in Varenna are Slopy and you will get tired by Walking through Varenna. Therefore, after all the walking, the best place to relax on Lake Como is Menaggio.
After your delicious meal, head back to the harbour and buy a Ferry Ticket to Menaggio. The ferries run continuously from Varenna to Menaggio.
Menaggio:
Menaggio is the best place on Lake Como to relax, calm yourself and surrender to the relaxing atmosphere of the Lake Como. In the summer months, a soothing lake bathe on Lido di Menaggio is a relaxing thing to do on Lake Como. In fact, it is one of the best places in Lake Como if you want to take a bathe or swim in the lake.
The best thing to do in Menaggio is to walk along the picturesque lakefront walkways which offer one of the best views of Lake Como. After all the walking in Varenna, if you don’t want to walk anymore, then You can simply sit on the benches on the lakefront and just enjoy the atmosphere or simply go to the Lido di Menaggio and bathe or swim in the lake.
Menaggio is located on flat ground and walking here is not as tiring as in Varenna. If you are not tired enough, you can explore the hidden alleyways of Menaggio and explore local shops for clothes, local wooden crafts, souvenirs and many more.
Once you had enough of Lake Como in Menaggio, let's end day 1 from the 2-day Itinerary of Lake Como. Head back to your hotel and have a delicious dinner nearby. Check out our best picks for Best Hotels in Lake Como below. To visit Lake Como in 2 days, it is recommended to stay at Varenna or Bellagio which is a convenient location to explore the best of Lake Como.
Day 2 (Bellagio & Como)
2nd day we combined with Bellagio to have more time in the most beautiful village of Lake Como and later in Como to end your 2-day trip with the shopping and exploring the old center of Como town. In case you need to catch a return train to Milan, Como is the best option to end your trip.
Bellagio
Bellagio, also called the pearl of Lake Como, is the most popular and picturesque village of Lake Como. Bellagio is located on the southern peninsula of Lake Como and is surrounded by beautiful shores of Lake Como. Bellagio is mainly popular for its picturesque location, pebbled alleyways, numerous viewpoints, and Gardens of Villa Merzi. Being the most beautiful place in Lake Como, Bellagio is a must-visit place for your trip to Lake Como in 2 days.
Wherever you are staying around Lake Como, Bellagio can be reached easily either by ferry or by bus.
To reach Bellagio from Como, you have 2 options:
Option 1 (Best one): Bus C30 which runs from Como to Bellagio and takes around 1 hour and 10 minutes. Download the bus timetable.
Option 2: ferry boats from Como to Bellagio. Ferry boats have less frequency than buses and take 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach from Como (Check the ferry timetable).
To Reach Bellagio from Lecco, you have 4 options:
Option 1: The best one is a private taxi which takes only 40 Minutes since direct public transport does not have good frequency.
Option 2: Train and ferry combination (Train from Lecco to Varenna and Ferry from Varenna to Bellagio). This route offers a good frequency of trains as well as ferries.
Option 3: Bus from Lecco to Bellagio. Bus to Bellagio from Lecco takes around 1 hour and 1o minutes but has limited frequency. Download the bus timetable.
Option 4: Ferry from Lecco to Bellagio. The ferry from Lecco to Bellagio has very limited frequencies and takes around 1 hour and 3o minutes(Check the ferry timetable).
Consider that the ferry from Lecco to Bellagio only operates during the summer months.
To reach Bellagio from Varenna, continuous ferries are running from Varenna to Bellagio and it takes only 15 Min to reach.
To utilise your time more productively for your trip of Lake Como in 2 days, as soon as you arrive in Bellagio, head towards the Villa Melzi which is within walking distance from the Ferry terminal.
Villa Melzi is a Royal villa which was built as a summer residence of the first vice president of the Italian Republic Francesco Melzi at the beginning of the 18th Century. The Villa Melzi hosts beautiful gardens overlooking the picture-perfect views of the lake Como. The Gardens are also home to the open sculptures from Roman and Egyptian times which is a popular spot for souvenir photos around Lake Como. The entrance ticket to the Gardens of Villa Melzi also includes the entrance to the Museum and the chapel and costs 10 Euros per adult. The villa is not open to the public since it is a private residence, therefore, you can only explore the beautiful gardens and its museum. Take all the time you need to explore the Villa Melzi and look for beautiful viewpoints to take pictures. Exploring Villa Melzi fully takes around 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your pace.
After Villa Melzi, head toward the Punta Spartivento which is a scenic spot at the end of the peninsula and offers magnificent views of a lake surrounded by 3 sides of land and snow-capped mountains in the background.
You can reach Punta Spartivento by walking which is around 1.5 km away from Villa Melzi. It will take around 25 minutes to reach there from Villa Melzi.
There is also a restaurant at the end of the peninsula called La Punta where you can grab a drink. In the peak summer months, you can also swim at Punta Spartivento. Don’t enter the water here if you can’t swim. For non-swimmers, Lido of Menaggio is the best place to enter the water. After exploring Punta Spartivento, head back to Bellagio.
After you are done exploring Punta Spartivento, Head back to Bellagio and by the time you reach there you must be hungry. Look for the restaurants in the Bellagio village (Don’t eat at the lakefront restaurants which are costly and don’t care about customers). The restaurant Antico Pozzo is the best one in the village and good food is available at a reasonable price (Google map location). Try delicious lake fish with a variety of pasta dishes to choose from.
After your lunch, stroll through the Bellagio and explore its hidden alleyways, look for the beautiful spots to take pictures and explore little shops for souvenirs, clothes, food, coffee and many more.
Pin this Google map location for the best and most popular viewpoint in Bellagio.
After you are done exploring Bellagio, catch the bus C30 to Como which runs from Bellagio Lido (Download Bus timetable). Pin this Google map location for the bus stop.
Como:
Como is the largest town on the shores of Lake Como the name of the lake originated from Como. Como has a long history dating from the Roman and Lombard era. The traces of the history of Como are well preserved in the present day in the form of architecture which is open for visitors.
By the time you reach Como by bus from Bellaggio, it will be already an early evening. Therefore, head towards the town centre if you want to do some shopping. You can also stroll through the city centre and visit its most popular architecture called Piazza Duomo of Como which is a cathedral built mostly in Gothic style but also has a touch of Renaissance and Baroque-styled buildings. It usually closes at 5 PM, therefore, probably you may not be able to enter the Cathedral but of course, you can admire this beautiful architecture from outside.
A few minutes walk away from Duomo, you can also explore the oldest Roman church in the city dating back to 1120 called Basilica of San Fedele. It is located in the little square called Piazza San Fedele.
If you still have time left, then you can stroll on the walkways at the lakeside to admire the beautiful view of the lakes and Harbour.
You can end your trip of 2 days in Lake Como in Como City and catch the train to your next destination or you can head back to your hotel.
If you reach Como early and still have time to explore Como town, check out the Guided walking tour of Como.
How to reach Lake Como from Milan:
Lake Como is directly connected by trains from Milan. There are regional trains departing every hour from Milan train stations Milano Centrale, Milano Porta Garibaldi and Milano Cadorna that have stops at Como, Lecco and Varenna. The regional train ticket costs between 5 to 10 Euros. You can buy your train tickets directly at the train station or you can buy them in advance on the official Trenitalia site.
You will get a very good frequency of trains from Milano Centrale train station which is the main and biggest train station of Milan.
If you prefer to drive from Milan, it will take you around 1 hour to reach Como.
Where to stay around Lake Como
If you are exploring Lake Como in 2 days, then it’s better to stay near the main attraction. The best location to stay in Lake Como is Varenna or Bellagio where you can find multiple hotels in all varieties from Luxurious hotels to Budget stays. Here are some of our best picks for staying in Lake Como for your trip to Lake Como in 2 days.
Villa Torretta, Varenna
It’s the best pick for your stay in Varenna which is located close to the ferry station and offers fantastic views of the lake.
Casa Aidee, Varenna
A good apartment with a balcony for a small family located very close to the ferry and train station. It also has a space for private or rented car parking.
Budget pick in the heart of Bellagio and offers a beautiful lake view. It is also located within walking distance from the ferry terminal of Bellagio.
Appartamenti Il Sogno, Bellagio
Apartments located in the heart of Bellagio offer beautiful views of the lake. It is one of the popular properties in Bellagio which is usually available at an affordable price.
Bellagio Apartment, Bellagio
Another pick for the apartments in the heart of Bellagio with all the required amenities. The property is usually available at an affordable price if booked in advance.
Here are some of the best Luxurious picks to stay for your trip to Lake Como in 2 days:-
Hotel Royal Victoria, Varenna
One of the best-in-class 4-star hotels offering all the luxury you need including an outdoor swimming pool. The hotel is located in a fantastic location in Varenna that offers a wonderful view of a lake.
Charming Bellagio Boutique Hotel, Bellagio
A small and modern Boutique hotel with a swimming pool that offers fantastic views of the lake and the mountains is one of the most loved properties in Bellagio.
The best time to visit Lake Como
Lake Como can be visited any time of the year, however, the beautiful gardens and villas of Lake Como are typically closed to Visitors during the Winter months, therefore the best time to visit Lake Como is anywhere from the beginning of April till the end of October.
In the peak summer months of July and August, Lake Como gets overcrowded with tourists. Therefore, make sure you make all your bookings in advance.
We hope that you liked this article, and we hope that it will help you to plan your perfect trip to Lake Como in 2 days. If you have any questions about exploring Lake Como or other places in Italy, please let us know in the comments section. Check out our other articles that you may like about travelling in Italy and Europe.
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Great article! Very helpful! I’m grateful!
We want to go back next summer.
We just returned from our first trip to Europe and spent 4 days in Lake Como. Wish we had read your article first to help manage our time better.we were restricted by the ferry schedules.
God bless you!
How we we best utilize your wealth of knowledge?
Mike H.
Lexington, Ky.