Best towns on Lake Como: 12 villages compared, and how to reach each one

Train times, ferry fares and opening hours below were checked on the official sites on 5 October 2026.

Lake Como towns at a glance

Town	Where on the lake	From Milan without a car	Best for
Varenna	East shore, central lake	Direct train, 64 min	Arriving by train, a quiet evening
Bellagio	The point where the branches meet	Train to Varenna, then 15-min ferry	Villa gardens, ferry connections
Menaggio	West shore, central lake	Train to Varenna, then 15-min ferry	A lakeside promenade, families, value
Tremezzo and Cadenabbia	West shore, south of Menaggio	Train to Varenna, then ferry	Villa Carlotta, grand hotels
Lenno	West shore, south of Tremezzo	Train to Varenna, then ferry	Villa del Balbianello
Como	South-west tip	Direct train, 40 to 60 min	A short trip, winter, city services
Cernobbio	West shore, 10 min from Como	Train to Como, then bus or ferry	Villa d’Este, a quiet base near Como
Torno	East shore of the Como branch	Train to Como, then ferry	A small harbour village
Nesso	East shore, between Como and Bellagio	Train to Como, then bus C130	The Orrido gorge and its stairway
Argegno	West shore of the Como branch	Train to Como, then bus C110 or ferry	The cable car up to Pigra
Lecco	South-east tip	Direct train, 39 min	A working town on the train line
Bellano	East shore, north of Varenna	Direct train, 69 min	The Orrido di Bellano gorge

Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y. The Como branch runs south-west, the Lecco branch south-east, and the upper lake north toward Colico. Bellagio sits on the point where the three arms meet, with Varenna and Menaggio facing it across the water. Our Lake Como travel guide has a map table and the weather by month.

The central lake towns

The central lake is where most first-time visitors go. A single ferry hop between Varenna, Bellagio, Menaggio, Tremezzo, Cadenabbia and Lenno costs €5.50, and a central lake day pass costs €17.50 for unlimited hops. The fast boat adds a €3 supplement that the pass does not cover.

Varenna

Varenna is on the east shore, and its station is on the line from Milano Centrale to Lecco and Tirano. Direct trains leave Centrale hourly at 20 past and take 64 minutes. The fare is €7.40 to €7.70 depending on where you buy, so check the price in the app.

In the village, Villa MonasteroMap combines a house museum with a botanical garden on the lake (€15, free up to 14; in October 10am to 6pm, with the house museum closed on Tuesdays). Castello di VezioMap sits on the hill above. The Sentiero del Viandante trail runs north from Varenna to Bellano in about 2.5 hours, and you can take the train back. Our Varenna guide has the full details.

Choose Varenna if you are coming by train and want a small base with an easy link back to Milan.

Bellagio

Bellagio has no train station, so you arrive by ferry, usually from Varenna (15 minutes). The old town climbs from the lakefront arcades up stepped lanes such as Salita Serbelloni, and Punta Spartivento, the tip of the promontory, is a 5 to 10 minute walk north of the centre.

The Villa Melzi gardensMap cost €10 and open daily until 1 November (10am to 6:30pm from 12 October, 10am to 5pm from 25 October). The Villa Serbelloni parkMap is open only on a 2-hour guided tour, Tuesday to Sunday at 11am and 3:30pm, for €13. See our Bellagio guide for where to eat and how to book.

Bellagio suits a first visit built around gardens and ferry hops. Expect crowds in summer.

Menaggio

Menaggio is on the west shore, opposite Varenna, at the start of the valley that leads to Lake Lugano. The tourist office on Piazza Garibaldi, in the centre of town, is open daily 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm in 2026. From Milan, take the train to Varenna and the 15-minute boat across, or the train to Como and ASF bus C110, which takes about 66 minutes from Como.

The car ferry links Menaggio with Varenna, Bellagio and Cadenabbia, which makes it a practical base if you drive. Hotels range from a hostel with dorm beds from €25 to the five-star Grand Hotel Victoria. Lugano is 27 km away by road; our Milan to Lugano guide covers the Swiss side by train.

Menaggio works well for families and for drivers, and it feels like a real town with cafés along a long lakefront.

Tremezzo and Cadenabbia

Tremezzo is south of Menaggio. Villa CarlottaMap has its own pier (“Tremezzo - Villa Carlotta”) and gardens that run down to the lake. In 2026 it opens 10am to 7pm until 18 October, then 10am to 6pm until 8 November, and costs €17.50. Cadenabbia, just north, has a car ferry pier. The big hotels here include Grand Hotel Tremezzo and The Lake Como EDITION; our guide to where to stay on Lake Como compares them.

Come here for the gardens, or for a stay where the hotel is the point.

Lenno

Lenno is part of the municipality of Tremezzina, on a bay that an 18th-century cardinal named the Gulf of Venus. Near the lake are the 11th-century church of Santo Stefano and an octagonal baptistery, and a market runs along the lakefront on Tuesday mornings. The Greenway del Lago di Como, an easy walking route from Colonno to Griante, passes through the village.

Villa del BalbianelloMap is a short walk from the village. You must book on the FAI site: €15 for the park, €25 with the guided tour of the villa. There is no car access, so walk about 25 minutes uphill from Lenno or take a paid taxi boat from Lido di Lenno.

Lenno is a good stop for the villa and a quieter evening than Bellagio, and it is on the same €5.50 central lake fare.

Towns on the Como branch

The south-western arm runs from Como town to the central lake. Slow boats stop at most villages on the way, and two ASF buses follow the shores: C110 on the west side and C130 on the east side to Bellagio.

Como

Como is the largest town and the quickest to reach: about 40 minutes from Milano Centrale to Como San Giovanni, or about 60 minutes from Milano Cadorna to Como Nord Lago, next to the ferry piers, with trains every 30 minutes. A one-way ticket costs about €5.40, and on the Cadorna line you can tap a contactless card instead of buying one.

In the Duomo di ComoMap, a free route runs along the side aisles. The Como-Brunate funicularMap climbs to Brunate in 7 minutes, every 15 minutes from 6am to midnight (€3.60 one way, €7.20 return). The catch is distance: the central lake villages are about 2 hours away on the slow boat.

Como is the right pick for a short visit from Milan or a winter trip, when many lakeside hotels close.

Cernobbio

Cernobbio is on the west shore between the lake and Monte Bisbino, a 10 to 14 minute ride on bus C110 from Como or a €3 ferry. Its best-known building is Villa d'EsteMap, built in 1568 and a hotel since 1873. Villa BernasconiMap, an Art Nouveau villa from 1906, is now a house museum open to the public.

Stay here for a quiet base close to Como, or for a night in one of the lake’s grand hotels.

Torno

Torno is a small village on the east shore of the Como branch, with a Touring Club Italiano Orange Flag for its historic centre. The Renaissance parish church faces a little harbour, and a 14th-century church with a Romanesque bell tower stands higher up. The ferry from Como costs €4.50 one way. Il Sereno, one of the lake’s top hotels, is here.

It makes a short boat trip from Como.

Nesso

Nesso is on the east shore between Como and Bellagio, and it is known for the Orrido di NessoMap, a gorge where two streams meet and drop in a waterfall toward the lake. From the road, a stairway of more than 300 steps leads down through the village to the old Ponte della Civera bridge and the gorge. You can also see it from the ferry.

Bus C130 from Como San Giovanni station takes about 40 minutes to the Nesso Piazza Castello stop, and the ferry from Como costs €8. A 12 km walking and cycling route links Bellagio and Nesso.

Wear good shoes: the steps are steep, and there is little in the village beyond the gorge and the views.

Argegno

Argegno is on the west shore, about 35 minutes from Como on bus C110, or €8 by ferry. About 100 metres from the boat landing, the Argegno-Pigra cable carMap climbs to the mountain village of Pigra in 6 minutes. Cabins leave every 15 minutes, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm and weekends and holidays 9am to 7pm. A return costs €8.20.

The cable car is the easy way to get a view over the Como branch without a hike.

Towns on the Lecco branch and the east shore

Lecco and Bellano are on the same railway line as Varenna, so you can reach them from Milano Centrale on the hourly trains.

Lecco

Lecco sits at the south-eastern tip of the lake. It is 39 minutes from Milano Centrale for €5.40 and has a ferry pier, but it is a working town rather than a lake village. Use it as a cheaper rail stop or a starting point for the Lecco branch.

Bellano

Bellano is a stop north of Varenna, 69 minutes from Centrale (€7.70). The Orrido di BellanoMap is a narrow gorge cut by the Pioverna stream, which you visit on walkways fixed to the rock walls. Tickets cost €8, or €5 if you show a train or lake ferry ticket. Until 24 October it opens weekdays 9am to 6pm and weekends 9am to 7pm. From 25 October it opens weekdays 10am to 5pm and weekends 9am to 5pm. Walking the Sentiero del Viandante from Varenna to Bellano and visiting the gorge makes a good half-day.

Bellagio or Varenna

You don’t have to choose. They are 15 minutes apart by ferry, €5.50 one way, and on autumn weekdays the car ferry crosses roughly every 30 to 60 minutes from about 6am to 10pm.

	Varenna	Bellagio
Train from Milan	Yes, 64 min from Centrale	No
Main sights	Villa Monastero, Castello di Vezio, lakeside walkway	Villa Melzi gardens, Villa Serbelloni tour, Punta Spartivento
Feel	Small, quiet in the evening	Busier, more shops and hotels
Best for	A base if you arrive by train	Gardens and ferry connections

If you sleep on the lake, Varenna is the easier base for the train back to Milan. Bellagio has more hotels and the most ferries.

How many towns you can see in one day

Three or four, if you stay on the central lake. A typical day: the morning train from Milano Centrale to Varenna, the ferry to Bellagio for the gardens and lunch, a hop to Tremezzo for Villa Carlotta or to Menaggio, then back to Varenna for the train. Four single hops at €5.50 cost €22, so the €17.50 day pass pays off from the fourth crossing.

Trying to add the Como branch on the same day costs time: Como to Bellagio is about 2 hours on the slow boat or about 45 minutes on the hydrofoil (€12 plus a €5 supplement). Our Lake Como day trip guide has the train and ferry details, and the Lake Como itinerary spreads the towns over several days. For the classic villa gardens in one place, see our guide to Lake Como villas.

You can also see several towns from the water. Our Lake Como boat tours guide compares shared and private boats with the public ferry, and you can browse Lake Como boat tours on GetYourGuide.

Where to stay on Lake Como

Pick by how you arrive. Varenna and Como have trains to Milan, Bellagio has the most ferries, and Menaggio has the widest range of prices. Many lakeside hotels close from about November to March, while some hotels in Como town stay open. Our where to stay on Lake Como guide names hotels in each town, or search hotels around Lake Como on Booking.com.

If you would rather sleep in Milan and visit the lake for the day, start from Milano Centrale, where the Varenna and Como San Giovanni trains leave; our Milano Centrale guide shows how the station works. Planning a longer trip, our Milan and Lake Como itinerary combines both.