Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after lake Garda and lake Maggiore. At over 400 m (1320 ft) deep it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe and the bottom of the lake is more than 200 metres (656 ft) below sea-level.
lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces (such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni and Villa Carlotta). Currently, many celebrities have or had homes on the shores of lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, Madonna, George Clooney,Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Branson, and Ben Spies. lake Como is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy.
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Beaches of Como lake | Bathing zones

• Bellagio has a Riverside Beach Bar in Via la Spiaggia. It describes itself as a ‘bathing centre’ with beach, sunbeds (for hire), snack bar and boat jetty. Just outside of town at the very end of the promontory, is the shingle beach at Punta Spartivento.

• Menaggio has the large commercial lido ‘Giordano’, at the end of the lakeside, just past the obstacle putting course. Facilities include adult and children’s pools, ‘grassy beach’, playground, bar, restaurant and big sun terrace

• Argegno has a small, pleasant beach.

• There is a recently opened Lido in Lenno, at the southern end of the waterfront, near the tourist information office. And beyond it is the narrow entrance to a shingle beach.

• At Cadenabbia there is a public Lido by the lakeside, with a pool, sun beds, sandy beach, drinks and restaurant. At the weekend, it becomes ‘one of the most elegant discos’. And further along the ‘shoreline’, the moored ‘Bisbino boat’ provides live music.

• A little way north of Varenna’s ferry point is a beach with a Lido – Spiaggia and the Lido Beach restaurant.

• Dongo has a Lido Communale at the northern end of town, in the area for watersports and campsites.

• At the entrance to Gravedona are a beach and lido with two swimming pools.

• Blue Easy Rent, a boat hire company based in the Sporting Club Domaso on Via Case Sparse, also offers: ‘Private camping site, sunbathing area, dressing rooms…bar and lounge inside the club house, large parking site and free beaches only 50 metres far’.

Driving around Como lake - hire a car?

There are both advantages and disadvantages to driving a hire car around the Lake. For further details, and a suggested best strategy for independent travellers, see Driving: A Smart way to get around lake Como.
On balance, driving yourself to lake Como from Bergamo (Orio Al Serio), Milan Malpensa or Milan Linate airport will probably be more convenient than using public transport. See Driving: A Smart way to get to lake Como for more on that.
There is no shortage of car hire companies but you should book well in advance to be sure of finding a car available.

• SIXTI (part of SIXT) specialises in small cars – we hired a Smart two-seater (semi) automatic from them. They can provide vehicles for as little as nine Euros per day, though free mileage is limited to 700 kilometres and the rate does not include personal accident insurance.
• CarRentals.co.uk, a leading price comparison website, which searches up to fifty car hire company web sites to provide you with the cheapest prices in the marketplace

Our advice to hire car drivers can be summed up as:

1. Hire the smallest car you can manage with.
2. Hire an automatic or semi-automatic car if you’re not used to manual gears.
3. Bring your SatNav with you, if it’s set up for use in Europe.
4. Don’t drive around lake Como if you’re nervous of heights, narrow roads and/or fast drivers.
5. Use public transport and your feet, as well as the car, in order to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere at the Lake.

Water taxi


The water taxi services available at lake Como include:

• The Taxi Boat Service, based in Bellagio, runs five boats. Two of them – the Villa Serbelloni and the Carlotta – carry up to eighteen passengers each and are finished in pale wood and cream leather, for special occasions such as weddings. The largest boat – Nino Di Loppia – seats forty under cover, for lake tours, while the smallest – Porto Felice – is used for transfers and waterskiing. The fifth boat – Venezia – carries fourteen passengers.

• Bellagio Water Taxis runs two boats providing a cruise plus tour of Villa del Balbianello and a
• short ‘pre-dinner’ cruise.

• The Boat Service is based in Sala Comacina, a short distance from Isola Comacina, with an office in Cadenabbia. But it will pick passengers up from any suitable docking area, including Como and the Villa D’Este in Cernobbio. It runs three general purpose taxi boats – the Larius for up 78 people, the Freccia Dell’Isola for up 44 people, the Zoca De L’Oli for up 20 people. They provide transfers from Sala Comacina to Villa del Balbianello, customised guided tours of the lake and excursions to locations for hire of self drive motorboats (up to 20hp without a licence) and for waterskiing. A fourth boat, the Lucia, is used for transfers to the restaurant on Isola Comacina.

• Service Boat Menaggio runs one large boat – Freccia azzura – which seats seventy five passengers (forty covered) and a smaller boat – Taxi Venezzia – which seats fourteen. Services include transfers from Menagggio to Villa del Balbianello and back, combined with a guided tour of the Villa.

A water taxi can also be a convenient way of touring lake Como with a small or large group, giving you the chance to ‘drop anchor’ for a while at a particular location – for example, near George Clooney’s Villa Oleandra at Laglio. Or it can be a key element in a romantic wedding by the Lake, carrying bride and groom away in a white boat.


What to see on Como Lake

The first sight of the dramatic expanse of azure-hued lake Como, ringed by gardens and forests and backed by the snowcapped Alps, is likely to evoke strong emotions. Romance, soulfulness, even gentle melancholy -- these are the stirrings that over the centuries the lake has inspired in poets (Lord Byron), novelists (Stendhal), composers (Verdi and Rossini), and plenty of other visitors, too -- be they deposed queens, such as Caroline of Brunswick, whom George IV of England exiled here for her adulterous ways, well-heeled modern travelers who glide up and down these waters in the ubiquitous lake steamers, or, these days, the rich and überfamous (George Clooney owns a villa here).

Aside from its emotional pull, Como is also just an enjoyable place to spend time. Less than an hour from Milan by train or car, its deep waters and verdant shores provide a wonderful respite from modern life. Tellingly, lake Como served as a backdrop for the romantic scenes in Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones -- one of the very few settings in the film that was not created entirely by CGI computer programs. I guess even George Lucas realized that Como was a place of such unearthly beauty as to need little digital touching up.

Part Gothic and part Renaissance, the Duomo, Piazza del Duomo, in the center of town just off the lake (tel. 031-265-244 031-265-244 ), is festooned with exuberant masonry and sculpture. Statues of two of the town s famous native sons, Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, flank the main entrance. Inside, beneath an 18th-century dome by Juvarra -- the architect who designed much of Turin -- is a lavish interior hung with mostly 16th-century paintings and tapestries, with lots of helpful leaflets in English to explain the major works of art. It s open daily 7:30am to noon and 3 to 7pm. The black-and-white-striped 13th-century Broletto (Town Hall) abuts the Duomo s left flank, and adjoining it is the Torre del Comune. As a study in contrasts, the starkly modernist and aptly named Casa del Fascio, built in 1936 as the seat of the region s Fascist government, rises just behind the Duomo.

Como s main street, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, cuts through the medieval quarter, where wood-beamed houses line narrow streets. Just 2 blocks south of the Duomo, the five-sided, 12th-century San Fedele stands above a charming square of the same name; parts of the church, including the altar, date from the 6th century.what to see on Como It s open daily 8am to noon and 3:30 to 7pm. To see Como s most alluring church, though, it s necessary to venture into the dull outlying neighborhood southwest of the center where, just off Viale Roosevelt, you ll come to the five-aisle heavily frescoed Basilica of Sant Abbondio (tel. 631-338-8111), a Romanesque masterpiece from the 11th century with great 14th-century frescoes (bring coins so you can illuminate them). It s open daily 8am to 6pm (unless a wedding, which is popular here, is on). Also you can try to find the guide on Como.

Lakeside life revolves around Piazza Cavour and the adjoining Giardini Publici, where the circular Tempio Voltiano (tel. 031-574-705 031-574-705 ) houses memorabilia on the life and experiments of native son and electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta. The second floor is under restoration, though many documents and the like are still on display downstairs. Admission is 1.50€ ($1.95) while the restoration lasts, but will return to 3€ ($3.90) when the upstairs reopens, whenever that may be. It is open 10am to noon and 3 to 6pm (2-4pm Oct-Mar).

For a quick retreat and some stunning views, take the funicular (tel. 031-303-608 031-303-608 ) for a 7-minute ride up to the top of Brunate, the forested hill above the town (it leaves from the Lungo Lario Trieste every 15 min. or so, in summer every half-hour).

Bellagio

Bellagio is often called one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. Nestled amid cypress groves and verdant gardens, its earth-toned old buildings climb from the lakefront promenade along stepped cobbled lanes. While Bellagio is a popular retreat for everyone from Milanese out for a day of relaxation to British and Americans who come to relax for a week or two, the town is for the most part unmarred by tourism.

italy lago di comoOne of Bellagio s famed gardens surrounds the Villa Melzi, built by Francesco Melzi, a friend of Napoleon and an official of his Republic. The villa was the retreat of Franz Liszt and is now the home of a distinguished Lombardian family; they allow the public to stroll through their acres of manicured lawns and fountains and to visit a pavilion where a collection of Egyptian sculpture is on display. It s open March 18 through October daily 9am to 6:30pm; admission is 5€ ($6.50).

Bellagio s other famous gardens are those of the Villa Serbelloni, occupying land once owned by Pliny the Younger and now in the hands of the Rockefeller Foundation. You can visit the gardens on twice-daily guided tours (reserve ahead), about 1 1/2 hours long, in Italian and English (tours require 6 people minimum, 20 people maximum). From April to October, tours are Tuesday to Sunday at 11am and 4pm and cost 6.50€ ($8.45) You meet at the little tower on the back side of Piazza della Chiesa, a steep block and a half up from the port.




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Como lake Park







Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni - Bellagio


Villa Balbianello

Thread has been updated with additional information