Bellagio or Varenna
 

Hey all

we are spending a week in the Lake Como area in September next year. Am planning to do a bit of looking around, do the Bernina Express from Tirano, day trip into Milan etc.

Vrenna is perhaps a bit easier as it is on the train line, but is it worth the extra effort to stay in Bellagio?

We are planning on getting an apartment, and their seems to be a fair bit more choice in Bellagio.

Also - do we need to hire a car? or is the public transport pretty good?

Cheers

hey newbie go a lot...

www.bellagio.info is the prettiest town

Varenna is nice Menaggio too very close to

each other served by quick mid lake ferries

have stayed in all 3 prefer currently

www.hotelscombined.com Residence D'Ulivo 120 euro

nice apartments on the grounds of Grand Hotel Serbelloni

Simbply beautiful and awesome at the same time.

Varenna train station is a LONG uphill hike not close at all

to town so ferry around is best for 10 euros get a mid lake

pass ride as much as you like.

'Day' trip to Milan a bridge too far might rethink that

Relax enjoy have fun!

<< Vrenna is perhaps a bit easier as it is on the train line, but is it worth the extra effort to stay in Bellagio >>

I wouldn't consider a 10 minute ferry ride from Varenna to Bellagio much of an "extra effort." So my answer is yes - stay in Bellagio.

You can go anywhere on the lake by ferry/hydrofoil so you won't need a car. I rented a car after I left Bellagio to go to the Lake Maggiore area.

The walk between the Varenna train station and the Varenna ferry dock is only about 500 meters. There are taxis if that's too far for you.

It's about 400 meters from the Residence d'Ulivo in Bellagio to the ferry dock. The Residence La Limonera apartments in Bellagio are closer, perhaps 200 meters.

http://www.residencelalimonera.com/

But I would stay wherever you find lodging that suits your needs and budget. We love Bellagio and have visited the town several times, but I actually think the views from Varenna are more beautiful. Bellagio is a little bigger, has more apartments (as you've discovered), restaurants and shops. It also gets many more visitors, especially on summer weekends. Varenna feels a little less touristy, has fewer restaurants but more things to do and see besides shopping. The only minor downside to staying in Varenna (IMO) is if/when you're having dinner in Bellagio and needing to keep an eye on the clock so as not to miss the last ferry of the evening.

If you stay in Varenna, a day trip to Milan is very easy and IMO worth it. If staying in Bellagio, you'd have to examine the ferry timetable and see how well it matches the train timetable. I wouldn't plan on catching the last ferry Varenna-Bellagio at the end of the day in case of delays en route.

Heer are images at Bellagio and Varenna including the D,Ulivo apartments where we stayed. La Limonera will be less $$$.
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...eck=0&cat=4442

Another day-trip option from mid-Lake Como is Lugano. There's regular bus service between Menaggio and Lugano.

We spent 4 nights in Bellagio the first week in October this past fall. Lake Como IS touristy. Just expect that, and you will still have a lovely time. La Limonera is nicely located. There are also apartments for rent at the edges of town - some on the water - just past Villa Melzi. We noticed them when we hiked down one afternoon for lunch at a tiny seafood restaurant in San Giovanni, then dawdled along the pretty local dock/harbor toward ristorante Alle Darsene which is in Loppia, where we then made reservations for dinner that night. REALLY fine meal with excellent service.

It was hard to say whether it or the meal we had at Salice Blu the night before (where you call for reservations, and the chef comes to pick you up and takes you home again after dinner!) . But I digress -- I would LOVE to stay in any of those locations over anything right in Bellagio, itself.