Originally Posted by coral22

We had another wonderful breakfast and headed out to the nearby Hotel Villa Cipressi. It is a sister hotel to the Royal Victoria and has a beautiful garden that we received a pass to enter. It was lovely, right on the water and they were setting up for a wedding and there were the most gorgeous floral arrangements everywhere. We continued on to Villa Monastero which we toured and enjoyed their beautiful gardens, also.

On to the ferry where we purchased a day pass and headed over to Mennagio. Coming off the ferry, there was a gas station and a laundromat, which made it feel like a more real life town. We passed the lovely harbor and stopped in an appealing spot for a quick lunch, and wandered the charming streets and enjoyed their shops. Then it was definitely time to enjoy a gelato in the town square and relax by the water. It seemed like there were a lot of families there and college students, so I wonder if it is a more affordable town to stay in. We headed back to Varenna to enjoy the balcony and freshen up for dinner.

We headed back to the ferry and aimed for Bellagio. Oh my! This is a much bigger, more bustling place with a lot more lux shops. I got a beautiful scarf there and if you enjoy shopping, you will be thrilled. We had seen a fantastic bar that we were hopeful we could get into, Terrazzo Darsena at Hotel Villa Serbelloni. It doesn't take reservations and you can only enter if there is a seat available, and they call from the guard station to check. We were in luck and were pointed in the right direction and it was fantastic. If you go, head into the hotel to use the restroom, you will pass by their huge pool and get to see the ornate, opulent lobby. This was so worth it!
https://www.villaserbelloni.com/en/o...html#image_968

We headed on to our restaurant, Bilacus. It was very good any everyone enjoyed their meal. It has a pretty garden setting and wonderful friendly service.It was a leisurely evening and we felt very pampered in our experience in Bellagio. The ferry ride home was so pretty in the dark, another great day!
https://www.bilacusbellagio.it

There seems to be a lot of inquiries on where to stay. I think Bellagio is bigger and has more to do, but also seems like a bigger crowd magnet. I thought Varenna was more charming and sedate. It depends on what kind of energy you enjoy more. We ended up being very happy we stayed in Varenna, it was more our vibe. I think if you are taking the train in, Varenna is an easier landing because it has a station in town. There were a lot of people getting off the train and hopping on the ferry with their luggage to their final destination, which would not be for me. We liked the area we stayed in because it was away from the crowds of the train and ferry, but if I arrived on either with my luggage, I would want to stay right there.

I think 3 nights was great for us. This was a great place to start, in a beautiful, restful, easy to navigate location. I know water sports are popular there, and there are some small pretty beaches and this is a place for relaxation and to soak in the beauty. It really restores your soul. But there is not a lot to do there and not that much inside. I wondered what you would do here if it was rainy or really cold. DH is not a chill kind of personality, so he was ready to move on. But we were so appreciative of this wonderful spot, it really was a dreamy experience.