We will be staying in Mezzegra (near Tremezzo) on Lake Como for five days in just a few short weeks. I am having trouble finding good reference materials for the area, i.e. most guidebooks have a whopping two pages on the Lake Como area and websites are a bit spotty as well. I've gotten some good info from the boards here, but would like a reference source to take with us as I am running short on planning time. Does anyone have a recommendation for a guidebook or website they particularly like?

http://www.lakecomo.it/eng/index_eng.asp

Rick Steves Italy gives pages of practical info for first timers including Lake Como. You can often find one at a public library (in the U.S.) if you don't want to buy one. He lists what he thinks are the key attractions. This saves time sorting through lists and lists of confusing array of attractions if you agree with his assessment.

I am using more Fodors (I don't work for Fodors) as they include more and more useful recommendations mentioned in this forum.

http://www.lakecomoapartment.com
http://lakecomopages.com

The Cadogan guide is excellent and has many pages on Lake Como:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lombardy-Ita.../dp/1860113222

Try this site:
http://www.italianlakes.com/index.htm

A second vote for the Cadogan guide.

We used <i>AAA Essential Italian Lakes</i> plus a multitude of other print & on-line resources (mentioned here already) to plan for our stay on Lake Como.

Wonderful, thank you, I will check these out!

The Cadogan guides are very detailed and give inforamtion on the towns and vilages around the lakes.

Click on my name and scroll through the posts I've started - I started one that is a compendium of different websites and activities on Lake Como. I also took a lot of notes and started a "cheat sheet" for the Lake area - not comprehensive but a good start. If you send me an email I can zap it over to you.

I am surprised at how little English material on Lake Como is found in guidebooks compared to how much of a magnet it is - not to mention how beautiful. The center peninsula which culminates in Bellagio - I've found relatively little in English in guidebooks about that area and try not to miss a drive up into the hills if you can.

Rough Guides and Blue Guides (I think?) or maybe it's Cadogan have a fair amount of information about the Lakes.