In June, we are staying in Menaggio for three nights, I know there is much to see and do on Lake Como, but is it okay to skip Verenna? Seriously, if we don't have enough reason to go there, we'll see some other sights.

viaggio sempre, what a wonderful screen handle, I love it!

I'll state the obvious first: it's ok to skip anything, he (she) who pays the piper calls the travel tune. But I quite liked Varenna, and would have been sorry not to have seen the view from the castle I mentioned. It doesn't take long to do a quick ferry-hop between Menaggio-Varenna-Bellagio, so you can do a quick dip into each town on a day.

Elaine, you have quite a choice of routes. You could take the bus from Cernobbio to Menaggio, and get a ferry from there to Bellagio, returning by bus or ferry from Bellagio to Como and thence back to Cernobbio.

Were it not for the fact that no hotel in Varenna really competes with Villa d'Este, I'd urge you to stay there for sheer ease of logistics. But hey, you'll figure it out.

Sorry travelphile to have muscled in on your thread.

Elaine,
I had to laugh when I read about the steep hike to the castle in Varenna!!! My husband and I took that stroll and I almost did not make it to the top! I have a phobia about heights and I was sure we were lost (little train left us in the middle of no where). But the end results were well worth the "fear" on my part. We loved the castle and the lunch was great. The best story of our trip in Varenna. Varenna deserves at least two or three days. It is a wonderful town!

Sorry, my remark should be addressed to Sue! Forgive!

Sue, thanks. You are right. There is much good info in this thread. We'll put Verenna into our plans and the things we want to do and see there. Then we'll be able to weigh it against the other possibilities.

aj - okay, thanks.

Elaine, I think with one full day, you should consider going to Villa Carlotta to see the house and the gardens, then from there to Bellagio. We stayed in Varenna, and I loved it, but if I had one day to see things, I would try to see one of the great houses (Carlotta or Balbianello) and one of the towns, Bellagio. I know you can do Carlotta and Bellagio in one day, because that's what I did.

so many choices, so little time!
I'll do some more reading, thanks
:)
Wonder how travelphile is doing?

There are different tastes. We loved the ferry ride to Bellagio but weren't that impressed with Bellagio. It just seemed to us like shops, shops, shops up and down the hills. It was pretty and we took lots of pictures and loved the ferry ride along the lake. If we had more time we would have stopped a lot of places..some maybe less touristy than Bellagio. But I know that shoppers really love it there.

Different towns on Lake Como have different flavors.

Bellagio (translate to Bell of the Lake) is located at the tip of a peninsula (possible similar to the end of a cul de sac), so they have gravitated to tourism.

Como has made money off of silk maufacturing for several hundered years. It has a population of 80,000+.

Menaggio is at the intersection with the 2,000 year old north-south road and the road to Lugano (it is a natural shopping town, less touristy).

Varenna was a small (600 people) fishing village until recently.

This variety is part of the charm of Lake Como. You can add to that you are going by boat and the unbeleivably beautiful scenery.

Thanks for the summaries, that helps

How about travel logistics to each, from Como and back again, by ferry or hydrofoil?

I will only have 1.5 days, want to see some highlights and still allow enough time for savoring, of course that will mean concentrating on at most two towns, maybe three if I'm efficient.
I arrive by train in Como, hotel is just outside of Como but not far I believe.

I believe that Villa d este is in Cernobbio. I beleive that the villa offers service to Como on their own boats (I don't know if or what they charge.)

From the boats schedule that I have, the 'Fast Boats' do not call at Cernobbio. Cernobbio to Como is a 13 minute boat ride. Cernobbio to Bellagio is a 1 to 2 hour ride (depends on the number of stops).

Once you are in the Bellagio, Menaggio, Varenna area, you can use the ar ferries in addition to boats, to get from town to town. I would recommend you start with Bellagio then decide between Varenna and Menaggio based on the types of towns youy hope to visit on your trip. If time allows, then tour one of the many villlas with gardens.

An insider tidbit, we found Bellano to be a nice town (not near the tourist destination of the other three). The car ferries do not go there, you can use the special 'Central Lake Boats'.

Enjoy your trip.

Any information on how to contact Villa d Este? Thanks Lou

www.villadeste.it

includes their email address, phone, fax

Travelphile is almost done travelphiling... LOL.

Followed the post just a bit... checking in from Milan hotel, leaving in the AM... :(

Yes Elaine, you can do Bellagio and Varenna in a day, I would save Bellagio for the evening hours (or late day) as Varenna was TOO quiet for my taste.

Already planning the next trip (12-24 mos away) and trying to decide if we do Bellagio again or Stresa next time! We loved it that much. (and have done Lake Garda on previous trip)

Also loved Panzano and Venice -

Actually, if I said I loved Bellagio for my topic here, it must have been Lust, as my love is saved for Venezia! (with Tuscany as a third lover, I had to at least taste them all!)

I'll post more over the next few weeks, y'all learn more than you needed about me, as my dad has been in intensive care since before we left and is finally 'waking' up, so the trip has been bittersweet... -Travelphile

PS On a good note, last day in Milan (2 nights) was wonderful, it deserves some time!).

glad to hear your dad's condition has improved, enjoy the rest of your trip

If I had only one day I would try to do Bellagio first. Varenna is a much MUCH more "traditional" Italian village than is Bellagio and there aren't nearly the shopping or eating opportunities in Varenna that there are in Bellagio.

Bellagio is, for some, much glitzier than Varenna, too. I like them both, as well as Menaggio, but all for different reasons...because they are all, well, different.

So, starting out from Como (Cernobbio, actually) are you recommending that I start that day in Varenna, and, moving on about mid-day, end it in Bellagio?

I would think that you will have more lunch choices in Bellagio (compared to Varenna). Any boat/ ferry ride from/to Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio is no more than 15 mintues.

Varenna is very compact and unless you are going up to the castle or to tour one of the villas it will not take long see Varenna.

You probably want to print and study the boat service schedules. If you want to see the lake, then here is one idea: there is a pre-lunch that goes from Bellagio to Lecco. The boat then sits in Lecco for the lunch hour and leaves about 1:00. The scenery is very nice. We found this an efficient use of time.

I just realized I completely reversed Voyager's suggestion, sorry.

OK, I'm thinking now I will have to stay flexible due to possible April showers.
But, I'll have half a day when I arrive in Como, and then the next full day. Maybe I should spend some time at one of the villas--are they walkable from the towns, or can one take a taxi?

Thanks for your patience.