bodhijack

actually, "places" and time of day........

tuscanlifeedit

It's pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel: hard to miss a good shot, no matter where or when.

Foggy mornings are gorgeous, as are sunsets.

HowardR

Go to Villa Monastero along the lake in Varenna. You can get some great shoreline shots from there. If you're going in the summer the flowers there and at Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo are good subjects, as well.

Intrepid1

The roses along the lakefront in Menaggio might interest you as well.

annw

I like taking a photo half way up one of the vertical streets in Bellagio, facing the lake.

Anywhere along the promenade in Bellagio is nice too.

schnauzer

I second the Villa Monastero photo position. Walk to the very end of the garden along the path - down to the summer house/gazebo thing on the water's edge and shoot back up towards Varenna. Fab photos. Take lots as you leave the ferry terminal or as you are arriving the terminals.

I found the best time of day was earlier, certainly not late in the day. If the day was hot there seemed to be a real haze build up across the water spoiling your shots. Don't think I will take that tomorrow/later etc, if it looks good, just do it.

bodhijack

some nice tips and ideas! thank you! sounds like each of you have taken great shots. it is just such an opportunity......

HowardR

If you want to see four of my photographs from Lake Como, log onto http://fodorite.fisherfower.net
Then, on the upper-left-hand column, click on "Fodorite pictures on this site."
Then, go down to the Italy section and find "Howard at Lake Como." The four photos are:
*Varenna from the ferry
*A coastline photo from Villa Monastero
*The gardens at Villa Monastero
*Lake Como from our room at the Belvedere Hotel

AmberSun

Villa Melzi on the lake just south of Bellagio was one of our favourite photo spots. Also the streets/alleyways in Bellagio with views to the lake.

Certainly a beautiful part of the world.

jabez

Take the tour of the Villa Serbelloni. Amazing views.
Also ,walk over to Pescallo for some great pictures.

Doble_Vergasser

When we there, we took an late morning boat to Lecco.The boat stays in Lecco for an hour ( noon to one, the crew's scheduled lunch) then departs back to Bellagio.

bodhijack

thank you all! any others?

erly

We have just returned two weeks ago from Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio.
Not a bad shot in sight.
You might want to wander the grounds of the villa for some indoor shots, but I think that if you are not a guest you must pay to enter the garden., but don't as the entire city is a photograph.
Varenna is beautiful from the water, and you can get some great shots from the ferry.
It is so vertical and colourful.

ronin

like tuscanlifeedit says: there are no "bad" views, but the lake was smoky during our visit. And careful with that walk to the castle above Varenna - I asked an elderly local woman walking to the neighborhood perched above the cemetary about directions to the castello... apparently my Italian comprehension isn't as good as I'd thought! ;-) I posted a few Como pix if you'd like to see where I ended up! http://tinyurl.com/j5wpt I was a half-hour trying to find a way to get out, as I was surrounded by private villas behind gated fences. I finally stumbled onto the tourist trail again and worked my way back down to town past the rail station. Whew! Even the mistakes make for great photo op's. Have a wonderful trip!