Hi

Could anyone please give me ideas where to stay at Lake Como. We will be travelling on public transport possibly from Tirano but if not from Luzern. We were looking at Bellagio or Varenna but not sure how easy it is to reach both of them.

Thanks

Bellagio does not have train service, but it's an easy and short ferry ride from Varenna. You can train to Varenna-Esino from both Tirano (90 minutes, no change) and Luzern (about 4 hours, 2-3 changes depending on the route/train you choose).

Lucerne - Bellagio with 1 change:
Lucerne dp by train 12.18 - Como SG ar 15.01, dp by bus 15.50 - Bellagio ar 16.59
Timetable valid until June

Just personal preference, but I'd rather travel Luzern to Bellagio via Varenna. If given a choice, I prefer trains over a bus.

Bonus: The walk from the Varenna station down to the ferry dock, as the lake comes into view, is one of my favorite views of the lake.

Thank you everyone.

We loved Hotel du Lac in Bellagio, short walk from train, and of course on the lake!

Fraser, for us Varenna was the ideal spot to base. It retains an 'authentic' feel and allows for a variety of daytrips by ferry.
Hope your stay goes well wherever.
I am done. the lago

Thank you. Think we will base ourselves there.

I agree. When we stayed in Bellagio, we didn't see any Italians other than ourselves, apart from workers in the hospitality industry. We were actually asked if we could speak English when we ordered at a bar. At our hotel, we asked about the absence of Italians, and were told that some Italians would arrive in August.

Varenna also had a lot of tourists, but there were also some Italians, and some shops offering groceries and other non-tourist merchandise.

Why should Italians go to these crowded borghi overrun by foreign tourists? They have so many better places to stay!