I will be travelling to Lake Como for a wedding in early October. The wedding is in Cernobbio, where I will stay for a few days. Any other suggestions for other areas/towns to visit? Will I need to rent a car to get around the area?

Bellagio is beautiful. The Hotel Florence is a great place to stay- beautiful views, reasonable for the area.

You can reach Cernobbio by frequent bus from the city of Como. You really don't need to rent a car: there are frequent buses up and down the west side of the lake, to Colico in the north. There is also boat service throughout the lake area.

I would recommend visiting Argegno, Tremezzo, Cadenabbia, Menaggio, Bellagio and Varenna. Also, the Villa di Balbianello (at Lenno), Villa Carlotta (at Cadenabbia), Villa Melzi and Villa Serbelloni (in Bellagio), Villa Cipressi and Villa Monastero (in Varenna).

Really? A wedding in Cernobbio? How nice! Where exactly? Villa d'Este? Villa Olmo ??? I'm curious I've spent so many holidays there as a child

I agree that Lake Como is a great place for a wedding. There;ll be plenty for you to do there for three days, and you've already gotten some good suggestions. And, as others have said, you don't need a car.
Most places will still be open in early October....and the weather should be delightful.

thanks for the suggestions thus far. wedding is at villa d'este... wont be staying there unfortunately. i will be there for about a week, so will have hopefully ample time to travel around the ares. any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I recommend a car. You can read hundreds of opinions here on the merits of staying in Bellagio versus Menaggio versus Varenna. Each has their pros and cons. I would probably lean towards Menaggio with the wedding in Cernobbio.

And absolutely don't miss Villa Balbianello.

Best wishes,

Rex

See http://www.straughan.com/italy/travel/lake_como.htm and http://www.straughan.com/italy/travel/restaurants.htm and http://www.straughan.com/food/rest.html

- I live on Lake Como, so I have quite a few opinions!

Best, D'

My daughter and I are planning a very last minute trip to southern France and then on to Lake Como. We have been to Lake Garda several times, but this will be our 1st visit to Lake Como. I have heard such great things about Bellagio, but I haven't had any luck on getting a hotel reservations at the recommended Hotel Florence. As a mother/daughter combo, which town around Lake Como would you recommend for our 2-3 days there? Any other hotel recommendations? We will be there at the end of Sept., so I hope to hear from you soon!! Thanks!

We had a car which we drove to Bellagio. We parked it in a private garage the hotel owns when we arrived. Four days later we got the car out to leave in it. Meanwhile we spent the four days going all over the lake on boats, visiting gardens, villas, and various towns. We loved it, but we sure didn't need a car.

to trvlcrzy - - See two of my prior posts at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34479284 and at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34395400

Best wishes,

Rex

Still working on the last minute trip to Lake Como for next week! I can now get a reservation for 2 of the 3 nights I requested at Hotel Florence in Bellagio,but only in a room withOUT a lake view for 135euro/night. Question: do I keep looking for options, preferably w/ a lake view OR do I stay in Varenna one night (don't know where) and then switch to Bellagio? It looks like Varenna is great but made more for couples/honeymooners; we are a mother/daughter combo! We had planned to stay 2 nights in Nice before coming to Lake Como, so we could also stay there 3 nights and only 2 in Como. Would love to hear some ideas....many thanks!

Have you tried La Pergola ?

I will check on La Pergola; is that the one that is a much further walk up a hill from the ferry?

With three nights - - and IF you have a car and feel like exploring around the lake, I think there is merit to trying to stay in Menaggio. Especially at the GH Menaggio, it is effortless to board the ferry and be in Bellagio in 5-8 minutes.

La Pergola is indeed up the hill and then down. It's in a quiet little neighborhood, overlooking the water. I walked by the hotel a few times and the people at the hotel seemed friendly and it looked like a pleasant place, although not as nice as the Florence or Belvedere.

"although not as nice as the Florence or Belvedere"

Agree, but you can get a good size, nice room with a deck right over the water. What a view. If possible, everyone needs a "room with a view" in Bellagio.
They have a nice restaurant. The walk won't be bad in Oct.

Our trip was absolutely wonderful, and many thanks to Fodorites for the helpful hints! We took the train from Nice to Como, and since it arrived after the last hydrofoil to Bellagio we decided to stay in Como. At the recommendation of the hotels in Bellagio, we made a last minute reservation at Hotel Florence in Como and it was nice. Good location as we shopped the next morning for scarves and ties before heading (by bus!!) to Bellagio. The bus takes longer than the hydrofoil, but less time than the other ferries. It was a gorgeous drive! I am SO glad that we stayed in Bellagio; the towns of Varenna and Menaggio were charming, but much smaller and quieter. The Hotel Florence in Bellagio was great....even in a room that didn't have a lake view!!