Lake Como and Bellagio in 1 and 1/2 day.
 

Hello again,

I have made reservations for my family and friends, for a mediterranean cruise on June of next year. The cruise starts in Venice and ends also there. We are planing to fly to Milan and stay there for 2 nights, can someone tell me if it's possible to go visit Lake Como, Bellagio with such a short time then on the 3rd day we go on a train to Venice for our cruise. What is there to do and see.
Thank you for your advices.

I think that is certainly possible -- depending on which town you want to go to and how you get there, Lake Como is somewhere between 1 and 2 hours from Milan -- but in my experience, the joy of being at Lake Como was having time to enjoy at a somewhat leisurely pace. I'm not sure a day trip is worth it. If you wanted to more or less skip sightseeing in Milan altogether, I think a 2-day stay in the area would be more feasible.

To me, one of the great pleasures of the Lake Como area was taking ferries back and forth to the various small towns. If you are going to be on a cruise boat for two weeks, I'm not sure you will find this as interesting.

Bellagio had some nice restaurants, and has a lot of fancy shopping. We stayed in the small, charming town of Varenna across the lake, and much preferred it. As I remember, there was a train direct from Milan that took approximately 1 hour.

Well, assuming you'll arrive at Malpensa in the AM from the states, you could get to Como by early afternoon, at latest. That means you would have 1 1/2 days in the area. That would mean NO nights spent in Milan. Personally, I would say that anyday spent at lake Como would be worth it. I would recommend staying in Varenna, as there is direct train to Milan from there. With one full day, you could get a ferry pass and see Bellagio, Mennagio, and still have time to walk around Varenna. We stayed at the Albergo Olivedo, right at the ferry dock, and loved it. It's a relaxing way to get over jet lag. Have a wonderful trip!

What are your interests?

In June, there are several gardens in the mid-Lake Como area that would be beautiful. You could see the Serbelloni Gardens (reservation needed, go to Bellagio TI office in the piazza next to the church) or the Villa Melzi gardens in Bellagio. If you'd like to see how the wealthy lived, ferry to either Villa Carlotta or Villa Balbianello.

On such a short visit, I wouldn't spend any time in Menaggio and my priority would be villas, gardens and a couple of ferry rides before shopping. But that's me. You can wander Bellagio in a couple of hours before dinner. Varenna has fewer shops, and the town is a bit more spread out, but it's definitely worth a couple of hours.

If you choose to stay in Varenna, I can recommend the Hotel du Lac which has a terrace with a spectacular view where breakfast is served in nice weather. It's a short walk to the ferry dock. In Bellagio, I recommend the Hotel Florence as it is also very near the ferry dock. However, the hotel does not have air conditioning, so if your trip is late in June this may not be your best choice. If you're open to the idea of an apartment (with air conditioning) in the middle of Bellagio, go to www.residencelalimonera.com. It's a great deal.

I recommend dinner at Bilacus in Bellagio. Reservations required, but you could have your hotel make them or try to stop by the restaurant the first night to make a reservation for the second night.

We just returned from Bellagio two days ago, and were very disappointed. First of all, I stupidly thought it was only about an hour drive from Malpensa, which isn't true at all, especially in the summer months.

It actually took us 2 hours in hair raising stop and go traffic ( the driver called it "Italy's version of the French coast")- a little longer on the way back.

Also, town was shoulder to shoulder tourists, as were the boats to the other towns along the lake.

Bellagio itself is a pretty town, but other than the astounding views and a pretty garden or two, has little to really keep you busy or interested.

To top that off,the only decent food we had there was at a wonderful pizzeria ( Grotto Azzurra). Everything else was insanely expensive, and made Chef Boyardee look like a gourmet treat.

I'm sorry to sound so negative, but unless we really missed something, I'd recommend going elsewhere.

Maybe Verona?

Anyway, good luck!