Hello, I would love some advice on this. I plan to spend our last night in the Lake Como area. Our flight leaves Malpensa at 3:00pm the following day. I am looking for a great hotel with views on the lake and also wondering if the drive back to Malpensa airport is difficult? Many thanks.

There are four good lakefront hotels in the City of Como: Metropole Suisse, Barchetta Excelsior, Terminus, Palace. They are all four stars, and all within three blocks of each other. Only the Barchetta is a modern construction (the others are grand palaces).

The drive from Como to Malpensa takes one hour, and you need a good map to ensure you take the correct highways.

Good advise from GAC for the city of Como. The west shore of the Lake is very nice---Tremezzo, Menaggio. From there your drive would be about 1:20 but simple. Should not be a problem.

I responded too quickly to the original posting, incorrectly believing that the query was limited to the City of Como.

There are several more lovely hotels north of the City of Como, with beautiful views of the Lake. Ten minutes north, in Cernobbio, there is the famous Grand Hotel Villa d'Este, considered to the finest on the Lake. One hour north, in Menaggio, there are the Grand Hotel Victoria and the Grand Hotel Menaggio. There is the Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Tremezzo. There is the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio. There is the Royal Hotel Victoria and the Hotel Du Lac, both in Varenna. From Bellagio and Varenna, you would need to cross the Lake on a car ferry. But from Menaggio or Tremezzo, the drive to Malpensa is about two hours.

Because your flight leaves at 3:00 p.m., it makes perfect sense to spend the last night either in Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio or Tremezzo.

I responded too quickly to the original posting, incorrectly believing that the query was limited to the City of Como.

There are several more lovely hotels north of the City of Como, with beautiful views of the Lake. Ten minutes north, in Cernobbio, there is the famous Grand Hotel Villa d'Este, considered to the finest on the Lake. One hour north, in Menaggio, there are the Grand Hotel Victoria and the Grand Hotel Menaggio. There is the Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Tremezzo. There is the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio. There is the Royal Hotel Victoria and the Hotel Du Lac, both in Varenna. From Bellagio and Varenna, you would need to cross the Lake on a car ferry. But from Menaggio or Tremezzo, the drive to Malpensa is about two hours.

Because your flight leaves at 3:00 p.m., and you are driving, it makes perfect sense to spend the last night either in Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio or Tremezzo. If you want a city-feel, then stay in the City of Como, which has a fine Cathedral and shopping.

I will be staying for 2 nights at the Hotel Belvedere which is in Bellagio. It is on the lake with beautiful views. I plan to then drive to Malpensa airport to return the rental and be on time for my 3pm flight home. I think we will have plenty of time.
Make sure you have a good map.
Ciao!!

Hi, Although Hotel Belvedere is reputed to be beautiful and wonderful, I'm pretty sure it's not "on the lake" but up the hill with great views of the lake. If this is very important to you, you should double check. Good luck,
j

You're right. I misspoke. I know where it is, overlooking the lake. I will be there for only 2 days but am looking forward to it.

I've stayed at the Villa Fiori (one of Garabaldi's homes converted into a Hotel) also in Cernobbio. It is perched on the Lake with wonderful views and balcony. The Raimondi Ristorante was good as well. They have a parking lot and can give you easy directions to the Airport.

We spent our last two night in Lake Como before heading back to Malpensa. I won't recommend our hotel but, the drive back was very easy - took approximately an hour - we left hotel at 7:15 a.m. and even driving thru rush-hour traffic heading towards Milan we made it to the airport by 8:15 a.m. - once you get on the autostrada the signs are very easy to follow.