My husband and I are planning to stay in Lake Como at the Barchetta Excelsior for 3 nights. I realize we can spend a day or so touring around the Lake, but what other day trips can we take? What is a must see? How far is the Swiss border, and is it worth the trek? And would you recommend we rent a car and travel, or do ferries/trains? Is driving in and around Como safe/easy?
Any advice would be great. Thanks!

There is more than enough to see over a three-day period just in the Lake Como area. Thanks to the ferry service, you won't even need a car to do it!

Two words: Villa Balbianello.

Best wishes,

Rex

The gardens of Villa Carlotta in Menaggio.

Getting to Switzerland is fairly easy, depending where on Lake Como you are staying (I don't know where your hotel is). There is a bus from Menaggio to Lugano that takes only an hour and is very scenic. Ask at the tourist office in Menaggio or Como for more information. Lugano is beautiful but very very expensive. Make sure you spend lots of time in Varenna - liked it WAYYY better than Bellagio or Menaggio.

Every lover of the Italian lake region -- which is lovely but which I found boring after two days -- will jump on me for this suggestion, but you might want to think about a day trip to Milan.

There is a tiny railway station (not the main Ferrovie dello Stato station) in downtown Como, from which trains go to downtown Milan. Almost anything that you might want to see in Milan -- Castello Sforzesca, Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Pinacoteca di Brera, La Scala, the designer shopping streets -- are within walking distance. (I didn't have a reservation, so did not go to see "The Last Supper.&quot

And take the time to have lunch at Al Mercante on the Piazza dei Mercanti (very close to the Duomo). It's good, it's reasonable, and it's chiefly frequented by Milanese business people.

Correction: That should be: Almost anything ... IS within walking distance.