Lake Como from Milan
 

Hi.
If I catch the train from Milan to Lake Como, how much can I realistically hope to see in a long, single day. What type of transport would you recommend to use at the lake?
Cheers.

You should research what there is to see/do and prioritize your time. You may find that most of what interests you is in the mid-lake area. If that's the case, train to Varenna-Esino and use the ferries to get around. You can return to Milan from Varenna; just make sure you know the time of the last ferry back to Varenna. Also, buy your return train ticket when you buy the outbound because the Varenna station is unmanned. Alternatively, you could end the day in the town of Como and train back to Milan from there. Trains from the station closest to the ferry dock go to the Milan Cardona station.

We stayed in Bellagio for two nights a few years ago. We took a fairly train from Milan to Varenna and then a ferry to Bellagio. We got a day pass for the ferries. After checking in and getting lunch, we began exploring by ferry. We took the ferry to Tremezzina, and visited Villa Carlotta. We were there in May, and there wasn't much blooming in the gardens. A month or two earlier, the rhododendrons and azaleas were probably spectacular, and we might have spent more time there. We weren't much interested in visiting the inside of the villa. I had a quick glimpse, and my husband waited outside.

After Tremezzina, we took a longish ride on the ferry to see some of the scenery there. To be perfectly frank, it's not the most scenic spot I've seen in Italy, but it is very nice.

Then we visited Varenna, which is a small town, without much to see. There are a few interesting old churches, which we enjoyed visiting. We explored a few old streets away from the hubbub of souvenir shops and overpriced boutiques; the town is quite hilly, but no problem if you're fit. Then we had dinner in Varenna and went back to Bellagio.

To be honest, we really didn't know how to fill the time the next day. We went to Villa Melzi, but just visited the gardens, and walked along the lakeside back to the center of Bellagio. Then we explored Bellagio, which is almost entirely given over to serving mass tourism. I suggested taking the ferry to Menaggio, but my husband nixed it.

We had originally planned to spend three nights there, en route to Switzerland, but we had to cut our trip a bit short. I was really glad we had only two nights in Bellagio, because I don't know what we would have done with the extra day. As it was, we spent an afternoon lounging on the lawn of our hotel, which is not how we usually like to spend our vacations.

This is just my own personal opinion. I know lots of people happily spend a week or more on Lake Como. There are some opportunities for hiking, but it was unusually hot when we were there, and we weren't equipped for hiking anyway. If the gardens were in full bloom, I probably could have spent more time there. Villa Melzi had more varied gardens than Villa Carlotta, and we probably would have spent more time there if it hadn't been so hot. Visits inside the villas would have taken up some time. (If I remember correctly, Villa Melzi had two separate tickets, one for just the gardens, and one that included a visit to the villa itself.)

If you take a day trip from Milan, I think you'll be able to see enough to consider it a day well spent. You might want to take a boat back to the town of Como, where you can get a train to Milan, but I believe you either have to go to a peripheral station in Milan, or go to a station in Como that's not near the ferry port. Someone else may be able to give you more details. Como is a much larger town, and probably has a better selection of restaurants than Varenna or Bellagio.

We didn't go out of our way to find good restaurants, because usually we do very well just following our noses. On Lake Como, maybe because the mass tourism doesn't encourage high quality, we found our choices uninspiring. If food is important to you, you might want to do some research beforehand. However, on a day trip, time is usually precious, and you might want just to get a quick bite at a bar.

Regarding Jean's response, I thought there was a ticket machine at Varenna station, but maybe I'm mistaken. I know we bought our ticket the day we left, but maybe we bought it at a bar. In any case, the advice to buy the return ticket in Milan is good. The tickets can be used on any train, so you don't have to decide when you want to return. You have to time stamp the ticket in a machine just before boarding the train to establish your time of travel, so the ticket can't be reused.

Boat timetables: http://www.navlaghi.it/eng/c_orari.asp
bus timetables: http://www.sptlinea.it/
train timetables: http://www.trenord.it/it/orari/scari...iario-(1).aspx

In case you need to buy a return ticket from Varenna, there's a travel agency at the bottom of the hill that leads to the train station. They sell tickets there.

I'm one who could happily spend a week on Lake Como.

There are the ruins of a castle above Varenna. The ruins are only mildly interesting, but the views from up there are spectacular and there is a falconry on the property. The birds are released on a regular schedule and worth making time to see. You can walk up to the castle, taxi, or take the town bus. Ask for directions at the Tourist Office.

http://www.castellodivezio.it/EN/home-it.html

Unless you're really into estate gardens and seeing flowers in bloom, you might find Villa Balbianello the most interesting villa to visit. You don't say what time of year you're going, but that would obviously determine what, if any, flowering plants are in bloom.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_del_Balbianello

If you happen to be a big fan of pro cycle racing, there is a chapel and museum in the hills south of Bellagio. We have taken taxis back and forth, and one taxi driver turned out to be a fan too and joined us for part of our wandering.

http://www.bellagiolakecomo.com/bell...cycling-museum

Regarding trains back to Milan from the town of Como, from the station closest to the ferry dock there are trains to both Cordona and Centrale very late in the evening... 10:16 p.m.

Milan Cardona, which I think is the station Jean meant, is actually not very peripheral, so that might be an option from Como. I wouldn't want to return very late, though.

We are all different, which is why it's so hard to give advice to people you don't know. I could happily spend a week in Milan, but for me, a week in Bellagio would be like watching paint dry.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply. Certainly a few more hints and tips to assess. Cheers