Where to stay in Lake Como

Mountains dropping into water, with villages and villa gardens along the shore and ferries doing the work of roads. Bellagio is the postcard; Varenna and Menaggio are easier to stay in.

Lake Como is an inverted Y. Como town sits at the foot of the western arm, a long boat ride from the mid-lake shore: Bellagio on the point where the arms meet, Varenna opposite with the railway station from Milano Centrale, Menaggio on the west, and the villa gardens of Tremezzo just south of it. Varenna is the base that needs no car; Bellagio gets the crowds; Menaggio is flatter and quieter.

It suits anyone happy to live by a ferry timetable, and suits the stair-averse less: Varenna and Bellagio climb their hillsides, and a view usually means a lane of steps. The Regina, the west-shore road, is narrow and slow, and parking is scarce. The car ferry links Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia; from Como the hydrofoil takes under an hour, the slow boat about two.

Three nights mid-lake, with Como town as the last afternoon. Arrive by train at Varenna and never touch a car. Pair it with Milan, an hour away, or continue up the line to Tirano and the Bernina railway. See the villa gardens in the morning, before the day boats from Como arrive.

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