Lake Como in Winter: What Is Open from November to March

Lake Como in winter can be visited, but on a calendar that is decided in a few weeks: the Isola Comacina, Castel Baradello and the gardens of Villa Melzi close for the season between the end of October and 1 November 2026, the Piani d’Erna cable car reopens on 1 November after a month of works, and the villas that stay open do so only on set days. This guide goes through what is open from November to March, place by place, according to the official pages read on 6 October 2026.

For the boats the news is an absence: on Lake Como the autumn timetable is valid until 1 November, and the one for the cold season has not been published yet. For the rest you will find precise dates, and where an official page has fallen behind we say so instead of filling the gap with last year’s timetable.

The picture in three tables

“Not published” means that on 6 October 2026 the official source gives no calendar for that period. Each row carries its source and the day we read it.

Transport

Service	November to March	Source and date read
Boats and ferries	Autumn timetable until 1 November; timetable for the cold season not published	Navigazione Laghi, 6 October
Como-Brunate funicular	6 am to midnight according to ATM; the city’s tourism site gives 10.30 pm, with runs until midnight in summer	ATM, 2 October; Città di Como
Argegno-Pigra cable car	Monday-Friday 9-16, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 9-19; the winter timetable is not stated	ATM, 2 October
Piani d’Erna cable car (Lecco)	Closed until 31 October; from 25 October to 31 December every day 8.30-12.30 and 13.30-17	Municipality of Lecco, 24 September; ITB, 2 October

Villas and gardens

Place	November to March	Source and date read
Villa Carlotta (Tremezzina)	Until 8 November 10-18; then 14-15, 21-22 and 28-29 November and 5-8 December, 10-16; January-March not published	Villa Carlotta, 6 October
Villa del Balbianello (Tremezzina)	November 10-17; December 16 days; January 2, 3, 5 and 6; booking required	FAI, 6 October
Villa Monastero (Varenna)	November and December 10-17, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, closed on 25 December	Villa Monastero, 5 October
Villa Cipressi (Varenna)	Winter hours not published	Hotel website, 5 October
Villa Melzi gardens (Bellagio)	Closed from November; seasonal opening from 22 March	Villa Melzi gardens and Bellagio Lake Como, 6 October
Villa Serbelloni park (Bellagio)	No closing date and no 2026-27 calendar	Bellagio Lake Como, 5 October
Villa Vigoni (Menaggio)	Tours from March to October, except August	Villa Vigoni, 5 October
Villa Olmo (Como)	Villa closed for restoration; park open	Municipality of Como, page of 18 March 2026

Museums and outdoor places

Place	November to March	Source and date read
Tempio Voltiano and Pinacoteca civica (Como)	Tuesday-Sunday 10-18; closed Mondays and on 25 December	Municipality of Como, pages of 2 July 2026, read on 6 October
Palazzo delle Paure, Palazzo Belgiojoso and Torre Viscontea (Lecco)	Closed on Mondays; hours by day below; undated page	SiMUL, 6 October
Moto Guzzi Museum (Mandello del Lario)	Thursday and Friday 10-17, Saturday and Sunday 10-18, closed Monday to Wednesday	Municipality of Mandello, M3 Motorcube
Forts of Colico	Set days, see below; on other days by booking	Visit Colico, 4 October
Orrido di Bellano	From 25 October Monday-Friday 10-17, Saturday and Sunday 9-17	Orrido di Bellano, 6 October
Piona Abbey	Square 7-19, church and cloister 8-12 and 14-18.30; undated page	Website of the Cistercian monks
Isola Comacina	Closed: the season runs from May to the end of October	Municipality of Tremezzina, October
Castel Baradello (Como)	Closed: the 2026 season runs from 1 March to 31 October	Spina Verde Park

Lake Como in winter: the dates that split the season

The dates that matter are few. On 25 October the gardens of Villa Melzi switch to 10-17 hours and the Orrido di Bellano to its winter timetable; that day, according to the concessionaire’s calendar read on 5 October, is also the last Sunday with guided tours at Castel Baradello. The season of the Isola Comacina and Castel Baradello ends on 31 October.

On Sunday 1 November the Piani d’Erna cable car reopens, the forts of Colico are open from 10 to 17 and Villa Monastero from 10 to 18; the Villa Melzi gardens, instead, are closed. 8 November is the last day of daily opening at Villa Carlotta: after that, only chosen days until 8 December. From 26 December to 6 January 2027 the forts of Colico have openings of a few hours, and the Balbianello opens on 26, 27 and 29 December and then on 2, 3, 5 and 6 January.

From January to March the official pages say little. The rest of this guide explains, place by place, what is known.

Boats, funicular and cable cars

Boats and ferries

For Lake Como, Navigazione Laghi publishes a block of timetables “in force from 04.10.2026 to 01.11.2026”, which is the autumn timetable, and a previous one from 1 July to 4 October. On 6 October the page does not yet have a block for the cold season: it lists only the summer and autumn timetables. To understand the difference between fast service, local boat and ferry, there is our guide to getting to Lake Como.

A practical note: a notice published on 2 October 2026 says that service at the Faggeto Lario landing is temporarily suspended from 5 October, for reasons that do not depend on Navigazione. Before a trip with connections it is worth looking at the notices page as well as the line timetable.

Como-Brunate funicular

According to ATM, which operates it, the funicular runs from 6 in the morning to midnight, and each ride takes 7 minutes. The city’s tourism site gives 10.30 pm instead, and says that in summer it runs until midnight: if that were the winter timetable, the last ride would be two hours earlier. ATM does not distinguish between seasons and we found nothing else, so it is worth checking the last evening ride. From Brunate you can walk on towards the Faro Voltiano, which is closed to the public in 2026.

Argegno-Pigra cable car

The cable car runs every 15 minutes, Monday to Friday from 9 to 16 and on Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 9 to 19, in the timetable PDF valid from 14 September 2026. ATM’s web page writes that the weekend timetable applies “until 30 September”, while the PDF gives no end date. So we cannot say whether the timetable stays the same from November: it is worth calling the stations (Argegno 031 821344, Pigra 031 810844) or checking the updated PDF.

Piani d’Erna cable car

On 24 September the Municipality of Lecco announced that the Malnago-Piani d’Erna cable car stays closed from Monday 5 to Saturday 31 October 2026 for the works on the stations. Service should restart on Sunday 1 November, unless the works need more time. According to the operator, from 25 October to 31 December the hours are every day from 8.30 to 12.30 and from 13.30 to 17, and they may change for service or weather reasons. For January to March we have no timetable. On the plateau there is the page on the Piani d’Erna.

Villas and gardens from November to March

Who is open in November and December

Villa Carlotta in Tremezzina is open 10-18 (last ticket at 17) from 19 October to 8 November. After that it opens only on 14 and 15, 21 and 22, and 28 and 29 November, and from 5 to 8 December, from 10 to 16 (last ticket at 15.30). On closing days the visit is possible only by booking, by writing to segreteria@villacarlotta.it. Hours and prices are on the page for Villa Carlotta.

The Villa del Balbianello (page) opens in November from 10 to 17, with last entry to the park at 16 and last guided tour of the villa at 15, subject to availability. The FAI page does not state the weekly closing days for November. In December it opens on 16 days, always from 10 to 17: 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27 and 29. In January 2027 it opens only on 2, 3, 5 and 6, with the same hours. Booking is required.

Villa Monastero in Varenna changes its hours every month. In November the house museum and the garden are open from 10 to 17, closed on Tuesday and Wednesday (on 1 November from 10 to 18). In December the rules are the same, with closure on the 25th and opening from the 26th to the 31st. For the other months, January and February included, the official page applies and should be read for your travel date. See the page on Villa Monastero.

Who closes for the winter

The gardens of Villa Melzi in Bellagio are open from 10 to 17 from 25 October “until closing”, closed on 1 November according to their website; the Bellagio tourist office page speaks of seasonal opening from 22 March to the end of October. The two sources say the same thing: from November they are closed until spring. The 2027 reopening is not yet published: 22 March is the date the tourist office page gives today, without a year.

The guided tours of Villa Vigoni in Menaggio run from March to October, except August, on Thursday afternoons at 15.00, and we found no winter tours. For the park of Villa Serbelloni the page gives as opening period “data da destinarsi” (“date to be decided”), followed by “marzo 2026”: there is neither a closing date nor a 2026-27 calendar, and to find out how long visits continue you need to write to the Bellagio office (031 951555).

For Villa Cipressi the website of the hotel that runs it gives hours up to October and nothing for the following months. Last year the botanical garden stayed open with the Christmas Garden, from 1 November 2025 to 6 January 2026, Thursday to Sunday from 10.30 to 20.30. We found no announcement for a 2026-27 edition, so it is not a date to count on.

Como: Villa Olmo and the Grumello

The Municipality of Como writes, in a page updated on 18 March 2026, that Villa Olmo is closed for restoration works and that the park is open. For the park’s winter hours (1 October to 4 April) the sources disagree: 7-20 for the 2023 resolution reported by QuiComo, 7-19 for the project website. The historic park of Villa del Grumello is open Monday to Friday and on Sunday from 9 to 17 from October, and closed on Saturday; for the winter the page gives neither a calendar nor a closing date. The guide to the villas of Lake Como has prices and entry rules.

January, February and March

After 6 January the official sources publish almost nothing dated 2027. Two pages have a trap. On the Villa Carlotta page, under the heading “Orari 2026”, there is the “Speciale Olimpiadi” list with openings on 3, 6, 7 and 8 February, from 14 to 17 February, on 21 and 22, on 28 February and 1 March, on 7 and 8 and on 14 and 15 March: they are 2026 dates, already past, and the ordinary timetable runs “from 20 March to 18 October 2026”. On the FAI page for the Balbianello, dates for February and March are listed without the year (14, 15, 21, 22 and 28 February, 1, 7 and 8 March, regular opening from 14 March): we read them as 2026 dates, because in 2026 they fall on Saturdays and Sundays, and we do not give them as the 2027 calendar.

Museums: the lake indoors

In Como the Tempio Voltiano and the Pinacoteca civica are open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 to 18, with last entry at 17.30. The Municipality’s pages, updated on 2 July 2026, list as 2026 closing days every Monday (except 6 April and 31 August), 1 January, 1 May, 15 August and 25 December: the 2027 closing calendar is not yet published. The Paolo Giovio Archaeological Museum and the Garibaldi Historical Museum have their exhibition rooms closed for maintenance works: their Municipality pages, updated on 11 June 2026 and read on 6 October, say so.

In Lecco the SiMUL website gives these hours: the Palazzo delle Paure is closed on Monday, opens on Tuesday from 10 to 14 and from Wednesday to Sunday from 10 to 18; the Palazzo Belgiojoso is closed on Monday, opens from Tuesday to Friday from 10 to 14 (last entry 13.30) and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 18 (last entry 17.30); the Torre Viscontea is closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, opens on Thursday from 10 to 13, on Friday and Saturday from 14 to 18 and on Sunday from 10 to 18, and the site specifies that opening depends on temporary exhibitions. The page is undated, and for Villa Manzoni it says “reopening from 3 April” with the Easter holidays on “5-6 April”: these are the Easter dates of 2026, so that text is left over from last winter and says nothing about winter 2026-27. The hours of the three museums are therefore a starting point, to be confirmed by phone before you leave.

In Mandello del Lario the Moto Guzzi Museum has a winter calendar from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027: Thursday and Friday from 10 to 17 (ticket office closes at 16.30), Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 18 (ticket office at 17.30), and closed from Monday to Wednesday. The calendar is the Municipality’s, confirmed on 30 September by M3 Motorcube; the motoguzzi.com website could not be reached when we checked. Other museums are in the guide to the museums of Lake Como.

Forts, the Orrido and Piona: the outdoor places

In Colico the Montecchio Nord Fort and the Fuentes Fort open on set days, according to Visit Colico (read on 4 October 2026). In November both open on Sunday the 1st from 10 to 17; then on Saturday and Sunday the Montecchio Nord from 14 to 16 and the Fuentes from 10 to 13. From 26 to 30 December and from 1 to 6 January 2027 the hours are the same as the November weekends. On other days they can be visited by booking. The Fuentes page titles the month of November “2025”, probably a typo. The two forts are joined by the Forts Trail.

The Orrido di Bellano publishes, from 25 October, hours of Monday-Friday 10-17 and Saturday and Sunday 9-17. The page does not say how long this applies or which year it refers to: the dates (the end of the summer timetable on 27 September and 25 October are both Sundays in 2026) are consistent with this year. The Piona Abbey gives, on the monks’ website, the square and the Grotto of the Madonna from 7 to 19 and the church, cloister and chapter house from 8 to 12 and from 14 to 18.30, in an undated page with no distinction between seasons.

The Isola Comacina, open from May to the end of October from 10 to 18, and Castel Baradello, open in 2026 from 1 March to 31 October on Sundays and holidays, are closed for the winter. For both, 2027 needs rechecking in spring.

What we could not verify

Some things are missing, and it is worth knowing before you plan. There is no winter timetable for the Lake Como boats on 6 October. There is no explicit winter timetable for the Como-Brunate funicular or the Argegno-Pigra cable car. We have no 2026-27 calendars for Villa Cipressi, the Villa Serbelloni park, the Grumello and Castel Baradello. For Villa Carlotta and the Balbianello, January to March 2027 is not published, and the dates that appear for February and March are those of 2026. We did not read a winter rail timetable: for trains, use the Trenord timetable search for your travel date.

How we checked

Every timetable comes from a page of the operator, the municipality or the body in charge, read on 6 October 2026 (some on 2, 4 or 5 October, stated next to the datum). We do not use ticket sites, aggregators or travel blogs, because they repeat timetables from past seasons. The search for sources was done with the help of artificial intelligence tools, and each datum was reread on the original page before being written.

The check changed the text several times. An automatic search had given us as “2026-2027 winter timetables of Navigazione Laghi, valid from 5 October 2026 to 25 March 2027” a notice that concerns Lake Garda: on the notices page the lakes follow one after the other, and the Lake Como timetable is another row, the autumn one. The same search had given as February and March 2027 openings of the Balbianello the dates that have no year on the FAI page, and had left out the December days. Where sources contradict each other or a datum is missing, we say so.

Frequently asked questions

Can Lake Como be visited in winter?

Yes, but on a reduced calendar. In the calendars we read, the Tempio Voltiano and the Pinacoteca in Como, the civic museums of Lecco, the Moto Guzzi Museum, the Orrido di Bellano, Piona Abbey and, on set days, Villa Carlotta, the Balbianello, Villa Monastero and the forts of Colico appear as open, with the caveats above. The Isola Comacina, Castel Baradello and the Villa Melzi gardens are closed.

Which villas are open at Christmas?

On 25 December none of the three villas with winter calendars appears open: Villa Monastero is closed, the Balbianello does not list it among its December days and Villa Carlotta has openings only until 8 December. From 26 to 31 December Villa Monastero is open (10-17), and the Balbianello opens on 26, 27 and 29.

Do the boats run in winter?

Service does not stop, but the timetable changes. On 6 October the autumn timetable applies until 1 November and the cold-season one has not been published yet. Before leaving, check the line on the Navigazione Laghi website and the suspension notices, like the one for the Faggeto Lario landing.

Do I need to book?

For the Balbianello, always. At Villa Carlotta, on closing days, visits are by booking only. For the forts of Colico, on days without opening, booking is the only way. For the Villa Serbelloni park, booking is required and a guided tour is needed.

When do the villas reopen in 2027?

Not yet known. The only reopening dates the sources give are those of 2026: Villa Carlotta on 20 March and the Villa Melzi gardens on 22 March. They are useful as an order of magnitude, not as a promise for 2027.

Is the information up to date?

It is that of 6 October 2026. We will add the winter timetables of the boats, Villa Cipressi, Villa Serbelloni and Castel Baradello when the sources publish them, and the update date at the top will change accordingly.

Before you go

To reach the lake without a car, start from the guide to getting to Lake Como, and for the villas from the guide to the villas to visit in 2026. If you want an idea for a rainy day there is the guide to the museums, and if you prefer to walk, the itineraries, such as the Forts Trail in Colico or medieval Como, which can be done almost all year. For where to sleep there is where to stay.