Centro Lago

Bellagio

Bellagio, the Pearl of Lake Como: Villa Serbelloni, Villa Melzi, the historic centre and Monte San Primo. A complete guide to what to see and do in Bellagio.

3,820 res.

Bellano

Bellano on Lake Como: the Orrido with its suspended walkways, the Cà del Diavol and the Sentiero del Viandante. Discover what to see and do in Bellano.

3,254 res.

Brienno

Brienno, among the most beautiful villages of the lower Lario: stairways, underpasses and the Linea Cadorna tunnel. Discover what to see in Brienno, on Lake Como.

420 res.

Colonno

Colonno, on the western shore of Lake Como: a medieval village in the Zoca de l'Oli, starting point of the lake's Greenway. What to see in Colonno.

539 res.

Esino Lario

Esino Lario, a panoramic balcony over Lake Como: the Museum of the Grigne, an alpine village known for hosting Wikimania. Discover what to see in Esino Lario.

760 res.

Griante

Griante, above Cadenabbia on the Como branch: the Cappella Sant'Anna, the Belvedere panoramic point and views over Bellagio and Tremezzina. What to see in Griante.

636 res.

Laglio

Laglio, on the western shore of Lake Como: Villa Oleandra, George Clooney's former residence, and striking views over the lake. What to see in Laglio.

957 res.

Menaggio

Menaggio, crossroads between Lake Como and Lake Lugano: historic centre, lakefront, golf and hiking on the Via dei Monti Lariani. What to see in Menaggio.

3,165 res.

Perledo

Perledo, above Varenna: Vezio Castle with its falcons, views over the Lecco branch and trails through the hamlets. Discover what to see in Perledo.

1,012 res.

Pigra

Pigra, above Argegno: reachable by cable car, it offers one of the most spectacular views of Lake Como. Discover what to see and do in Pigra.

881 res.

Sala Comacina

Sala Comacina, facing the Isola Comacina: the only island on Lake Como, ancient history and restaurants with a view. Discover what to see in Sala Comacina.

579 res.

Schignano

Schignano, Val d'Intelvi: famous for its Carnival with traditional wooden masks, amid woods and unspoiled nature. Discover what to see in Schignano.

852 res.

Tremezzina

Tremezzina, a municipality born from the merger of Tremezzo, Lenno and Mezzegra: Villa Carlotta, botanical gardens and the most scenic stretch of the Centro Lago. What to see.

5,124 res.

Varenna

Varenna, on Lake Como's eastern shore: the Sentiero del Viandante, Villa Monastero, Villa Cipressi and the fishing village. What to see in Varenna.

783 res.

What to see in this area

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Historic sites

Medieval village of Colonno

A medieval village on the western shore of Lake Como, at the foot of Monte Costone. The official starting point of the Greenway del Lago di Como.

Historic sites

Castello di Vezio

A watchtower and walls on a promontory above Varenna, with views over the central lake, an exhibition on the Lariosauro and one of the northernmost olive groves.

Church of the Ascension

The Anglican church of Cadenabbia, at Griante: inaugurated in 1891 for the English community of the lake, one of the first Anglican churches built in Italy.

Chiesa di San Lorenzo a Regoledo

The church of San Lorenzo in the Regoledo hamlet of Perledo, on the Sentiero del Viandante: a statue of San Fermo and a 17th-century altarpiece by Giovanni Battista Fumeo.

Chiesa di San Giorgio

The parish church of Varenna, on the square of the same name in the centre of the village: 14th-century Lombard architecture, 13th-century frescoes and a late-15th-century polyptych.

Chiesa dei Santi Nazaro e Celso

The provost church of Bellano, on the square beside the Orrido: a 14th-century façade in white and black marble, a large rose window of glazed terracotta, late-Romanesque and Gothic forms.

Fronte Lido (Argegno)

Free public beach on the western shore of the lake in Argegno, right across from the famous Lido di Argegno. Water quality monitored and rated excellent, free and open to everyone.

Fronte Molo (Colonno)

A swimming spot in the centre of Colonno, next to the pier: a small, informal free beach with no organised facilities, on the western shore of the lake.

Scenic viewpoints

Comacina Island

The only island on Lake Como, facing Sala Comacina and Ossuccio. A fortified centre from the late Roman Empire, destroyed in 1169, today an archaeological site.

Lido di Lenno

A lakefront lido on the promenade of Lenno, in Tremezzina: sandy beach, showers and a restaurant, with access and services that vary by season and management.

Lido di Puncia

A free public beach on the eastern shore of Lake Como, in Bellano: its waters regularly pass seasonal health checks, a quiet choice away from the crowds of Lake Como's busier towns.

Mountains

Monte San Primo

The highest peak of the Triangolo Lariano (1,682 m): a 360° panorama over the lake, the Prealps and the Alps, reached on a classic loop from Piano Rancio.

Museums

Museo Giancarlo Vitali

Opened in 2025 in Palazzo Lorla, in Bellano's historic centre: one hundred works by painter and printmaker Giancarlo Vitali (1929-2018), born in the town.

Other sites

Orrido di Bellano

The gorge cut by the Pioverna torrent in the centre of Bellano, walked on a system of walkways anchored to the rock. At its mouth stands the Ca' del Diavol tower.

Parco Pubblico di Brienno

A lakefront public park in Brienno, award-winning for its public-space regeneration: a green area, sundeck and wooden pier with views of Nesso.

Scenic viewpoints

Passeggiata degli Innamorati

A pedestrian walkway cantilevered over the water linking the Varenna ferry landing to the old centre, with views over the lake and the mountains.

Punta Spartivento

The point where Lake Como splits into its two branches, in Bellagio: a small beach, a park and one of the most photographed views on the Lario.

Refuges

Rifugio Anna Maria

A hut at 1,000 m in Piano Rancio (Bellagio), built in 1929 by the Squadra Alpinisti Milanesi: the starting point for the Monte San Primo loop.

Refuges

Rifugio Martina

A mountain hut at 1,280 m on the north side of Monte San Primo, at the Alpe dei Picett: run by the Ticozzi family since 1928, known for its polenta uncia.

Refuges

Rifugio Venini

A 1,576 m hut in Val d'Intelvi, a former Cadorna Line barracks rebuilt by Alpine troops: a stop on the Via dei Monti Lariani.

Scenic viewpoints

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

Fourteen Baroque chapels dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, above the village of Ossuccio.

Food & wine

Sagra del Missoltino (Mezzegra)

Since 1964, Mezzegra's festival, in Tremezzina, has celebrated missoltino: two evenings of meals, live music and lakeside tradition.

San Giovanni Battista

Among the oldest churches on Lake Como, on Piazza San Giorgio in Varenna: probably dating to the 11th century, with 13th- and 14th-century frescoes.

Museums

San Nicolao - Arte Contemporanea

A former 1295 church in Bellano's historic centre, restored in 2024: today a space for temporary exhibitions and Danilo Vitali's permanent collection.

Church of Santa Maria Maddalena

A Romanesque oratory on the Ossuccio lakefront, part of the medieval Hospitalis di Stabio, with a bell tower whose late-Gothic belfry has Oriental-style detail.

Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime di Lezzeno

The Baroque sanctuary of Lezzeno, above Bellano, built after the event held to be miraculous in 1688 and tied to the Madonna delle Lacrime. A waypoint on the Sentiero del Viandante.

Other sites

Sorgente del Fiumelatte

The source of the Fiumelatte, just south of Varenna: a watercourse of about 250 metres, among the shortest in Italy, intermittent and with milky-white water.

Spiaggia di Oro

A pebbly shore in the Oro hamlet of Bellano, with views over the lake's central basin: water quality is not guaranteed every season, so check before swimming.

Spiaggia di San Giovanni

A free beach in the hamlet of San Giovanni, a short walk from the centre of Bellagio: a natural stretch of shore with no facilities, reached on foot along a path.

Ospedaletto Beach

Ospedaletto Beach, also known as Lido di Ossuccio, combines a wide lakeside lawn, swimming and the historic Santa Maria Maddalena complex in Tremezzina.

Spiaggia Rivetto

A historic beach in Bellagio just steps from Villa Melzi d'Eril: together with nearby Punta Spartivento, it received the Blue Flag award in 2013.

Villa Balbiano

A late 16th-century villa on the Ossuccio lakefront, built for Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio. One of the largest private residences on Lake Como.

Villa Carlotta

A museum and botanical garden at Tremezzo: works by Canova, Hayez and Thorvaldsen and an eight-hectare park with rhododendrons, azaleas and a bamboo garden.

Villa Cipressi

A complex of buildings on the Varenna lakefront, with a terraced garden sloping down to the lake, today a historic hotel and a garden open to visitors.

Villa del Balbianello

A FAI villa on the Lavedo peninsula, at Lenno. The Loggia Durini and the museum with the library and mementoes of Guido Monzino's expeditions.

Villa Giulia

Built at the end of the eighteenth century for count Pietro Venini and completed in 1806, Villa Giulia crowns a headland in Bellagio with a rare double view over both branches of the lake. Once owned by Leopold I of Belgium, it is reached by climbing the historic "scalotta" of eight hundred steps from Loppia.

Villa Melzi d'Eril

A neoclassical villa on the Bellagio lakefront, built between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril. English-style gardens open to the public, with a museum in the former orangery.

Villa Monastero

A former Cistercian monastery on the Varenna lakefront, today a house-museum and conference venue, with a botanical garden running for almost two kilometres along the lake.

Villa Oleandra

One of the oldest residences in Laglio, recorded in local land registers since 1720, today known as the Italian home of the actor George Clooney, purchased in 2002.

Villa Rachele

An eighteenth-century villa on a small peninsula in Sala Comacina, home of Giulio Beccaria (son of Cesare Beccaria) and uncle of Alessandro Manzoni. It later took its name from Cesare Cantù's daughter Rachele, who founded a literary salon here.

Villa Ronconi

A neo-Gothic villa in Cadenabbia, built between 1895 and 1905 for the industrialist Pompeo Maresi on the site of an earlier castle, and more properly known as Villa Maresi.

Villa Rosa

A villa in Cadenabbia di Griante where German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer stayed before settling at the nearby Villa La Collina, within the hamlet's rich fabric of nineteenth-century historic residences.

Villa Serbelloni

A villa on the Bellagio promontory, from a medieval fortress to a residence of the Serbelloni family and today's Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center. The roughly 21-hectare park is open by guided tour.

Villa Trivulzio

Born as Villa Taverna in the eighteenth century, it was home to Francesco Melzi d'Eril and later to the Poldi Pezzoli family, who enlarged its English-style park. Its current name comes from the Trivulzio princes, the family's heirs; the Romanesque church of Santa Maria di Loppia stands within the park.

Villa Trotti

At San Giovanni in Bellagio, marquis Ludovico Trotti turned a seventeenth-century farmhouse into a villa with an Italian-style garden in 1752; a descendant later reworked its facade in Moorish style after a journey to the East. The park opens to the public during the Bellagio Blu&Green event.

Villa Vigoni

A 19th-century villa above Menaggio, commissioned by banker Heinrich Mylius as a wedding gift and turned into a place of remembrance. Since 1986 home to the Italian-German Centre for European Dialogue.

Itineraries in this area

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Greenway del Lago di Como: from Colonno to Griante on foot

Everything about the Greenway del Lago di Como walk: about 10 km on foot from Colonno to Griante, seven villages, villas and churches, stop by stop.

about 3.5 hours8 stops

A full day by boat and on foot between Tremezzina, Bellagio and Menaggio; a weekend if you include Villa Vigoni, which can only be visited by appointment5 stops

The Villas and Gardens of Central Lake Como

A tour of the historic villas and gardens of Central Lake Como: Villa Carlotta, Villa del Balbianello, Villa Melzi, Villa Serbelloni and Villa Vigoni.

about 3h30 (hiking loop from Piano Rancio)4 stops

Monte San Primo loop from Piano Rancio (Bellagio)

A 7.5 km loop from Piano Rancio to the summit of Monte San Primo, the highest peak of the Triangolo Lariano: a 360° panorama, two historic mountain huts and a stop at the Ghisallo sanctuary.

Half a day on foot in Bellano's historic centre4 stops

The Orrido di Bellano and the Pioverna Gorge

A walk through Bellano's historic centre: the Orrido carved by the Pioverna, the Ca' del Diavol, the former church of San Nicolao and the Museo Giancarlo Vitali.

Two food-and-tradition stops at different points in summer: late June/early July in Dervio, late August in Mezzegra2 stops

Food & wine

The Missoltino Route: the fishing villages of Alto Lario

Discovering missoltino, Lake Como's dried agone fish, through the festivals of Dervio and Mezzegra that celebrate this tradition.

about 3 hours' walking7 stops

Sentiero del Viandante: from Varenna to Dervio, stage by stage

The Sentiero del Viandante stage from Varenna to Dervio, via Bellano: just under 10 km on the eastern shore of Lake Como, stage by stage with times and sights.

A full day on foot through Varenna's old town, the lakefront villas and the climb to Castello di Vezio7 stops

Historic Varenna: the old town, the villas and Castello di Vezio

A day in Varenna: the two churches of Piazza San Giorgio, the lakeside walkway, the gardens of Villa Cipressi and Villa Monastero, the Fiumelatte and Castello di Vezio.

about 9 hours, single stage of 26 km1 stop

Via dei Monti Lariani – Stage 2: from San Fedele Intelvi to Menaggio

The second stage of the Via dei Monti Lariani, from San Fedele Intelvi to Croce near Menaggio: 26 km and 9 hours through Val d'Intelvi, with Rifugio Venini, a former Cadorna Line barracks, at the midpoint.

about 9 hours, single stage of 24-25 km2 stops

Via dei Monti Lariani – Stage 3: from Val Menaggio to Val Albano

The third stage of the Via dei Monti Lariani, from Grandola ed Uniti to Garzeno via the San Bernardo pass: 24-25 km and 9 hours between Val Menaggio and Val Albano, with lake views.