Taking a Holiday in Lake Como in Italy
The region of Lake Como, Italy is to be found in the northern part of this country situated close to city of Milan. The lake itself measures 50km long and at the southern end it forks and situated between these is the beautiful town of Bellagio. However, this is not the largest of all the lakes in Italy and Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore are much bigger but it is one of the deepest.
The area surrounding Lake Como has for many centuries (since the Roman Empire) been favored as a tourist resort. Today it is not just Italians but tourists from around the world who enjoy all that this part of Italy has to offer and many cyclists, walkers and swimmers are enjoying the facilities available.
Getting to Lake Como is not that difficult as it is part of Italy’s main railway network. Train leave frequently from Milan and the overall journey from the city to the lake takes around 40 minutes. Trains leave from Milan’s Central Station or Porta Garibaldi Station and arrive at the main station San Giovanni in Lake Como.
Once there you have a number of ways of getting around the lake, you can either drive, use local buses, or cycle if you wish. But the quickest way of getting from one of the main towns on Lake Como to the various resorts is using the steamers or boats. These boats and steamers offer a much more frequent service and connect all the main resorts of Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio, Tremezzo, Lenno and Villa Carlotta to each other.
The town of Commo, which is named after the lake, is a very lively and pleasant one to visit. Located at the southern end of the lake it has some amazing gothic and renaissance architecture to be viewed and enjoyed. Plus a ride on the funicular to the top of the hill on the outskirts of the town offers some spectacular views over the town and lake as well.
However, the town of Menaggio which is found on the lake’s western shore is one of the more popular tourist resorts here. As well as some superb hotels the resort actually has a beach as well, where one can relax and watch the world sail by.
As mentioned before along the southern end of the lake is the town of Bellagio. This is what many would class as a picture perfect Italian town and has some truly stately hotels as well as wonderful gardens that you can wander around as they are open to the public.
For those who are looking for somewhere that is a little more peaceful and relaxing then consider staying in the town of Varenna. It is a much smaller sized town than Bellagio but has some truly wonderful architecture to view and also a visit to Castello de Vezio in the town allows you to enjoy spectacular views looking out over Lake Como.
Ideally if you do intend to visit Lake Como, Italy try and arrange your time for staying during the week as at weekends the resorts become very busy as many people from Milan like to spend their free time around its shores. Also July and August should be avoided if at all possible as this is the height of the Italian holiday season and if you want to avoid the crowds you are better off visiting the area in either the spring or autumn. As well as being a lot quieter the resort accommodation prices are cheaper and yet you are still going to get great weather.
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August 20 2008 10:41 am | travel-tips