Where to stay in Lake Como is really a question about which town, because the lake is shaped like an upside-down Y and the towns on it are joined by boat rather than by any road that gets you anywhere quickly.
Pick the right area and the lake opens up: you step out of the hotel, onto a ferry, and you’re in a different village for lunch. Pick the wrong one and you spend your days on a bus along a shore road built for horses. The hotel matters far less than the dock it’s near.
So this is an area guide first. Below you’ll find the best areas to stay in Lake Como compared side by side, what changes if you’re arriving without a car, where to go for a first visit, and then a few hotels we’d book in each town once you’ve chosen.
TL;DR
The best area to stay in Lake Como is the central triangle of Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio, where the ferries run all day and you can reach the other two towns in minutes. Bellagio is the classic first-visit choice, Varenna is the one with a train station, and Menaggio is the best value of the three.
Without a car?
Stay in Varenna or in Como. They’re the only two parts of the lake with their own railway stations, and from Varenna the ferries reach everywhere you’d want to go.
Driving?
Stay in Tremezzo, Menaggio or outside Como, where hotels have their own parking. Bellagio and Varenna are the hardest places on the lake to leave a car.
Book early
The lakefront towns are small and most of their hotels have well under a hundred rooms, so May through September books out months ahead.
First time here?
Read our guide to a perfect day on Lake Como for the boat ride, Como’s old town and the funicular up to Brunate.
Short on time? The best area to stay in Lake Como for each kind of trip
- Best area for a first visit: Bellagio, for the view down both arms and ferries to everywhere
- Best area without a car: Varenna, the one town in the middle of the lake with a train station
- Best area if you’re driving: Tremezzo or Menaggio, where hotels have their own parking
- Best area for value: Menaggio, which looks at the Bellagio view instead of paying to be inside it
- Best area for gardens: Tremezzo, for Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello
- Best area for a city at the end of the day: Como, with restaurants, trains and the funicular
- Best area for hikers and tight budgets: Lecco, under the Grigne on the quieter eastern arm
- Just browsing? Search hotels in Bellagio, Varenna or Menaggio
The Best Areas to Stay in Lake Como, Compared
TL;DR: The best areas to stay in Lake Como are Bellagio for a first visit, Varenna if you’re coming by train, Menaggio for value, Tremezzo for the gardens, Como for a city, and Lecco if you want mountains and a smaller bill.
| Area | Train station | Easy parking | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellagio | No | No | A first visit, the classic view, villa gardens |
| Varenna | Yes, Varenna-Esino | No | Arriving by train, quieter evenings |
| Menaggio | No | Yes | Value, the car ferry, golf, hiking |
| Tremezzo | No | Yes | Gardens, grand lakefront hotels, the Greenway |
| Como and Cernobbio | Yes, two stations | Yes | Restaurants, late arrivals, bigger hotels with pools |
| Lecco | Yes | Yes | Hikers, mountain scenery, the lowest rates on the lake |
The three towns in the middle, Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio, sit at the corners of a triangle where the lake’s two southern arms meet. They face each other across a short stretch of water and the ferries between them run all day. Stay in any one of them and the other two are yours too, which is why that triangle is the answer for most first visits.
Where to Stay in Lake Como Without a Car
TL;DR: Stay in Varenna if you want a village, or in Como if you want a city. They are the only two parts of Lake Como with their own railway stations, and everything else is reached from them by ferry.
This is the single most useful thing to know before you book, and it catches people out constantly. Trains reach only two parts of the lake. Varenna has its own station, Varenna-Esino, on the line that runs north from Milan to Tirano. Como has two stations on the Milan side. Bellagio, Menaggio and Tremezzo have no railway at all, so you arrive there by bus, by boat or by car.
From Varenna the rest of the lake is easy. The ferry crosses to Bellagio in about fifteen minutes and carries on to Menaggio and Cadenabbia, and the service runs through the day in summer. You can land at Milan in the morning, be in your room by lunch and be eating dinner in a different village that evening, without once sitting in a car.
Como works differently and suits a different trip. It’s a city, so the trains are frequent and the restaurants stay open, but the boat north to the pretty villages takes a while, and you’ll be spending real time on the water to reach them. That’s lovely once and a chore on day four.
If you want to stay in Bellagio without a car, you can: take the train to Varenna and the ferry across. It’s a fine arrival, just one more step with a suitcase at the end of a long day.
Where to Stay in Lake Como If You’re Driving
TL;DR: If you’re driving, stay in Tremezzo, Menaggio or just outside Como, where hotels have their own parking. Bellagio and Varenna are the two hardest places on the lake to leave a car.
The lakefront villages were laid out long before cars, and it shows. Parking is limited, usually paid, and often a few hundred meters uphill from your front door. A hotel with its own parking lot is worth more here than almost any other feature.
What a car buys you is the western shore and the hills behind it: Tremezzo’s gardens, the villages north toward Switzerland, the trailheads above Menaggio, and the freedom to combine the lake with somewhere the trains don’t reach. What it costs you is the shore road, which is narrow, busy in August and slower than the boat for anything up or down the lake.
There’s also a car ferry across the middle of the lake, between Varenna, Bellagio, Menaggio and Cadenabbia, so having a car doesn’t shut you out of the central triangle. It just means choosing a hotel on the side of it with somewhere to put the car.
The Best Area to Stay in Lake Como for a First Visit
TL;DR: For a first visit, stay in Bellagio. It sits on the point where the lake splits, it has the view in both directions, and every ferry route passes through it.
Bellagio is the name everyone knows, and on a first trip that’s an argument for it rather than against. You get the stepped cobbled lanes, the villa gardens, and a dock where boats leave for every other town on the lake. Three or four days there and you’ll have seen the best of it.
The honest trade is that you’ll be sharing it in July and August, when the day boats come in. The fix is simple and costs nothing: be out early, go somewhere else by ferry for the middle of the day, and come back for the evening when the village empties and hands itself back to the people staying in it. That evening hour is the reason to sleep there rather than visit.
If you’d rather be somewhere quieter and take the boat in, Varenna across the water does exactly that, and it’s the better pick if you’re arriving by train.
Staying in Bellagio: The Classic Choice
The village on the headland, with lanes of cobbled steps running up from the water and a view down both southern arms. No train and no easy parking, so arrive by ferry and plan to leave the car behind.
Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio
The grandest address on the lake, out at the tip of the promontory, run by the same family for three generations and a luxury hotel since 1873. Two gardens, two pools, a private beach area, a spa, frescoed ceilings, Murano chandeliers, and the Michelin-starred Mistral restaurant on a terrace over the water. It’s the only Relais & Châteaux on Lake Como. There are tennis and squash courts too, which feels like a detail from a different century and is all the better for it. Rated 9.4 out of 10. Pets allowed, charges may apply.
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Hotel Du Lac & SPA in Bellagio
On the main square, directly opposite the dock, so the first thing you see in the morning is the Varenna ferry coming in. Family-run, with a spa and wellness center, family rooms and a panoramic restaurant, and the larger rooms have a terrace or balcony over the water. It holds 9.5 out of 10 across nearly 1,200 reviews, with the breakfast singled out again and again. Being on the square does mean the square is right there, so ask for a room at the back if you sleep lightly. Pets on request, charges may apply.
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Hotel Bellagio in Bellagio
Thirty-eight cobbled steps up from the main square, with minimalist rooms, a free gym and a continental breakfast reviewers rate as fabulous. Many of the bedrooms face the lake. It holds 9.2 out of 10 across almost 1,500 reviews, which is a lot of consistency for a boutique hotel this size, and it’s a short stroll to the shops and restaurants, which in Bellagio means everything is a short stroll. Pets on request, charges may apply.
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Hotel Centrale Bellagio in Bellagio
Sixty meters (200 ft) from the shore, up sixty-three cobbled steps, which the hotel counts for you on its own listing. That tells you they’ve heard the question before, and the climb buys quiet the hotels on the square don’t have. A sun terrace, a peaceful garden, parquet floors, and some rooms in the attic or with a balcony. Rated 9.3 out of 10 with an exceptional breakfast, and the ferry jetty is 400 m (0.25 miles) away. Pets on request, charges may apply.
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Staying in Varenna: The One With the Train
Smaller and steeper than Bellagio, on the eastern shore, with a lakeside path strung between the houses. Varenna-Esino station is in the village, the ferry to Bellagio takes about fifteen minutes, and everything below is within a few minutes of the water.
Hotel Royal Victoria in Varenna
A 19th-century building right on the shore in the middle of the village, with gardens, a pool open from May to September, a wellness center with a sauna and steam bath, and its own dock, so you can arrive by boat and walk straight into the lobby if you’re feeling theatrical about it. Two restaurants, one looking across at Bellagio, and an exceptional breakfast. Rated 9.0 out of 10. You’re a couple of minutes from the train, the ferry and dinner, all three. Pets allowed, charges may apply.
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Hotel Olivedo in Varenna
Two minutes from the pier and five from the station, in a historic 19th-century building with a terrace built for exactly one purpose, which is sitting on it with a drink while the ferries come and go. The restaurant looks over the lake and cooks Lombard food, and in summer breakfast moves out onto that terrace. Rated 9.2 out of 10 across more than 1,600 reviews. If you’re arriving by train and want to stop thinking about logistics the moment you drop your bag, this is the one. Pets are not allowed here.
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Hotel Villa Cipressi in Varenna
Botanic gardens running down to the water, and because they’re open to the public you get them to yourself in the early morning and the late evening when everyone else has gone. Large classically decorated rooms with parquet floors, a gourmet restaurant and a breakfast reviewers rate exceptional. One thing worth knowing: the villa hosts weddings and events, and its own listing says service can change on those days, with guests looked after at its sister hotel nearby, so ask about your dates. Pets allowed, charges may apply.
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Albergo Milano in Varenna
A main building plus three separate properties, all within 50 m (165 ft) of each other, so which room you book genuinely changes which front door you use. Every room has a balcony with a full or partial lake view, there are family rooms, and the apartments come with full kitchens, which makes this the pick for a longer stay. Breakfast and dinner happen on the big terrace and reviewers rate the breakfast superb. Rated 8.9 out of 10. Pets are not allowed, and parking is 300 m (985 ft) away in Piazza San Giorgio.
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Staying in Menaggio: The Value Corner
The western corner of the central triangle, with a proper promenade, a real town center, the car ferry and parking. Looking east, you get the view of Bellagio that people in Bellagio are paying extra not to have.
Grand Hotel Victoria concept & spa in Menaggio
At 9.6 out of 10 this is the highest-rated hotel on this page: an Art Nouveau building 100 m (330 ft) from the pedestrian center, looking across the water to Bellagio and Varenna. Two swimming pools, lush grounds, a spa and wellness center, two restaurants and a panoramic terrace to eat on, plus family rooms, free parking and special rates at an 18-hole golf course 2 km (1.2 miles) away. Children of any age are welcome, charged as adults from eighteen, which is one way to find out how your teenager feels about turning eighteen. Pets allowed, charges may apply.
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Hotel Garni Corona in Menaggio
Thirty meters (100 ft) from the water in the middle of town, with buses, boats, restaurants and shops all within a couple of minutes. Air-conditioned rooms with a safe, a desk and a minibar, a terrace, room service and a breakfast buffet rated very good. It scores 9.3 out of 10, which is higher than several hotels on this lake charging a great deal more. This is a straightforward, well-run hotel rather than a grand one, and on a lake this expensive that’s a genuinely useful thing to find. Pets are not allowed here.
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Staying in Tremezzo: The Gardens
A ribbon of lakefront just south of Menaggio and the garden stretch of the western shore. Villa Carlotta and its botanic garden are here, Villa del Balbianello is a short boat ride down the shore, and the Greenway hiking trail from Colonno ends at Cadenabbia di Griante next door. Parking is easier here than in the villages across the water.
Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Tremezzo
Some rooms have a hot tub on their own terrace facing Bellagio across the water, which is the single detail that puts this hotel on every romantic list for the lake, including ours. Three pools, one of them floating on the water. The T SPA has a sauna, a relaxation lounge and an outdoor hot tub over the lake. There’s a gym, a tennis court, jogging paths through the park, fine Italian cooking at La Terrazza, and a set of the hotel’s own motorboats you can reserve to go and find the quiet corners of the lake. Villa Carlotta is 3 minutes away on foot, Cadenabbia harbor 5, and there are family rooms. Rated 9.4 out of 10. Pets allowed at no extra charge.
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Staying in Como and Cernobbio: The City End
Como is a city, not a village, and that changes the trip. Two train stations, a cathedral, silk shops, the funicular up to Brunate, parking, and a choice of restaurants that has nothing to do with your hotel. Cernobbio is the villa suburb a short drive up the western shore.
Hilton Lake Como in Como
Terrazza 241 is the reason to book it: a rooftop infinity pool with the lake and the mountains behind it, open from lunch through to the hour before sunset when nobody wants to get out. Downstairs is the eforea spa and health club, with a hydrotherapy pool, a Finnish sauna, a Turkish bath, a whirlpool, a solarium and a full gym. Three restaurants, family rooms, parquet floors, and some rooms with a private terrace over the lake or an outdoor whirlpool of their own. Rated 8.7 out of 10 across nearly 1,500 reviews. Pets on request, charges may apply.
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Hotel Villa Flori in Como
Giuseppe Garibaldi got married in this villa, which is the kind of fact that improves a breakfast conversation considerably. It’s a restored 19th-century villa on the western shore in a private park of orange and lemon groves, with Venetian stucco and frescoes inside, marble bathrooms and parquet floors in the rooms, and Restaurant Raimondi over the water. Family rooms, an airport shuttle and a private dock if you’re arriving by boat. Rated 9.2 out of 10 with an exceptional breakfast. Cernobbio is 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away and Como 5 km (3.1 miles). Pets on request, charges may apply.
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Sheraton Lake Como Hotel in Como
Laurel stayed here on her own trip to the lake, and the thing she remembers is the boat: it’s about ten minutes by water from the hotel into Como, which turns the commute into the best part of the day. It sits in a large park on the shore with a seasonal heated outdoor pool, a second pool, a free 24-hour gym and a wellness area with a hot tub. Three places to eat, from the informal Kincho through Gusto to the Michelin-starred Kitchen, plus family rooms. Children of any age are welcome, charged as adults from twelve. Rated 8.3 out of 10, and the motorway exit is a five-minute drive. Pets allowed, charges may apply.
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Staying in Lecco: The Quiet Arm
The other southern tip, on the eastern arm, under the limestone wall of the Grigne. Almost nobody books it, and that’s rather the point. It’s a working town with a train station, parking, mountains straight out the back and the lowest rates on the lake, which makes it the pick if you’d rather spend your days hiking than looking at villa gardens.
The trade is honest: Lecco is a town to sleep in rather than a village to wander, and the pretty stretch of the lake is a bus or train ride up the shore. If your budget is tight or your boots are the point of the trip, it buys you both.
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Getting Around Lake Como Once You’ve Chosen
The lake is long and narrow, so the boat is the road. Navigazione Laghi, the state ferry operator, runs the ferry schedules for Lake Como, and the densest service by far is the short crossing between Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia in the middle of the lake. Stay in any of those four and you can reach the other three in minutes, on a service that runs right through the day in summer.
Boats get slower and less frequent the further north or south you go, so a hotel an hour up the shore is an hour up the shore every single day. That’s the hidden cost of a bargain in a village you’ve never heard of.
And if you want more than the lakefront, the Greenway del Lago di Como is a hiking trail of about 10 km (6.2 miles) from Colonno to Cadenabbia di Griante, following the line of the old Strada Regina through villages, olive terraces and villa gardens. It takes roughly three and a half hours and it finishes within sight of the Tremezzo hotels, which is a good argument for sleeping there the night you do it.
Where to Stay in Lake Como: Your Questions Answered
What is the best area to stay in Lake Como?
The best area to stay in Lake Como is the central triangle of Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio, where the lake’s two southern arms meet. The three towns face each other across a short crossing and the ferries between them run all day, so staying in any one of them gives you the other two as well. Bellagio is the classic first-visit choice for the view down both arms, Varenna is the only one of the three with its own train station, and Menaggio is the best value because it looks at the Bellagio view rather than paying to be inside it.
Where should you stay in Lake Como without a car?
Stay in Varenna if you want a village, or in Como if you want a city. Those are the only two parts of Lake Como with their own railway stations: Varenna-Esino sits in the village on the Milan to Tirano line, and Como has two stations on the Milan side. Bellagio, Menaggio and Tremezzo have no railway at all. From Varenna the ferry crosses to Bellagio in about fifteen minutes and carries on to Menaggio and Cadenabbia through the day in summer, so you can land at Milan in the morning and be eating dinner in a different village that evening without once sitting in a car. Hotel Olivedo in Varenna is 2 minutes from the pier and 5 from the station.
What is the best town to stay in Lake Como for a first visit?
The best town to stay in Lake Como for a first visit is Bellagio, on the point where the lake splits in two, with the view down both southern arms and a dock that every ferry route passes through. Three or four days there covers the best of the lake. It does get busy in July and August when the day boats come in, so be out early, take a ferry somewhere else for the middle of the day, and come back for the evening when the village hands itself back to the people staying in it. If you are arriving by train, Varenna across the water is the better choice.
Where should you stay in Lake Como if you have a car?
If you have a car, stay in Tremezzo, Menaggio or just outside Como, where hotels have their own parking. Bellagio and Varenna are the two hardest places on the lake to leave a car: the villages were laid out long before cars, so parking is limited, usually paid, and often a few hundred meters uphill from the door. Grand Hotel Victoria concept & spa in Menaggio has free parking, Grand Hotel Tremezzo has private parking, and Sheraton Lake Como Hotel is five minutes from the motorway exit. A car ferry crosses the middle of the lake, so driving does not shut you out of the central triangle.
Is it better to stay in Bellagio or Varenna?
Stay in Bellagio if this is your first visit and you want the view the lake is famous for, with the biggest choice of villa gardens and ferry routes on your doorstep. Stay in Varenna if you are arriving from Milan by train, because it is the only town in the middle of the lake with its own station, and because it is smaller and quieter in the evening once the day visitors have gone. The ferry between the two takes about fifteen minutes, so whichever you pick you will see the other.
Which town on Lake Como is cheapest to stay in?
Menaggio and Lecco are the cheapest towns on Lake Como to stay in. Menaggio sits on the western shore facing Bellagio, so you get the famous view rather than paying to be inside it, and it has the same ferry connections and free parking. Hotel Garni Corona there is rated 9.3 out of 10. Lecco, at the southern tip of the eastern arm, is a working town under the Grigne mountains with a train station and the lowest rates on the lake, though it trades village charm for a short ride up the shore to the pretty parts.
What is the most romantic place to stay in Lake Como?
The most romantic place to stay in Lake Como is Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Tremezzo, which looks straight across the water at Bellagio. Some rooms have their own terrace hot tub, the T SPA has an outdoor hot tub over the lake, there are three pools including one that floats on the water, and you can reserve one of the hotel’s motorboats for the afternoon. Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio runs it close, with two gardens, a Michelin-starred terrace restaurant and frescoed ceilings, and Hotel Villa Cipressi in Varenna puts you inside a botanic garden on the lakeshore.
Which hotels in Lake Como are pet-friendly?
Eleven of the hotels on this page take pets. Grand Hotel Tremezzo allows pets with no extra charge. Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, Grand Hotel Victoria concept & spa, Hotel Royal Victoria, Hotel Villa Cipressi and Sheraton Lake Como Hotel allow pets, and charges may apply. Hotel Du Lac & SPA, Hotel Centrale Bellagio, Hotel Bellagio, Hilton Lake Como and Hotel Villa Flori take pets on request. Hotel Olivedo, Albergo Milano and Hotel Garni Corona do not allow pets. Tell the hotel when you book.
What is the most family-friendly place to stay in Lake Como?
The most family-friendly place to stay in Lake Como is Como itself, where the hotels are bigger, the parking is easier and there is somewhere to eat that is not your own hotel. Sheraton Lake Como Hotel sits in a large park with two pools, one of them a seasonal heated outdoor pool, plus family rooms, three restaurants and a free 24-hour gym, and children of any age are welcome, charged as adults from twelve. In the central triangle, Grand Hotel Victoria concept & spa in Menaggio has two pools, family rooms and free parking, and only charges children as adults from eighteen. For a kitchen and more space, Albergo Milano in Varenna has family rooms and self-catering apartments.
What is the best spa hotel in Lake Como?
The best spa hotel in Lake Como is Grand Hotel Victoria concept & spa in Menaggio, an Art Nouveau hotel with two swimming pools, a spa and wellness center and the lake in front of it, rated 9.6 out of 10. Grand Hotel Tremezzo has the T SPA with a sauna, a relaxation lounge and an outdoor hot tub over the water, plus three pools. Hilton Lake Como has the eforea spa with a hydrotherapy pool, a Finnish sauna, a Turkish bath, a whirlpool and a solarium, under a rooftop infinity pool. Hotel Royal Victoria in Varenna has a sauna and a steam bath.
How many days do you need on Lake Como?
Three to four days is enough for Lake Como. One day gets you the central triangle of Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio by ferry, a second covers the gardens at Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello, and a third leaves room for Como city and the funicular up to Brunate. Add a fourth if you want to hike the Greenway del Lago di Como, about 10 km (6.2 miles) from Colonno to Cadenabbia di Griante, or to take a boat somewhere with no particular plan, which is arguably what the lake is for.
Do you need a car on Lake Como?
You do not need a car on Lake Como, and in the lakefront villages it is often a liability. The ferries between Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia run through the day in summer, trains from Milan reach Varenna and Como directly, and buses cover the shore roads. The villages were built long before cars, so parking is limited, usually paid and often a few hundred meters from your hotel. Rent a car only if you are combining the lake with somewhere the trains do not go, and if you do, pick a hotel in Tremezzo, Menaggio or outside Como that has its own parking.
Map of Places to Stay in Lake Como
Move the map to compare areas. Zoom in on the middle of the lake to see Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio together, or drag south for Como and Lecco.
Pick Your Side of the Water
Bellagio to be in the view, Menaggio or Varenna to look at it, Tremezzo for the gardens, Como for a city at the end of the day, Lecco for the mountains. Start with the train question, because it settles half the decision on its own, then book earlier than feels necessary: these are small towns with small hotels, and the good rooms go in winter for a summer nobody has thought about yet.