What to See at Lake Como

Italy is one of the TOP countries for travelers to visit! It has beautiful and varied nature, stunning architecture, delicious food and a superb choice of quality goods. If you have already visited the Ligurian and Amalfi coasts, then be sure to head to the mountain lakes of northern Italy: Como, Garda, Lago Maggiore, Lugano and other small lakes.

What to See at Lake Como

First, let's get better acquainted with the map and the towns that are definitely worth visiting. It is impossible to see the lake in one day! If someone advises you to explore the lake by boat rather than by car, that is a myth! More on that in detail below) Some people say that if you visit the "golden triangle" Menaggio - Bellagio - Varenna, you have seen the whole lake. You can travel between these villages by ferry, which, by the way, departs from the town of Como. That may well be true... But what could be better than driving along the lake with the wind in your hair, admiring the views?! Not to mention the viewpoints, for which you will definitely need a car. Still, there is really no point in driving around the entire lake - we did it, so we can recommend a more optimal option)

The map below shows the route: the red arrows are by car (all the sights described below fit neatly onto the route), the yellow arrow is the car ferry crossing between towns, and the blue lines show that farther up the lake there is nothing interesting for travelers and no point in going there.

1. The town of Como ⭐⭐⭐

• Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral ⭐⭐ - Parking Como - PARCHEGGIO ARENA DEL TEATRO SOCIALE DI COMO, coordinates 45.81096, 9.08514. The cathedral is almost right next to the car park. From here you can stroll through the old town of Como to the pier. The walk takes 30-40 minutes and there is nothing more to do here)
•  Como Point Of View viewpoint ⭐⭐⭐ - free parking for a couple of cars, 45.81793, 9.09465. It takes 20 minutes to get here, but the view is beautiful! Parking is rare here, though)
• Croce dell'uomo viewpoint ⭐⭐⭐ - free parking in the forest along the way, basically wherever you find a spot - coordinates 45.84745, 9.06043. From where we parked it was about a 40-minute walk one way to the viewpoint. The views are beautiful and it is worth the walk if you have free time. It is a walk through the forest, but on a hot day the uphill climb on foot can be exhausting.

Below is the route to the Croce dell'uomo viewpoint. The red arrow is a narrow road that you can drive along, and you will have to look for parking here; the yellow arrow is passable, but you won't find parking - it is all private territory; the blue arrow can only be walked. The arrows are conventional markings: in reality the road winds in a narrow serpentine, turning its direction by 180 degrees.

2. The town of Lenno

• Parco Civico Teresio Olivelli ⭐ - free parking along the water for a dozen cars, coordinates 45.98194, 9.21935. There is nothing to do here! Nothing to see. A small paddling area serves as the local swimming beach... Visit time: 5 minutes...
• Villa del Balbianello ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - one of the TOP most beautiful villas on Lake Como and beyond, so it is a must-visit. But there are certain rules you need to follow.

The northern Italian lakes are one villa after another, and you can get into them for 10-30 euros per person. They are also called botanical gardens, museums... But from reviews on the internet it is easy to tell that visiting many of the villas takes no more than 10 minutes and is not worth the money at all, so you either visit them all and throw away a pile of money, or pick a couple of TOP villas that everyone is truly delighted with. Because, to sum it up, all the villas look the same: little alleys, flowers, pretty houses) 

Villa Balbianello really is worth seeing to understand what Italian beauty is) The official website describes everything in detail, from buying tickets to the location of the car parks nearby. You can buy a ticket on the spot, but you will have to stand in line for 1-2 hours. Or you can buy tickets online (13 euros per person), although they are only available 4-5 days in advance... With a pre-purchased ticket you need to arrive on time and go straight to the front of the queue at the entrance. They will tell you to walk on toward the villa for another 15-20 minutes. There you will be offered entry to the inside of the villa itself for an additional 11 euros per person, but we are not museum people, so we limited ourselves to visiting the park) The car park shown on the map below is paid and very small. By the way, everyone who did not buy tickets online writes about problems paying by card, so it is worth taking cash with you. The visit to the villa itself, without going inside, takes about 40 minutes. For other villas people write that there is nothing to do for more than 10 minutes)

3. The town of Menaggio ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- the pearl of Lake Como

• promenade ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- the most beautiful place on Lake Como!

This town probably has the biggest embankment, and it is definitely the most beautiful one! There are parking spaces all along the promenade. You can also drive around the area: here and there are small paid and free car parks, but they all hold only about 20-30 cars. Still, you can actually find a spot within 10-15 minutes even at the height of the season. A walk along the embankment takes about 30 minutes one way. The yellow color, as usual, is Google highlighting places with a high concentration of people, which is basically the old town. You can also stroll through its cute but short streets in 15 minutes)

The ferry departs from the "Navigation Lake Como - Menaggio" location, which is basically at the start of the promenade.

I should mention that this region has the Monte Crocione viewpoint, but getting to it takes effort. We didn't go) But the photos from the internet were truly alluring... So if you are staying in this very village, make that climb!

4. The town of Varenna ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- a beautiful place for dinner with a gorgeous view

• La Passeggiata Degli Innamorati ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - the Varenna promenade (Parcheggio a pagamento or Parcheggio Multipiano car parks, the start and the end of the promenade respectively) - beautiful, but small. The walk takes about 1 hour including parking). The promenade itself is no more than 15-20 minutes one way, with stops for photos). The start of the promenade is by the ferry, where the car park is small. At the end of the promenade, steps lead down, and you can take them to come down from the large multi-storey car park Parcheggio Multipiano.

5. The town of Lecco

• Belvedere Parco Valentino - Piani Resinelli (lc) + Parco del Valentino - Coltignone ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a superb viewpoint over the whole of Lake Como. A must-visit. It is a 30-minute walk from the car park to the viewpoint. Car park: Parcheggio a pagamento per Parco del Valentino. It is a walk along a forest path, and the route is easy. A landmark: the route passes the museum Casa Museo Villa Gerosa - Piani Resinelli (lc). There are signposts everywhere, so you can't get lost.
• Lungolago di Lecco promenade ⭐ - a long, dreary   promenade. It has no coziness. A road runs alongside it. There are no cafes or shops. It is just a wide, long, well-equipped path along the water with beautiful landscapes. It is not worth coming here for it. But the road to the Belvedere Parco Valentino viewpoint passes through it, so one way or another you will see it from the car window)
• Lungolago di Malgrate promenade ⭐⭐ - a small promenade. Cute, but nothing special to spend time on. The shoreline is used as a beach.

The shoreline from Lecco to Bellagio: the first third is wild, naturally formed beaches, then a third of steep banks, and then a third of private villas that are rented out. In other words, there is nothing to see here. The views are dreary and boring, and you can avoid them if you visit only the "golden triangle" of towns on Como by ferry.

6. Bellagio ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a beautiful town on Lake Como

•  Punta Spartivento viewpoint - this is the one place you should not go to at all. It is far away, and there is nothing to see! There is a road here, but you can't drive down it unless you live there or have a restaurant reservation, etc. 

But a stroll around the old town and along the embankment is a must. At the end of the embankment there is a "botanical garden" that I won't advertise, since we didn't visit it ourselves. According to reviews, you pay 10 euros to walk for 10 minutes along a dreary, neglected alley, and the reviews don't mention any park at all. In short, we didn't go)

Car parks are scattered chaotically around the town; there are small paid and free ones, and within 20 minutes and a couple of loops you can find a spot even in August)

What to See Near Lake Como

1. Lago di Lugano ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐-  a gorgeous lake, but already in Switzerland)

• Parco Ciani + the promenade to the Water jet of Paradiso - a superb walk at sunset! The walk takes 1 hour, but all along the embankment there are so many cozy benches for watching the sunset... Convenient parking: Parcheggio Campo Marzio.

• Sasso Delle Parole - Panorama (45.95697, 8.90678) - a viewpoint that is a 5-7 minute walk from the car park by the road. The views are superb, especially considering there are two benches there)
• Balcone d'Italia (45.96833, 8.99179) - a viewpoint, or a bird's-eye view of the lakes) It is convenient: you can drive right up to the platform. You just need to take a couple of steps to the right, to the very edge of the cliff) At sunset the views are magical...

• Parco San Grato park, namely the swing with a superb panoramic view, Swing the World - it is hard to call this place a classic park. Basically the whole walk comes down to climbing a path uphill to these swings, which offer a superb view. The car park at the bottom is paid, and you can pay by card. The walk takes about 1.5 hours round trip.
• Parco Scherrer - a botanical garden. This place, too, is something more than an ordinary botanical garden. Magic and enchantment live here, and with every terrace you feel it more and more... The map below shows the car park right at the entrance to the garden. The garden is free. Parking is free for 30 minutes, and after that you can pay at the parking meter, but only in local currency... Our whole walk took about 40 minutes.

2. Lago Maggiore ⭐⭐⭐⭐- has beautiful sights

• Palazzo Borromeo - the museum / villa stands on a separate small island, and tickets should be booked in advance. Boats depart from here, NAVIGAZIONE ISOLE BORROMEE, and the paid car park is right there too 
• Passeggiata del lago di Carciano + Lungolago di Stresa - a promenade that heads to the right from the boat station. It makes for a lovely walk! One promenade flows smoothly into another, even more gorgeous one, full of flowers and sculptures!!! Walking along the promenade, you can reach the Park Villa Pallavicino. One way at a leisurely pace takes about 1 hour.
• There is also the Pizzoni di Laveno viewpoint, reached from Passo del Cuvignone. But the walk there seems long and not especially easy. So it suits better those who live right on the lake and are wondering what to do with themselves)

But basically, apart from these places, there is nothing for travelers to see on the lake. There are plenty of places to swim and to walk along the water, and there are accommodation options, but nothing truly WOW... the rest of the lake is sleep-inducing, since everything looks as alike as two drops of water)

3. Shopping in Milan and the outlets around Milan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II ⭐⭐ - this is more of a beautiful sight than shopping
• Centro Commerciale Il Centro ⭐⭐⭐ - a couple of shops with exclusive designer clothes, not cheap but exclusive, seemingly from still little-known Italian brands. I really liked a couple of the shops and would come back here just for them.
• Scalo Milano Outlet & More ⭐⭐⭐ - it is a stretch to call it an outlet. Prices are higher than at other outlets, while the selection is smaller and there are fewer brands. I liked 1-3 shops and no more.
• FoxTown Factory Stores ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a fairly good outlet, but the assortment is a bit small.
• Vicolungo The Style Outlets ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a full-fledged outlet that is worth visiting.
• Serravalle Designer Outlet ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - an excellent outlet for branded clothing.
• Rinascente Milano department store  ⭐ - the markups are sky-high... it feels like walking through a museum. At the outlet we bought a cardigan for 85 euros; here it is 285 euros. The time difference was 1 day...
• the pedestrian street Corso Vittorio Emanuele II ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- look for local Italian brands.
• the pedestrian street of luxury brands, Via Monte Napoleone, in Milan's "Fashion Quarter" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I have to admit the price tags are far from small, but I should also say that the clothes are worthy! The range of beautiful, high-quality clothing here is huge, but your wallet has to be stuffed with money too) 

I would like to single out a few shops where the balance of price and quality is particularly good, and the shelves are literally "bursting" with goods:

• Cappelleria Melegari dal 1914 - a hat shop. It is in the Chinese quarter, but even so the selection was superb for both men and women, from summer to winter hats. There are even real leather hats from Australia. There are elegant straw hats. Prices are reasonable. A bit closer to the tram stops there is a little shop with Chinese goods. There you will find cheap straw hats, caps, berets and so on.
• Flavio Castellani - an excellent women's clothing shop with individual design and good-quality fabrics. A local brand. Prices are reasonable.
• Boggi Milano - S. Babila - a chain of men's clothing stores of an Italian brand. Excellent quality, superb designer styling at reasonable money, that is, without overpaying for a famous name.
• Andre Maurice Cashmere - an excellent Italian cashmere clothing brand, present in almost all the outlets around Milan. The quality is superb, the design of the models is magnificent, and on top of that there are outlet discounts - this alone is worth going to Milan for)))

A shopping life hack for Milan!!! In the city center and the shopping malls you will find local Italian brands. In the outlets there are practically none. But don't rush to "throw tomatoes") These local brands are so good that they are no worse, and in creativity sometimes even better, than famous fashion houses!!! And the price is fair. Note that I said not cheap but fair, or more precisely reasonable, that is, without overpaying for the brand. So walk around the center of Milan and drop in at big shopping malls like Centro Commerciale Il Centro.

The map of Milan below shows the places worth visiting and those you can safely cross off the list.

• Parco Sempione is a shabby park, so do not waste your time on it under any circumstances.
• Milan Cathedral is of course something magnificent and beautiful! It is also the shopping center of Milan. Both pedestrian shopping streets and the fashion quarter are right nearby. A must-visit!
• Naviglio Grande - the Grand Canal - is a grand name, but the place is worth a visit, preferably at sunset rather than in the daytime when the sun is blazing... and there is also no point in walking there from the center through all the "sights"!!! There is nothing to see... we didn't even photograph the colonnades or the basilica.

Shopping in Milan is so exclusive that I can safely recommend it as a weekend getaway! It is worth it. Spend one day in the center of Milan and the second at Serravalle Designer Outlet, and the whole family will be dressed in exclusive clothes at discount prices!