Staying with our theme of one-day trips, we visited Lake Como on the way from Genoa to Venice. I’m so glad we did! With the Alps as a backdrop, the villages along the lake offered relaxing views of Italy’s third largest lake.
We started our exploration of the area at the town of Varenna since we watched a Rick Steves show touting the small town. The 800-resident village (or commune) sits on the eastern side of the lake about mid-section from the uppermost ends.
The first stop was the Church of San Giorgio with its bell tower dating back to 1653 and floor constructed from Varenna black marble. It lies in the main square of Varenna.
However, we found a smaller, and older church called Church of San Giovanni Battista. Built in the 11th century, frescoes covered the walls. Even though we’d seen more churches than we could count and many that were more elaborate than this, I loved the simplicity of the interior.
Walking the cobblestone pathways between buildings, we found a place for lunch and enjoyed the slower pace of the village. After feasting on pizza at Albergo del Sole in the main square, we strolled around the village to the lake.
To catch the boat ferry over to the resort town of Bellagio, we traversed the cantilevered Passeggiata dell’Amore (Lovers Walkway) with stupendous views of the lake on one side and villas on the other.
The ferry ride over was only 10 minutes. Bellagio, known as the “Pearl of the Lake Como” amazed us. Rick Steves refers to it as “Renoir-like” and I definitely could relate.
We had a couple of hours to walk around the town with its meandering walkways and cute shops.
Bellagio had a more touristy feel than Varenna, with more hotels, restaurants, shops and people, but we liked both of them equally.
After climbing numerous cobblestone steps, we went inside Basilica di San Giacomo. Although it didn’t look like much from the outside, the gold altar glistened among the cold, brick walls.
Lastly, we sauntered over to Punta Spartivento – a park area where the three branches of Lake Como meet. We soaked up as many views of Lake Como as we could.
It was time to catch the ferry back to Varenna. And then drive from Varenna back to Venice. And then fly from Venice back to the US. It had been an amazing 14-day family trip and Lake Como was a wonderful way to end it.
