Lake Como
How to Get Around Lake Como
Getting Around
Treat the boats as the transport network, not an excursion. Passenger ferries and hydrofoils link the shoreline villages, and a frequent car ferry runs the Bellagio-Varenna-Menaggio-Cadenabbia triangle in the centre of the lake. It is almost always faster than driving the equivalent stretch.
Trains reach Como from Milan in under an hour on two separate lines, and Varenna on the eastern shore in about an hour — which is why Varenna, not Bellagio, is the easiest arrival point by public transport. Lecco is on the same eastern line.
Buses run both shore roads and reach the villages the trains miss, including Bellagio and Menaggio. Driving is possible but slow: the roads are narrow and walled, parking in the popular villages is scarce and expensive, and in summer the shore road queues.
A funicular climbs from Como to Brunate on the ridge above, in about seven minutes.
Connections from Lake Como
How easily, and at what cost, can you combine the region’s main destinations?
| Route | Best option | One-way time | Travel Smart take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Como and Bergamo | Bus or car | ~1 hr 30 min typical, not a timetable | Possible in a day, but it takes most of one. |
| Lake Como and Milan | Train | ~40 min–1 hr typical, not a timetable | Comfortable as a day trip. Lake Como is a workable base for Milan. |
Cost compares the options for each route rather than quoting a fare: inexpensive means the price is not a factor in planning, moderate cost means a real line in the budget, and the expensive option is one worth weighing against the alternative. Fares change from year to year; the ranking between them does not.