Top 10 things to do in Lake Como – Lake Como is famous and appreciated internationally, but what are the best things to do in Lake Como? Let’s go and discover them together in this post!
Top 10 things to do in Lake Como
Here is our list of the most beautiful things to do and interesting places to see on Lake Como.
- Bellagio
- Villa del Balbianello (Star Wars Villa)
- Varenna
- Bellano: Orrido di Bellano e Ca’ del Diavol
- Orrido di Nesso
- Belvedere Macallè
- Como
- Villa Carlotta
- Big Bench or Panchina Gigante #166
- Lecco
Let’s now go to see some of these places better together.
Bellagio
Bellagio is one of the most famous and popular locations on Lake Como. If you look at the map, you can immediately grasp its peculiarity.
In fact, Lake Como, despite being a single lake at the bottom, is divided into 2 branches which then rejoin towards its middle. The two branches of Lake Como are the Lecco branch, on the right which ends with the city of Lecco on its tip, and the Como branch on the left which ends with the city of Como, also located on its final tip.
Bellagio is located right at the point of reunion of these 2 branches, in the internal tip extending towards the lake.
Bellagio has a beautiful lakeside promenade; even the center of Bellagio, with its narrow streets, is waiting to be discovered.
What to do in Bellagio? To learn more about the topic, go to the following post: Italy Lake Como Bellagio things to do.
Varenna
Varenna is a very characteristic town on Lake Como. Although it is not very large, it offers tourists many things to visit and do, such as a visit to the Villa Monastero or the Vezio Castle.
Varenna is also an excellent place for those who want to take a walk on the lake, as the walkway over the lake, although not very long, offers the possibility of taking a nice panoramic walk.
But what perhaps most fascinates me about Varenna is its profile of colorful houses dominated first by the promontory and then just behind by the mountains. The best way to see this beautiful image is to take the boat. In fact, from the boat, you can genuinely fully appreciate the beauty of Varenna.
What are the things to do in Varenna? To learn more about the topic, go to the following post: Top 10 Things to do in Varenna Lake Como Italy.
Lecco
Lecco is not as grandiose and particular as the more renowned Bellagio and Varenna, but it is still a lovely place to spend time on Lake Como. Lecco is located on the extreme tip of one of the two branches of Lake Como and, more precisely, the branch of Lecco, to be precise.
Being located on the tip of Lake Como, Lecco offers a very suggestive scenario: a small portion of the lake is set between promontories and rocky walls.
On certain evenings in winter, you can admire spectacular sunsets.
The lakefront is waiting to be discovered and allows you to find different observation points of the surrounding landscape that are highly instagrammable. The Martiri delle Foibe shore is a clear example of this.
Piazza Mario Cermenati is a great place to relax in one of the bars while enjoying the lake.
From Piazza Mario Cermenati, you can continue towards Piazza XX Settembre and then explore the center’s streets full of shops for some shopping.
You can also take boat tours or use the scheduled boats in spring-summer.
Piazza XX Settembre Lecco
In Piazza XX Settembre there is also a sign explaining the history of this square. Here is what it reads.
Ancient historical and symbolic center of the village, it was called Piazza del Mercato before assuming its current name in 1895. The “castle” overlooked the square, which was the seat of the first Visconti-Sforza and then Spanish garrison. Following the abolition of the stronghold of Lecco in 1782, by Giuseppe I of Austria, nothing remained of the ancient castle but the Torre Viscontea. The square mostly housed the warehouses of the metallurgical entrepreneurs who, during the days of the weekly market, sold the artifacts made in their forges, specialized in small metal parts and iron wire for whose production Lecco was, until the 20th century, one of the most important industrial centers in Italy.
The current appearance of the square is due to the work of Giuseppe Bovara who, between 1820 and 18395, designed and restored public and religious buildings in Lecco and the surrounding area, drawing inspiration from the aesthetic and architectural canons of neoclassicism, revisited in a more severe and essential. Bovara created a new perspective view of the square, delimiting it with a portico on Doric granite columns. A plaque, at number 48, commemorates the birthplace of Antonio Stoppani, the famous geologist and patriot.
Sign placed in Piazza XX Settembre in Lecco
Lecco: a fortified village
In Piazza XX Settembre in Lecco, we find another very interesting sign explaining Lecco’s history and past structure. Here is what it reads.
In the village were located one of the two “castles” (the other was located on the Visconti bridge), the Palazzo del Comune, the Provost Church of San Nicolò and the other buildings connected to the “tertiary” functions of the Lecco conurbation. Therefore, the highest-ranking ecclesiastics, the military, some aristocrats, public officials, notaries, lawyers, merchants and their families lived there.
The maaazzini were located in what is now Piazza XX Settembre, mostly owned by the metallurgical producers residing in the hilly districts (Laorca, S. Giovanni, Rancio, Castello), which were part of the general community of Lecco. These warehouses were transformed into emporiums during the weekly market which, up until the 18th century, played a significant role in transactions between the Milanese area and the centers beyond the Alps. As proof of its commercial importance, the people of Lecco did not suspend it even during the plague of 1630-32, despite the intimations of the Milanese health magistrates.
The demolition of the walls began after 1782, when the emperor Giuseppe II declared the military stronghold of Lecco suppressed. The urban and industrial development of Lecco therefore led to the elimination of the ramparts during the nineteenth and first decades of the twentieth century. Parts of the walls can still be seen in the stretch from via Volta to via Cavour (Vallo delle mura) and near the churchyard of the provost church of San Nicolò which, at the base of the bell tower, preserves the seventeenth-century tower from which long stretches of the original walkways branch off underground.
Sign entitled “Fortified village” located in Piazza XX Settembre in Lecco
Lago di Como Lecco Things to do
In the following picture, you can see the best top 15 things to do in Lecco.
along the lake shore. This is also the starting point to the difficult trail of the Tecett: a hiking trail for expert hikers to reach the little church of San Martino. For those who are well trained there is the possibility to continue along Val Verde to Forcellino dei Pian del Resinelli.
The main pathways starting from the districts of Lecco
The main pathways starting from the districts of Lecco:
Here is the transcript:
- Laorca. Bus line 1 towards Laorca. Several paths start from the most mountainous district of Lecco, located at the head of the Gerenzone valley. Going along the Val Calolden or the Costa Adorna, you reach the Piani dei Resinelli and then the Grignetta through the ancient routes used before the construction of the road. On the same side, passing through the cemetery considered a unique historical-environmental heritage, you reach the base of the Corna Medale, a historic climbing wall whose summit can also be reached by an impervious path. From the summit of the Medale, a splendid balcony over the city, it is possible to go up to the top of Coltignone and then to Pian dei Resinelli crossing Valentino Park. Crossing the Gerenzone river, it is instead possible to follow the paths at the foot of Mount Melma up to Montalbano,
- Malnago. cableway departure Bus line 5. From the departure point of the cableway to Piani d’Erna, just above the hamlet of Malnago, it is possible to take various routes on the slopes of Resegone. From here, you can reach the Stoppani refuge, the Pizzo d’Erna “Gamma 1” via ferrata and, for the more trained, the summit of Resegone and Mount Magnodeno. More accessible routes reach Campo de Boi and Piani d’Erna. I Piani, a popular panoramic point over the city, can also be reached by cable car. From Piani d’Erna, it is also possible to reach the “Rotary” foothill path, which connects Somasca to Ballabio in a continuous but never excessively tiring up and down the path.
- Germanedo. Bus lines 6 and 8. Germanedo is the starting point for excursions to the slopes of the Magnodeno. From here, you can reach the Madonna della Rovinata and continue towards the Tenaglia bridge, Campo de’ Boi, and the top of Magnodeno. It is also possible to reach the paths that cut the side of the Magnodeno with affordable but extremely panoramic routes.
- Maggianico. Bus line 1 direction Closed. From Maggianico, a district famous for its historic villas, several paths are accessible, which lead to the localities once used as a place of rest and recreation in the hot summer months. Piazzo a Camposecco is one of these places where, a short distance from the city, one finds oneself immersed in an environment of other times. Continuing, you can reach the summit of Magnodeno, climbing its panoramic west side.
- Meal. Bus lines 1 (via Quarto) and 8. Rancio, another mountain district located on the slopes of San Martino, is the starting point for the paths that run along its southern slope. Classic, but not trivial, the excursion to the chapel and the church of San Martino, unmissable balconies overlooking the city and lake of Lecco. More demanding are the routes up to the summit of San Martino (Crocione) and further up to the summit of Monte Coltignone. Rancio is also the access point for the Alpini via ferrata to the Medale and the climbing sites of the Antimedale.
- Saint Stephen. Lines 2, 3, 6, and 8. The city district of Santo Stefano extends the town of Lecco up to the base of the Red Wall of San Martino. From here, it is possible to access one of Lecco’s most suggestive and panoramic paths: the Pizzetti path. Passing between the foreparts of San Martino (Pizzetti), you climb, even with stretches protected by chains, to the edge of the rocky wall of the mountain, reaching the small church of San Martino.
- Pradello is reachable by car. Just outside Lecco, in the direction of Valtellina along the old state road 36, is the locality of Pradello. This place is the starting point for reaching the cliffs that dot the rocky bastions along the lake shore. The demanding Tecett path also starts here: an equipped path for prepared hikers that allows you to reach the small church of San Martino. For the more trained, it will be possible to continue along the Val Verde up to the Forcellino dei Pian dei Resinelli.
Lake Como what to do in a day?
Lake Como, what to do in a day and what to see in one day? Here are some ideas of itineraries and places that you can see on Lake Como in one day. These places and itineraries have been chosen based on their proximity to each other and also based on the possibility of moving easily and quickly from one place to another by car, boat, or other public transport.
- Varenna (Walkway over the lake + Castello di Vezio) and then by boat to Bellagio.
- Varenna (Walkway over the lake + Villa Monastero) and then by car to the Orrido di Bellano and Ca ‘del Diavol
- Bellagio and then by car to the Nesso ravine
- Villa del Balbianello and then by car and boat from Griante to Bellagio
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