Even as we pulled into the dock at Varenna (said to be the starting point of the Como region); I thought to myself “I could live here” and by the time we arrived in Bellagio, I was mentally doing the math on what it will take to retire in this part of the world. We were finally in Lake Como - after many attempts, we were finally here (insert: happy dance).

A few things we picked up around the way - Lake Como is the region. The region includes Varenna, Bellagio, Limonta, and Comop (amongst others). Most people visiting from Milan like we were will likely arrive at Varenna first, then Bellagio before ultimately reaching the town of Como.

I have four regrets about how we planned this trip:

We made this trip a day trip from Milan instead of planning to spend an entire weekend in the region;
We did not allow ourselves anytime in Varenna; it looked incredibly beautiful arriving here from Milan en route to Bellagio and Como; the last two regrets were outside our control;
There was a train conductors strike that weekend, which impacted the train schedule.; and finally,
It was a stormy weekend in this part of Italy and all of our time in Como was spent taking cover from the rain, by the time it cleared, we did not have enough time to explore the rest of the town and make the one confirmed train heading back to Milan.

In spite of all of this, we had an incredible day briefly exploring this part of Italy and very sure there is a return trip in the future for us. If you are looking to plan a day trip from Milan like we did - you should check out this post with my seven tips on getting to this region of Italy.

STOP 1 - VARENNA

Based on our research, Varenna was the best starting point of our time in the region if we wanted to lf.maximise what time we had here. We had to decide between spending our time in Varenna or Bellagio before heading to Como. Ultimately we decided on Bellagio due to ferry schedule and in large part, to the train availability in light of the train conductor strikes. We had a short time in Varenna with most of our time spent around the ferry docks - it is an incredibly beautiful place, see for yourself.

STOP 2 - BELLAGIO

The ferry ride from Varenna to Bellagio is possibly the most scenic journey, ever. I don't recall how long the trip was, but I don't think we were on the Ferry longer than an hour, and if we were, I was too busy taking in scenes like the above to notice. We arrived in Bellagio with just enough time to stroll around the town and grab lunch. At this point, FOMO kicked into high gear because realized spending only a day in this region was a disservice. We got to chat with a few locales and got a few tips for those who have the time and can spend longer than a day here — there are five things I highly recommend for you Bellagio itinerary - read about it here.

STOP 3 - Como - The town.

After our scenic ferry ride and afternoon in Bellagio, I thought, "no way it gets better than this." Then we hopped on the boat to Como from Bellagio, and my jaw was dropped most of the ride as I was amazed by what we got to see and very thankful for it because, by the time we arrived in Como, it had started to rain. We had a few minutes of reprieve as the boat pulled into the Dock, and we hurriedly made our way to the city center, where we spent about half an hour taking cover from the rain.

By the time the rain let up, we did not have a lot of time left due to the train conductor strike and limited train service. There are a lot of shops, and we will have been satisfied having a wander through each, but it was Sunday, and several shops were closed for the day.

Instead, we visited the cathedral, had a wander around town, took in the incredible views from the port.

We debated taking the funicular up to Brunate and then inwards to Faro Voltiano, but we were worried we would miss (potentially) the last train to Milan for the day and we did not want to risk it. The odds were against us the entire trip - we were just glad we made it at all. There was a lot more we wanted to see but could not - if you have more time than we did this post has a few recommendations of things to see and do in Como.