Lake Como
Lake Como! What more is there to say - there’s a reason tourists flock there. Get ahead of them with some smart planning!
Pro tip 1: don’t bother with the train to Milan, it was madness. We took it back to Milan from the lake - A lot of people couldn’t even fit onto the train (after waiting an hour for it) and had to wait for the next one. It was packed and not fun! My friends took Connecto Transfer to meet me at the lake (I believe they paid about ~160 euro) and had a very smooth ride, so I recommend that instead.
Pro tip 2: you have to make sure you have dinner early. Everything closes around 9! I am serious, it was crazy and very unexpected. Also make sure you have a plan for getting back to your town if you eat elsewhere, as the ferries stop running all routes around that time, as well.
Food:
Pasticceria Cassera Moretti is perhaps now my favorite place ever. The croissants, the pastries, the croissants, the breads, the croissants again…. We went 3 days in a row and I would go back for a 4th.
Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni - we had drinks here and now I want to spend the rest of my life here. The views! Unbeatable. Ask about the drink with fragrance sprays (it is their specialty)
I didn’t make it to Divino 13 myself (not for lack of trying - it closed earlier than it said online!) but I read that it was a solid option.
The line for dinner at San Giacomo was nuts!!!! If you are gonna go, get there 45 minutes before they open - I’m serious. It was one of those places everyone mentioned to us. It was good, but not sure it was worth the crazy wait!
Activities:
Really enjoyed walking the green way path - you move from sleepy towns and quiet streets into opulent villas! Wear sneakers.
There are so many villas to check out. We chose Villa Carlotta because it fit best into our itinerary and we were not disappointed. PS we tried to swing by Villa Balbianello (featured in Star Wars and James Bond) and the line was shockingly long. If you really want to see that one, plan ahead.
The main activity is to enjoy the magnificent views from every angle - you won’t get tired of them!!
Another activity: check out the 5 star hotel lobbies and grounds. They are gorgeous, so go have a drink there. We found these were also great to stop in for help when we needed to call a taxi!
You can also easily do a day trip to Lugano, Switzerland - it’s a lovely town with a very interesting mix of Italian and Swiss vibes. The bus is a little less than an hour from Menaggio, and is very scenic, especially the drive back to Italy. We went for a quick trip in the morning, walked along the water for a bit and had a fantastic lunch at La Casa N.6 before heading back to Italy.
We spent a really lovely afternoon relaxing at the beach club at Lido di Bellagio.
There are also hikes from Bellano to Varenna that look fantastic - if you have time, check them out!
