Lake Of The Rich & Famous

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May 14th 2023

Published: July 17th 2023

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Delek Delek

Varenna

Taken on the ferry back from Menaggio.

Lake Como is about as famous as the celebrities who have frequented it over the years; Madonna, Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Branson, Gianni Versace and even Leonardo da Vinci are among the illustrious names to have holidayed in this idyllic neck of the woods. Perhaps most er, famously, George Clooney - amongst many other luminaries - has a lakeside property here.
Littered with lavish and opulent villas built by aristocrats and wealthy Milanese merchants over the years, Lake Como has been known as a glamorous getaway destination for the well-heeled and privileged since the times of Ancient Rome. A place that has been attracting big names for this long must have something about it and it's this mythical air of the debonair, that has always intrigued me about visiting the place one day. Well, that day has come and we were about to add our not-so-famous and not-so-wealthy names to Lake Como's prominent roll call of visitors.

Our flight from Berlin wasn't technically a red-eye one, but with its early start and on just four hours sleep, it sure felt like one.
We flew into Milan, which was my second visit to the city. Neat, stately and pretty, Britta was surprisingly

Entrance To The Villa Monastero, Varenna

A pretty classic image that aesthetically, just about sums up what Lake Como is all about.

impressed as I took her to the Duomo and walked her through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II during the two hours that we had to kill in the city.
We then took a rather cheap and efficient train ride (especially compared to the Circumvesuviana last year) to the gorgeous lakeside town of Varenna, near to where we were staying.There was a distinct lack of taxis when we arrived and a big electronic signboard informed us that we would have to call one - given I was struggling to converse with my five to ten words of Italian with the workers at the cafe we were sitting at, having to try and call a taxi to pick us up in Italian didn’t appeal.
So we decided to walk the forty minutes to Fiumelatte - the next village down where our AirBnB was - and our frustrations were eventually calmed by how wonderfully picturesque Varenna is and the simply stunning views of our lakeside walk. The walk was still hard work though and combined with my lack of sleep, I was exhausted by the time we arrived at our apartment. The wonderful panoramic view across the lake and over to the town

The Gardens Of Villa Melzi, Bellagio

Late spring ensured that the gardens of Villa Melzi were awash with stunning colour.

of Bellagio from our balcony however, made up for it.

Our mood was as dark as the storm that came in that night however, as we had neglected to buy anything for dinner and a trek out in the rain to the nearest restaurant wasn’t something we fancied. The weather forecast for our entire week here was wet and we were really fearing a ruined holiday.
The cold that greeted us the next morning didn’t improve the mood but least it had stopped raining. This allowed us to take a much more serene and scenic path in the afternoon back to Varenna where were truly able to appreciate how gorgeous the town really was, without lugging our luggage around with us.
Although a bit touristy, it wasn’t super-packed and the pretty narrow alleys and harbourside eateries and restaurants really reminded me of Sorrento, where we were last year.

The highlight of our day was a visit to the gardens of the Villa Monastero, which really epitomised the unique beauty of Lake Como. We sat on a bench with the most beautiful view of the pastel-coloured buildings of Varenna in front of us and the immaculately manicured gardens next

Villa Melzi, Bellagio

Classic Lake Como mansion built by a 19th century Italian aristocrat.

to us. It was like we were back on Capri, albeit a few degrees cooler.
We even managed to buy some goodies from a fancy supermarket to cook up at home; gluten free rigatoni in a zucchini arrabbiata with a lovely drop of local white wine - a relaxing end to what was in the end, a rather romantic day.
And I must say I am a convert of baths now too - Britta bought a lavender bath bomb from the most prettiest of shops in Varenna and we used it to make the most of the bathtub that was provided to us in our apartment.

Having stayed at and been impressed by the famous Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, I then discovered that the classically Italian-styled hotel was in fact named after a famous town right here on the shores of Lake Como. So we just had to pay the place a visit, which was just a short ferry ride from Varenna.
Arriving at the town’s harbour, we were shocked to discover how packed it was - it was by far the biggest crowds we had seen so far. Bellagio is a bit more upmarket than Varenna and it

The Pearl Of Lake Como

Bellagio even has a world-famous Las Vegas hotel named after it.

reminded me of Capri Town. Our overarching impression was though, that once you have seen one old pretty waterside Italian town, you’ve seen them all; for Varenna, see a smaller and prettier Sorrento; and for Bellagio, see a more average Capri Town. A stroll along Bellagio’s lakeside promenade is pleasant however, especially when accompanied by gelato.
We then entered the pretty and immaculate gardens of Villa Melzi, at the end of the promenade. The colours on display were amazing and there was many a stunning scene that we encountered, including another perfect bench spot for gazing out upon the lake, framed by beautifully vibrant vegetation. The gardens here were far more spacious than the gardens at the Villa Monastero and having visitors more spread out resulted in a more serene experience. The villa itself wasn’t open to the public but I did manage to have one sneak peek into the luxury within it.
Back in Varenna, it was impossible to to find a taxi to get back to our apartment and trains that would only take you halfway there arrived just once an hour, so we ended up taking the forty minute walk to and from Varenna each time. Forty

Bellano

Town a couple of train stops up the road from where we were staying.

minutes of walking in each direction was at least made bearable by the fact that our walk was along the scenic, peaceful and green path of the Greenway Dei Patriarchi, a recommended short hike for visitors to the area. The area is generally recommended for its hiking so we feel like we certainly - if unwittingly - made the most of it!

All the walking does eventually take its toll however and so the next day we decided to take things a bit easier and go off the beaten path a bit by just walking to the local train station to catch the train a couple of stops up to Bellano to visit its canyon.
Britta hadn’t recalled visiting a canyon before and was suitably impressed by what she saw here at the Orridi Bellano. Tall waterfalls, emerald green pools and relatively large torrents of water cascading down the mountain and into the lake has carved a huge gap in the rocks over which wooden boardwalks crissed-crossed, that allowed visitors to gaze upon what is quite the scenic (and romantic) spot.
We thought we might perhaps uncover a neglected gem in walking around the lesser-visited town of Bellano itself,

Orrido di Bellano, Bellano

A canyon with emerald green water, that has been carved out by the water flowing down into the lake from the mountains above the town of Bellano.

although it proved itself to be rather unremarkable (if rather authentic) in the end. It did however have the best supermarket in the region we have seen so far and we took advantage by buying ingredients to make a risotto back at the apartment.
I have to say that I’m not used to self-catering while on holiday, but I found it relaxing to cook our meals in the evening and more romantic and enjoyable to have just the two of us sharing our meals with the magnificent view of the lake from our balcony, over a couple of glasses of wine. It’s cheaper too!

On our last day, we hopped over the lake to the third of the “big three” on Lake Como - Menaggio. What we said applied to Bellagio in terms of being just another old Italian waterside town can also be applied to Menaggio, although the original old town is much smaller (like Bellano’s) and there are no steep staircases within it. It felt like the most commercial and lived-in of the three towns, by far the least touristic. We walked along its pretty lakeside promenade however and enjoyed the view over a sandwich at one

Menaggio Promenade

The sun finally came out to illuminate this rather elegant promenade on the shores of Lake Como.

of the lakeside cafes. The sun was finally out in force too, which brought a whole new vivacity to the lake and its surroundings.
We spent our last night on the lake eating risotto while the rain fell down on our balcony again - the Eurovision Song Contest provided our entertainment for the evening.

Overall, I have to say that the scenery around Lake Como including the picturesque gardens, the charming towns and the stately villas, is everything that I expected it to be - quite stunning! Having a car and warmer, dryer weather would also have made our stay here more enjoyable, but I still felt that we had some really nice moments. All cute Italian towns do start to look the same however and combined with the weather, perhaps this did put a literal dampener on our experience somewhat; we were a bit unfortunate with the weather although in hindsight, it could really have been much worse, given the deadly flooding that was occurring just a few hundred kilometres away in Emilia-Romagna.
I feel that just like any other holiday destination, the more money you can throw at it, the more comfortable your experience will be -

Ancient Port, Varenna

The small old port of Varenna, which is very picturesque and is Tourist Central.

nevertheless, we still managed to hike and make the most of what Lake Como had to offer within what we could afford. The lakeside setting does offer yet another different angle to a country that already has a huge variety of them.
Would I recommend it? Sure! You don’t have to be famous to holiday here - but being rich would help…

Not sure where the next entry will be coming from at the moment; we’re looking at perhaps going somewhere in September but nothing has been confirmed. So who knows when you’ll hear from me next…

Ciao!
Derek

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