Lake Como, Italy (July 2026)

After we left Ortisei, we headed to Lake Como, another famous and popular destination in Northern Italy. Lake Como is a major historical and cultural tourism hub for the elites in the past. Its dramatic Y-shape is unique, and its deep glacial water is now attracting many tourists from all over the world.

On the way to Lake Como, we made a stop at Lake Garda. It is another lake, equally famous and popular as Lake Como, but there are more residents along the lake shore than tourists. In the town center, we found many restaurants, cafes, and souvenir stores, particularly leather goods stores. We ended up buying one product each of the leather products because their prices were so inexpensive.  

As we drove into the town of Como, we went first to downtown. It was a bit far away from our lodging, located in Lecco, and our tight schedule would not allow us to visit this town if we did not go there first. The town of Como was not as busy as other towns we were scheduled to visit the next day. We strolled around the streets and the lake shore promenade. 

The next day, we walked over to the train station and took a train to Varenna, one of three major towns at the center of the lake. We walked from the train station to the harbor to buy a mid-lake ferry pass to visit the other two towns, called Menaggio and Bellagio. As the ferry passed by the colorful town buildings and the trees, we felt so tranquil despite the crowd on the ferry. 

We spent some time exploring the town of Bellagio, and it was the busiest of the three towns. 

Our initial goal was to visit the Villa de Balbianello, famous for being the site for filming the 007 movie Casino Royale. But when we got there, we found the waiting line far too long. So we had to give up on it. 

After we returned to Lecco, we explored the town as well. It was a lot quieter town than all others. Walking on the promenade was pleasant as we planned to leave for our next destination. 

 We thoroughly enjoyed our short but sweet trip to Lake Como. I am not sure if we will ever return to this tourist destination, but we kept our fond memory in our hearts with deep gratitude. - Jeffrey