Discover · Bellagio

The village where the lake splits in two.

Bellagio sits on the tip that separates the two southern arms of Lake Como. You arrive by water, explore on foot, and in one afternoon you understand why everyone puts it at the centre of the map.

Why go

Because it is the one spot on the lake where you see all three arms at once, and because a few minutes on foot take you from the waterfront to the gardens of a Napoleonic-era villa.

When

Late March to late October, when the Villa Melzi gardens are open. Summer is the busiest: take the first morning train or go on a weekday.

Good to know

Bellagio has no train station: you come by ferry from Varenna, Menaggio or Cadenabbia, or by bus or boat from Como. The Villa Serbelloni park can only be seen on a guided tour, and it is not the Grand Hotel of the same name.

Look at Lake Como on a map: it is an upside-down Y. Bellagio sits exactly where the Y opens, on the tip of the Triangolo Lariano, between the Como arm and the Lecco arm. That is why Italians call it the Pearl of the Lario, and why you do not come here for one sight. You come to be in the middle of everything.

The village is small and steep. Narrow stone stairways climb from the waterfront, lined with shops; the most photographed is the Salita Serbelloni. At the top you find the Basilica of San Giacomo and, two streets further, quiet.

Getting there

Bellagio has no railway, and that is a gift: the right way in is by water. From Milano Centrale a regional train reaches Varenna-Esino in about an hour; from the Varenna pier the ferry crosses in ten to fifteen minutes. The mid-lake ferries link Bellagio only with Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia, and they take cars too.

From Como town you have two options. The C30 bus takes a little over an hour along the shore, through Nesso. The boat takes more than two hours, but it is already the day out. By car it is 29 km from Como and 75 km from Milan, on a narrow, winding road: leave early.

What to see

Punta Spartivento comes first and costs nothing. It is the northern tip of the village: shaded benches and, in front of you, the lake dividing. It is the geographical reason Bellagio exists.

The Villa Melzi gardens stretch along the shore between the centre and the hamlet of Loppia. The villa was built in the early 1800s as the summer home of Francesco Melzi d'Eril, vice-president of Napoleon's Italian Republic. You cannot go inside: the ticket covers the park, the chapel and the museum. You walk under plane trees pruned into umbrellas, past camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons, to a Japanese-style pond. The gardens open from late March to the end of October and the hours change every year, so check before you set off.

The Villa Serbelloni park is above, on the promontory. It belongs to the Rockefeller Foundation and can only be visited with a guide, booked through the tourist office: about eighteen kilometres of paths through woods and terraces, with the lake on both sides. Do not confuse it with the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni on the waterfront: they are two different properties.

Then walk away from the crowd. Pescallo, on the Lecco side, is a small boat harbour a few minutes from the centre. Loppia is about twenty minutes on foot along the Villa Melzi wall.

What to eat

Lake fish rules here. Risotto with perch comes topped with fillets fried in butter and sage. Missoltini are shad that have been salted, dried and pressed in a wooden tub, then seared on the grill and served with polenta. Bellagio also has a polenta of its own, toc, worked for a long time with butter and cheese. Olive trees grow on these shores: Laghi Lombardi Lario oil has protected status. To finish, miascia, a home-style cake of bread, apples, amaretti and raisins.

When to go and how long to stay

Half a day covers the centre, the Punta and Villa Melzi. A full day adds the Serbelloni park and the hamlets. Stay two days if you use Bellagio as a base for Varenna and Menaggio: the mid-lake day ticket lets you hop on and off the boats.

What nobody tells you

There is no direct road between Bellagio and Varenna: the alternative to the ferry is driving down to Lecco and back up the other shore. Check the time of the last crossing before you sit down to dinner.