LAKE COMO
Lake Como is Stunning . Day trip or week break this gem is worth a visit.
We have visited Lake Como a few times but at different times of the year .
Staying in Bergamo as a base it is very easy to reach the lake .
Where to stay
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If you fancy staying some where special right on the lake .
The apartment is in Nesso
Nesso is halfway between Como and Bellagio and can be reached by car, ferry or the local bus. Many of Lake Como's attractions can be reached by ferry, which stops 10 minutes walk from the apartment.
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The Lake is shaped rather like an inverted 'Y', with two 'legs' starting at Como in the South-West and Lecco in the South-East, which join together half way up and the lake continues up to Colico in the North. The first few kilometres of the 'legs' at the southern end of the lake are relatively flat, but Lake Como becomes more mountainous as you head northwards into the Alps.
The area around Lake Como, or "Lago di Como" in Italian, is pretty characteristic. It has a kind of flair and sense of history that tends to impress its visitors in a sense deeper than only from a touristic point of view. It has been appreciated for its beauty and uniqueness for ages, and even as early as the Roman Times. Its atmosphere and natural surroundings have been the inspiration for an important part of the creation of Naboo, in the Star Wars movies. (In the same way as the atmosphere in Tozeur and Matmata have been recreated in Episode IV, "A New Hope")
Como - At the southern end of the lake, the lake's main town is a good base and although not as attractive as some of the other towns, it remains an elegant resort.
Menaggio - The main town on the Western Shore, it's an attractive town and note as touristy as Bellagio and Varenna opposite. It has a Youth Hostel (but it's often full at weekends).
This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.
The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake—between Como, Bellagio and Lecco—is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità montana del Triangolo Lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities which represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.
Bellagio - Very attractive town at the junction of the two 'legs' of the lake. Can be expensive.
Varenna - Another attractive town on the Eastern shore opposite Mennagio and Bellagio. Worth visiting for the attractive and relaxing gardens of Villa Cipresi.
Colico - nice views at the top of the lake, but the town's not that attractive.
Lecco - a less attractive town at the end of the south-eastern 'leg' of the lake.
The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the dozens of small towns and villages dotted around the perimeter of the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the “Lario”, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organisation called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.
