Lake Como is probably the most popular day trip stop from Milan as it’s only an hour train ride to one of the main cities, Varenna. It’s also a popular destination for a 3-7 day trip as the entire Lake Como area has multiple small towns. If you are short on time and thinking of doing a day trip, I highly recommend spending a night so you can fully experience the area. Towns get very crowded during the day with day trippers and it is so worth staying at least one night to enjoy without the crowd.
Here are a few tips and suggested itinery for a two day trip
Day 1
Morning
Take an early train out of Milan to Varenna: We took the train at ~8am and got to Varenna by 9am. The town was pretty empty at this time and we were able to walk around and enjoy the scenary
Store your luggage at the train station (opens at 9:30am) or walk ~10minutes to another luggage storage near Villa Cipressi
Visit Villa Monestero and Villa Cipressi: They are both lakeside gardens/villas with traditional Italian structures. Offers a lot of photo opportunity. Great to just find a bench and enjoy the scenery.
Get drinks with a view at Il Molo or Cafe Vernna: They both offer an amazing view of the iconic colorful buildings and lake
Lunch
Grab lunch at Il Cavatappi or Al Prato: Walk in between smaller side streets and you will probably find better food compared to the busy main area!
Take a 15 minute ferry to Bellagio and check-in to a hotel
Afternoon/Dinner
Check-in. Highly recommend getting a hotel with a view to rest up before dinner
Aperitivo: Can’t do an Italian vacation without pre-dinner drinks! Tons of bars and cafe by the water or cute wine bars.
Dinner: I personally loved La Terrazza in hotel Belvedere but have heard great things about Ristorante Bilacus as well
Day 2
Morning
Morning walk/breakfast: Enjoy adorable streets and views while streets are quite and free from the day trip crowd!
Villa Melzi D'Eril: Huge stunning garden and villa by the water! Tons of photo opportunities again, or benches to sit and enjoy.
Lunch/afternoon
Lunch on the adorable streets of Bellagio. Again, you will probably find better food away from the main streets by the water. I loved the street/patio seating at La Dolce Vita
Get Gelato, walk around the streets, enjoy the town, then take the ferry back to Varenna to catch the train back to Milan. Trains operate every hour or so but good to check before!
Optional
you can do a 1 or 2 hour boat tour instead. We opted out because we thought we could feel rushed but you can totally fit this in on day 1 or 2
you can also try to do Villa del Balvianello instead of Melzi D'Eril or spending more time in Varenna. It’s a longer trip from Bellagio so we opted to do more things in Varenna and Bellagio instead.
This itinerary should cover major places to see and the towns to visit in Lake Como without feeling rushed. I’d love to go back and check out other towns and villas like Villa del Balbianello, Tremezzo
See the full restaurant and bar recommendations on this post and if you are debating on staying in Varenna vs. Bellagio, see this post for more information on where to stay.