Picking a hotel and town to stay can be critical to your trip as it determines accessibility to major attractions you are interested in and influence how you want to schedule your days. This is especially true in Lake Como where lots of small towns are accessible only via ferries.
We did a 2 day trip and if you are planning a short trip as well, you are most likely looking at either Bellagio or Varenna as they are the two most popular cities in Lake Como. Here are a few things to consider when deciding where to stay.
Which is better? Bellagio vs. Varenna
Accessibility from the central train station/Miilan: Varenna. Direct train to and from Milan is located in Varenna. This is helpful when you arrive in the morning and want to store your luggage and makes your trip back a lot shorter because you don’t have to consider both ferry AND the train schedule
Accessibility to other Lake Como towns : Bellagio. Most ferries to other Lake Como towns leave from Bellagio. If you stay in Verenna, ferry will most likely stop by Bellagio and there are more ferry options from Bellagio
Hotel and restaurant options: Bellagio. Verenna is just a smaller town compared to Bellagio. if you have a specific criteria for hotels (walkability, view, price range etc etc), it’s much easier to find options in Bellagio. Most options that I liked were already sold out for Varenna when I tried to book a few months in advance.
Prettier town: More of a personal preference, really can’t go wrong. Varenna is a bit smaller and has an adorable vibe while Bellagio is a bit larger. Personally liked the lake view from Varenna and thought Bellagio had adorable small streets everywhere!
Hotels and Airbnbs to stay in
I chose where to stay based on
being close to the ferry or train station and restaurants
view of the lake
good quality to price ration. I didn’t want to to pay a ton of premium for a luxury accommodation at an expensive town!
I debated between Varenna and Bellagio up until the very last minute and ended up going with the Hotel Bellagio. Other options I looked were
Varenna
Varenna Airbnb with a patio - No direct view from the room but has a patio with a lake view.
Hotel du lac - Priced well for a room with a view in the center of the town. It was already fully booked when I tried to book
Varenna Caffè Apartment - Also already booked when I tried to book. Prime location with a view!
Bellagio
Hotel Bellagio: Great location, room with a view, and a cute breakfast patio. You also get access to their sister hotel’s rooftop.
You can find the full 2 day Lake Como itinerary in this post.
If you end up booking one of the hotels recommended in this post, I may get a small commission at no additional cost to you. It helps support posts like this to bring more travel tips to you!