Gelatos, boats & amazing scenery on Como Lago

Lake Como is a must-do day trip when you are in Milan. Trains run up to & return from Como Lago every hour at the tiny cost of €3.60 one way, so there is no excuse not to make it there.

A short stroll from the train station in Como Lago has you on the lake front and quickly snapping photos - this place is just beautiful. The lake is no wider than 1 mile wide at any point but is 50km long - making it a great place to explore all the little towns that are scattered along it's banks. What makes this lake so spectacular is it's setting -steep hills surround it and at this time of the year, they are still capped with snow. As you travel up along the lake, the alps come into view too.

We read that you could take a funicular up to a small village above Como to get some great views of the lake and although it was beautiful up there, the views were distorted by the trees in people's gardens.

Upon our descent from there, we decided it would be nice to explore the lake a bit more. You can get a ticket for a number of different boats that travel up along the lake, however some are for certain areas only, so be sure to check/ask which one will suit you. We wanted to see the village of Bellagio, which is situated right in the centre of the lake - about an hour away from Como on the fast ferry (cost €11.50 one way).

Bellagio is a quaint, quiet and beautiful village with many small but interesting shops and tiny cobbled streets. However it is it's amazing setting that captured my heart. You can't but relax and feel an air of romance about the place. Apparently the actor George Clooney has a villa here, but I didn't manage to find him :o) There are villas which you can visit in the area for a fee of course, but I think walking around is more than enough to get some appreciation of Italian lifestyles here. We really enjoyed taking life easy here and with the sun shining down on us and a gelato in our hands, we couldn't have asked for more.

The great thing about this day trip is the frequency of the boats and the trains to and from Como and all along the lake. No matter what your time limits may be, you can manage to fit in as much as you like or simply relax as much as you like... watching the clock is not something you are going to be doing, so you really can enjoy yourself at your ease.

I will definitely go back to Como Lago and explore the other towns along it's banks.