Our final destination on our Two Week Italian Adventure was Lake Como, which is located in the Northern part of Italy. There are many different areas of the lake to visit, so it can be overwhelming when planning a trip to this region. We decided to spend most of our time in Bellagio, as we had heard amazing things about this town. If you are looking for a beautiful destination with amazing shopping, Bellagio would be the place for you. Not only was the shopping fantastic, but the food and wine were amazing as well. Overall, we had a great time during our four days in Bellagio, and I would highly recommend a visit here if you get a chance.
Table of Contents
Overview
Where We Stayed: We spent most of our time in Bellagio. Hotel Du Lac and Hotel Bellagio were the two hotels we stayed at. Both are owned by the same company. Hotel Du Lac is a little more luxurious than Hotel Bellagio, but both are great options.
Transportation:
- Ferry: The easiest way to get around Lake Como is via ferry. They have multiple ferries that will take you to several different towns on the lake. Depending on where you want to go, the price may differ. I would recommend getting a day pass for the ferry if you plan to hop around between different towns. The day passes are the most cost-effective, plus you’ll save time since you won’t be purchasing a ticket for each ride.
- Car: I would not recommend this option, but it is possible. We met another family that drove a car to Bellagio, and they said it was extremely stressful. Do not get a car unless you have a really good reason to do so.
- Trains: You will most likely take a train to Lake Como before hoping on a ferry to your final destination. Depending on where you stay in Lake Como, you might not even need to take a ferry. For example, the train stops directly in Varenna, so if you stay there, you won’t need to take a ferry.
Day 1
We spent most of the first day traveling to Lake Como. We were coming from Cinque Terre, so we had to take a few different trains in addition to a ferry. It was quite the process to get there, but we didn’t run into any issues. We booked our train tickets in advance, but waited to purchase our ferry tickets until we arrived in Lake Como.
We arrived in Bellagio around 4 PM and immediately went to check in to our hotel. We stayed at Hotel Du Lac, mainly because of the location. This hotel is located right across the street from the ferry terminal, and it’s within walking distance of everything in town. The hotel itself was beautiful and the rooms were very nice. I would highly recommend staying here if you are looking for a luxurious hotel in Bellagio.
After settling in to our hotel, we decided to take a stroll around Bellagio. There are so many cute shops and restaurants and the streets themselves are adorable. Bellagio is pretty well-known for their shopping, especially luxury goods like leather shoes, purses and silk.
We decided to stop into a silk shop called Azalea, which we later realized was one of the best silk shops in town. Everything in this shop was beautiful and there were so many colors and patterns to choose from. They had a wide variety of products including scarves and ties. All of the silk is made in Lake Como, so it is very authentic. I ended up purchasing a couple silk scarves, and Alex bought a tie. These are definitely products that will last a lifetime.
After walking around town for a couple hours, we decided to grab a cocktail at Hotel Metropole Bellagio. This hotel is located right on the water, and you can watch all of the boats and ferries from their restaurant patio. It is the perfect little spot to grab a drink and an afternoon snack.
Around 6:30 PM, we walked back to Hotel Du Lac for rooftop cocktails. They serve drinks and light bites on the rooftop every night, and it’s a really nice atmosphere with an amazing view of Lake Como. They have a wide variety of cocktails to choose from, in addition to beer and wine. If you are staying in Bellagio, you must add this to your list of things to do! It ended up being one of our favorite spots throughout our time in Lake Como.
Since we were so tired from all the travel, we decided to have dinner at the hotel. Bellagio Restaurant & Bar is located on the 2nd floor of Hotel Du Lac, and they have both indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside because it was such a beautiful evening. You’ll have an amazing view of the lake if you can snag a spot on the patio.
The food was delicious, and I enjoyed everything we ordered. My favorite part of the meal was the truffle risotto. I am obsessed with anything that has fresh truffles, so I HAD to order this dish. This dinner was the perfect way to end our first day in Lake Como.
Day 2
Since we didn’t get to see all of Bellagio the previous day, we decided to get up a little bit earlier to stroll around and take photos. There were several streets that we hadn’t seen, so it was nice to get a better sense of the town when there weren’t a ton of people around. It was also nice to snag a few photos before the crowds rolled in.
After taking a few photos around town, we made our way towards Villa Melzi. We decided to visit this Villa since it was within walking distance of our hotel, but there are several more to visit all over Lake Como. No matter which Villa(s) you decide to visit, you’ll be very impressed with the architecture and surrounding landscape.
Villa Melzi was built in the 19th Century and was a summer residence for Francesco Melzi d’Eril. I’m not sure why he wouldn’t have lived here year-round because the property is gorgeous and the views are unbelievable.
We couldn’t go inside the buildings, but it was still amazing to see everything from the outside. I can only imagine how many rooms he might have had inside that house!
The gardens surrounding the Villa were just as beautiful, and there were so many trees on the property. They’ve done a great job preserving the Villa and keeping everything perfectly manicured and clean. It’s definitely worth a visit if you have an hour or so to spare.
After our visit to Villa Melzi, we walked back towards our hotel and the main streets of Bellagio. We were starting to work up an appetite for lunch, so we started looking at different restaurant menus. It was hard to decide on a place to eat because everything looked amazing. There are so many cute restaurants tucked away in little alleyways, so don’t settle on the first thing you see!
We ended up having lunch at Bstyle Bellagio, which is located a couple blocks from the main street. We sat at one of the tables outside, and I loved that because we were able to watch all the people go by. It’s always nice to sit down and observe your surroundings a little more.
We ordered a couple glasses of wine in addition to two different pasta dishes. I had the lasagna and you could definitely tell that it was authentic and made to order. It was so relaxing to sit outside on a quieter street in Bellagio. We were very impressed with this restaurant overall.
After lunch, we went back to the main streets of Bellagio to do a little more shopping. I had seen a purse in one of the shop windows, so I wanted to go back and take a closer look. The store was called Rolando and they mainly sold leather shoes. They did have a few other products like purses and scarves, though.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the purse, so I ended up purchasing it. I was a little bit of a splurge, but I know it’s something I’ll cherish for years to come. One of the designers for Gucci made this purse, and the store only had a few of them to sell. It was all handmade, and the designer has no plans to make more purses in that same style.
Once we were done shopping, we went to grab a cocktail on the water at Bar Sanremo. This place felt really crowded and touristy, so I wouldn’t recommend unless you are desperate. There are much better places to sit and grab a drink in Bellagio. We didn’t eat here, so I can’t really speak for the quality of the food, but it didn’t look to be very authentic.
Since we weren’t loving the vibe at Bar Sanremo, we decided to head back to a wine bar on the main street. We ended up at Aperitivo et al, which is one of the iconic wine bars in Bellagio. You’ll see several pictures of this wine bar when you are searching for things to do in Bellagio.
We ended up ordering a couple glasses of the local red wine. We had never had wine from this region before, so we thought it would be interesting to see what the surrounding areas produce. We were really impressed with all of the Valtellina Superiore Sassella wines. Sassella is one of five viticultural sub-zones specifically identified as producing Valtellina wines of particularly high quality.
After learning about the local wines and terroir, we walked back towards the lake so we could catch our private boat tour of Lake Como. We had booked a two-hour boat tour through Como Classic Boats. Many of these classic wooden boats were built in the 1950s, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Honestly, these boats are a work of art!
When you book tour, you can choose from a wide variety of boat models and packages. Each boat is a little bit different in shape and size, but they are all beautiful. Depending on how many people are in your party, you may want to book a smaller or larger boat. You are able book the boat for different lengths of time, but the minimum time commitment is 2 hours. It’s definitely not cheap, but I can assure you that it is 100% worth it.
Overall, the boat ride was a once in a lifetime experience. The weather was perfect and the scenery was amazing. We were able to see so much of Lake Como in two hours! He also let us drive the boat a couple times. It was so much fun.
As if the experience couldn’t get any better, we were served a bottle of Prosecco on board. I kind of felt like a celebrity the entire time we were on the boat. I almost had to pinch myself because it didn’t feel real! It was such an amazing experience, and I would do it all over again if I could (For reference, we booked the Riva Super Floria – Romance Package).
After our incredible boat tour of Lake Como, we went back to Aperitivo et al to grab dinner. We really enjoyed the atmosphere there that afternoon, so we figured we would go back for dinner. Plus, their menu looked amazing, and I wanted to try some new pasta dishes. It was the perfect ending to our fun-filled day in Lake Como.
Day 3
On our third day in Bellagio, we had reserved a cooking class and truffle hunting experience at Salice Blu with Chef Luigi. I had always wanted to do truffle hunting, so I thought this would be a really unique experience. It’s not everyday you can go hunting through the forests of Italy looking for fresh truffles!
Chef Luigi picked us up at our hotel and from there, it was about a 20 minute drive up to his restaurant, Salice Blue. We started out the day with the cooking class where we made fresh pasta, ravioli, gnocchi and tiramisu. I honestly didn’t know we would be cooking so many different dishes, but it was really fun!
We learned a lot about the pasta making process, and it was really cool that we were able to make several different colors/flavors of pasta. To make the pasta green, you can use different ingredients like spinach or broccoli. To make the pasta purple/red, you can use beets, tomatoes or peppers. I always thought it was food coloring that made pasta a different color!
We learned everything about pasta including what type of flour to use, how to roll out the dough and how to make different pasta shapes. We also learned what types of tools we would need in the kitchen if we were to make homemade pasta.
Of course, we had to have a little Prosecco while we cooked all this yummy food. I think you should always have a little wine while you cook. You have to have fun with it!
After a couple hours of cooking in Chef Luigi’s kitchen, it was finally time to eat! I was excited to try all of our yummy creations. It was nice that we were able to sample a wide variety of pastas including ravioli, gnocchi, risotto and pappardelle. It was all delicious, and I could have eaten so much more.
After our amazing lunch, we embarked on our next adventure: truffle hunting. In order to find the truffles, we drove about 20 minutes up into the forests of Bellagio. Honestly, I was a little nervous about venturing through the forests because I didn’t know what kind of animals/insects would be up there.
We first walked around and started picking up any mushroom we could find. We were finding tons of different mushrooms, but not truffles. Black truffles are extremely hard to find, and it takes a lot of patience. Now I know why they are so expensive!
Chef Luigi ended up bringing in the truffle hunting dog, Pluto, to help us find a truffle. It took Pluto about 20-30 minutes to sniff out a truffle. When he finally found one, he sat on that spot for several minutes and wouldn’t move. Luigi said this is what he typically does when he finds a truffle, so we walked towards Pluto to see what we going on. I looked down towards Pluto’s paw and there it was….the black truffle! I couldn’t believe it, and I was so happy that we ended up finding one. It was a moment I’ll never forget.
After a long day of cooking and truffle hunting, we went back to our hotel to freshen up a bit. It had rained a little bit during the truffle hunting, so we definitely needed to change clothes before heading out for the evening.
We ended up walking over to the Princess Bar to have a cocktail before dinner. This bar had a completely different atmosphere from everything else in Bellagio. It had more of a modern feel, and it almost felt like we were at a bar in New York City or something. I didn’t mind it, but if you’re looking for more of an authentic Italian experience, this might not be the place for.
After enjoying a cocktail, we went to the restaurant across the street to grab dinner. The restaurant we ate at is called Ristorante Terrazzo Barchetta, and it’s located in one of the cute alleyways in Bellagio. There are two parts to this restaurant: an upstairs and a downstairs. The downstairs section is more casual and serves a lot of pizza. The upstairs section is a little bit fancier and is only open for dinner. I would recommend dining upstairs if you can.
The view from the upstairs patio was quite nice, and I liked that the restaurant was an open air dining experience. It was nice to have fresh air (without smoke) during dinner, and it was fun to see people walking along the streets of Bellagio.
We ordered a couple appetizers to share in addition to our entrees. Of course, I ordered the truffle risotto because it tastes so fresh in Italy. If you’ve never had truffle risotto, I recommend trying it at least once. I think it’s one of the best dishes to order in Italy. Plus, it’s hard to find fresh truffles at restaurants in the USA.
Overall, we had a great meal at this restaurant, and I would highly recommend this place for dinner in Bellagio. It has everything you need: a great atmosphere, amazing food and TONS of local wine to choose from.
We ended the evening with a glass of wine at Angolo DiVino. This is a really neat wine bar in Bellagio, and it’s tucked away on one of the smaller streets. The people working inside the wine bar were very friendly and were really knowledgable about the wines we ordered. The atmosphere was great for a late night drink, and it ended up being one of my favorite wine bars in Bellagio. If you’re looking for a quieter, family-owned wine bar in Bellagio, this is the place for you.
Day 4
We took it pretty easy on our last day in Lake Como. I think we were pretty exhausted from two weeks of travel, so we ended up sleeping much later than expected. We really didn’t get going until 11:30 AM, so it was definitely a later start than we had hoped more.
We didn’t have any set plans, so we decided to buy a day pass for the ferry. We thought it would be fun to explore some of the other towns we hadn’t seen yet.
Our first stop of the day was a town called Lenno. We didn’t know much about the town, but we knew we wanted to see Villa del Balbianello. You might be familiar with this Villa if you’ve seen Star Wars II or James Bond Casino Royale, as some of the scenes were filmed here.
We saw some neat buildings on the walk over to the Villa, and there were several restaurants located right on the water. Other than a few restaurants and a gelato shop, there wasn’t much else to see in Lenno. I’d say most people come to see the Villa and leave.
When you get to the Villa, you have a couple of different options. You can either pay 10 Euro to see the gardens or 20 Euro to see the gardens + the inside of the Villa. We decided to do the cheaper options and walk around the gardens and explore.
Everything at Villa del Balbianello was so beautiful, and the gardens were very well kept. Each bush was perfectly manicured, and I can only imagine how much time it takes to keep up with all the gardening. I’m sure they have a full time staff to support it!
After roaming around the Villa for a while, we walked back towards the center of town to find lunch. Every restaurant was packed, so it was hard to find a spot to eat. We ended up settling on on a place called Bar Il Golfo. They had plenty of outdoor seating in the shade, so we figured it would be a comfortable spot to sit.
This place felt a bit touristy, but we both really enjoyed the food. My pasta definitely hit the spot, and Alex really enjoyed his pizza. This restaurant also offers to-go options if you need to take your food with you. A lot of people were ordering takeaway so they could catch the ferry to their next destination.
After lunch, we ended up taking the ferry back to Bellagio since it was already after 3 PM. The day really got away from us, and I was a little bummed we didn’t get to visit more towns on the lake. Either way, it was fun to take a ferry ride and explore another town.
Once we were back in Bellagio, we decided to grab some gelato at Gelateria del Borgo. We tried the lemon flavored gelato, and it was amazing. If you’re looking for a refreshing flavor, lemon is a great option. It’s the perfect summertime treat!
We strolled around Bellagio for a little bit longer and eventually made our way back the hotel. We wanted to get packed up before heading out for our last night in Italy. I knew I wouldn’t want to pack my suitcase after eating and drinking all night.
We started out the night at Hotel du Lac for rooftop cocktails. We loved the atmosphere at this bar, so we wanted to go back one more time before we leaving Italy. If you’re staying in Bellagio, this rooftop bar is a must. The cocktails are amazing and the views are even better.
After a couple cocktails, we went to dinner at Ristorante Bilious, which is located on the main street of Bellagio. We didn’t have a reservation, but they are strongly encouraged. If you make a reservation, you will probably get a better table. Regardless, we were able to sit outside and enjoy the lovely atmosphere.
Since it was our last night in Italy, we decided to splurge on a bottle of Brunello at dinner. This is one of our favorite Italian red wines, but it can be a little pricey. If you’re a red wine lover, you will probably enjoy Brunello.
Of course, we ordered a couple different pastas to go with our wine and it was all delicious. Overall, we had an enjoyable dinner, and I loved sitting outside on their patio. It’s a great place to sit if you want to do a little people watching on the main streets of Bellagio.
We ended the evening with one last bottle of wine at Angolo DiVino. We fell in love with this wine bar the previous evening, so we wanted to come back one last time. It was the perfect ending to our two weeks in Italy.
If you’re curious about what else we did during our time in Italy, check out some of my other posts linked below.
- Two Weeks in Italy
- Rome in a Day
- Tuscany – Montepulciano
- Tuscany – San Gimignano, Volterra, Borgo Pignano
- Two Days in Florence
- Italy – What I Wore
- Cinque Terre Travel Guide
Of course, if you have any other questions about Lake Como or Bellagio, feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail. Ciao for now!
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