Bellagio: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Bellagio sits on the point where Lake Como splits into its three arms, and the Romans already built villas here for the view. The name is often traced to bilacus, between two lakes. This route walks the promontory from the gardens on its southern shore up to the church and out to the very tip, then drives up the hill behind it to the chapel of the cyclists. The village is a morning on foot, mostly stairs; the Ghisallo is fifteen minutes by car. Parking in Bellagio is scarce and paid, so leave the car at the hotel.
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A short history of Bellagio
Bellagio sits at the tip of the peninsula that separates the two southern arms of Lake Como. There were settlements here as early as Roman times, and according to tradition Pliny the Younger had a villa on the lakeshore. In the Middle Ages the place was a fortified fishing village, and it later came under the rule of the Duchy of Milan. In the 18th and 19th centuries Milanese noble families built their villas here, among them Villa Melzi, built between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril, vice-president of the Italian Republic under Napoleon. In the 1870s a hotel opened in Villa Serbelloni, and since then tourism has been the village's main livelihood.
The ten best sights in Bellagio
1Basilica of San GiacomoThe Romanesque church at the top of the stepped lanes; step inside to see the carved pulpit
2Villa SerbelloniThe park on the top of the promontory is open only on guided tours, booked in town; worth it for the views of all three arms
3Villa MonasteroA former convent in Varenna with gardens strung along the shore; ferry over and walk in
4Villa CarlottaSculpture inside, a huge garden outside; come in April and May for the azaleas and rhododendrons
5Villa del BalbianelloOn a wooded point beyond Lenno; reached by water taxi or a path of about a kilometre, and check which days the path is open
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6Church of San Giorgio, Varenna
Varenna's main church on the little square; look for the giant saint painted on the façade
7Madonna del GhisalloThe cyclists' chapel on the pass above Bellagio, fifteen minutes up by car; the museum next door is the bigger draw
8Gardens of Villa MelziA lakeside garden ten minutes' walk south of the village; the villa itself is private
9Punta SpartiventoThe very tip of the promontory, where the lake splits in three; a short walk past the last houses
10Salita SerbelloniThe best of the stepped lanes from the lakefront to the church; most of Bellagio is stairs, so pack light
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What is an audio walk?
Tours in Bellagio →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Bellagio:
Free walking tours in Bellagio
The pearl of the lake
Bellagio sits on the point where Lake Como splits into its three arms, and the Romans already built villas here for the view. The name is often traced to bilacus, between two lakes. This route walks the promontory from the gardens on its southern shore up to the church and out to the very tip, then drives up the hill behind it to the chapel of the cyclists. The village is a morning on foot, mostly stairs; the Ghisallo is fifteen minutes by car. Parking in Bellagio is scarce and paid, so leave the car at the hotel.
- Gardens of Villa Melzi · The villa was built in 1808–10 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril, vice-president of the Italian Republic under Napoleon. In the garden stands a statue of Dante and Beatrice that, the story goes, gave Franz Liszt the idea for his Dante Sonata during his stay in Bellagio in 1837.
- Basilica of San Giacomo · A Lombard Romanesque church of the late eleventh and twelfth centuries, at the top of the village. Its pulpit is made of carved panels showing the symbols of the four evangelists.
- Villa Serbelloni · Tradition puts Pliny the Younger's villa Tragedia on this hilltop; he had another, Commedia, down by the water. In 1959 the last owner, Ella Walker, Princess della Torre e Tasso, left the estate to the Rockefeller Foundation, which still runs it as a retreat for writers and scholars.
- Punta Spartivento · The name means the point that splits the wind: here the breezes of the three arms meet. The lake below is more than 400 metres deep, one of the deepest in Europe, and its floor lies well below sea level.
- Madonna del Ghisallo · The pass is a classic climb of the Giro di Lombardia, and in 1949 Pope Pius XII declared the Madonna del Ghisallo patroness of cyclists. The chapel walls are hung with bicycles and jerseys left by champions, among them Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali.
- Museo del Ciclismo · The museum was the idea of Fiorenzo Magni, three times winner of the Giro d'Italia, and opened in 2006 when the chapel could hold no more gifts. Inside are the bikes and pink jerseys of the great riders of the Giro.
The ferry triangle
Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio face each other across the middle of the lake, and boats link the three every half hour or so in season, about a quarter of an hour a crossing. By road the same trip is hours, so this is a day without the car: buy a day ticket for the central lake at the pier and hop. Varenna has the most to see, with a castle above it and a stream that pours out of the rock; Menaggio has a villa with a German story. Check the last boat back.
- Bellagio ferry pier · Two kinds of boat leave from here: passenger boats and, from their own pier, the car ferries that cross to Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia. On this route the car stays on land; the ferries are the reason the three villages feel like one town.
- Villa Monastero · It began as a convent of Cistercian nuns, which Archbishop Carlo Borromeo closed in 1567. The building was sold and turned into a villa, and its long garden runs along the shore between agaves, citrus and palms.
- Church of San Giorgio, Varenna · On its façade is a huge fresco of Saint Christopher, the patron of travellers. Medieval belief held that whoever looked at him would not die that day, which is why he was painted so large, to be seen from the road and the water.
- Castello di Vezio · Local tradition says the tower was built for Theodelinda, the Lombard queen of the seventh century, who retired to the lake. Today falconers fly their birds from the walls, and grey plaster figures of ghosts stand about the grounds.
- Fiumelatte · At about 250 metres, the stream is often called the shortest river in Italy, and its name means river of milk, for its white foam. Leonardo da Vinci described it in his notebooks and was puzzled by why it flows only part of the year.
- Villa Mylius Vigoni · Heinrich Mylius, a merchant from Frankfurt, bought the villa in 1829, and his descendant Ignazio Vigoni left it to the Federal Republic of Germany when he died in 1983. It is now a German-Italian centre for meetings and conferences on the hill above Menaggio.
The Tremezzina shore
Across the water from Bellagio, the western shore between Cadenabbia and Lenno faces south and gets the sun all day; the nineteenth century called it the garden of the lake. The great villas are here, and so is a darker page: the place where Mussolini was shot in April 1945. Take the boat to Cadenabbia and walk south along the Greenway path, then come back by boat from Lenno or Sala Comacina. A full day; Villa del Balbianello has limited opening days, so check before you go.
- Villa La Collina · Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of West Germany, spent his holidays at this villa above Cadenabbia from 1959, playing bocce in the garden. It now belongs to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
- Villa Carlotta · Princess Marianne of the Netherlands bought the villa in 1843 and gave it to her daughter Charlotte as a wedding present, and it has carried her name since. Inside is Francesco Hayez's painting of the last kiss of Romeo and Juliet and a copy of Canova's Cupid and Psyche by his pupil Adamo Tadolini.
- Greenway del Lago di Como · A marked walking path of about ten kilometres from Colonno to Griante, stitched together from old mule tracks and village lanes above the shore road. Most of it is gentle, and there is a ferry pier at almost every village on the way.
- Villa Belmonte · On 28 April 1945 Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci were shot by partisans at the gate of this villa in Giulino di Mezzegra, a day after they were caught fleeing north at Dongo. A small cross marks the spot by the wall.
- Villa del Balbianello · Built in 1787 for Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini, it was bought in 1974 by Guido Monzino, who had led the Italian expedition to Everest in 1973; he left it to the Italian National Trust, FAI, in 1988. Its terraces stood in for the lake of Naboo in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and appear in Casino Royale.
- Isola Comacina · The island was a fortified town until 1169, when Como, avenging its alliance with Milan, destroyed it, and the bishop is said to have laid a curse on it. Its one inn, opened in 1947, still ends every meal with a ritual of fire to keep the curse away.
Getting to Bellagio and getting around
- Varenna-Esino-Perledo Station · The nearest railway: trains to Milan by way of Lecco, and the ferry from Bellagio drops you a short walk away
- Lecco Station · Main station of the eastern arm, with trains to Milan and up the shore to Varenna; half an hour from Bellagio by car
- Piazza Mazzini bus stop · Buses to Como along the lake road leave from here; the ride is about an hour and the bends are tight
Cheap eats in Bellagio
Bellagio is one of the dearest villages on the lake, and a restaurant table with a view costs accordingly. The cheap way to eat is the Italian way: a panino or a slice of pizza at a bar counter, a gelato on the steps, and a picnic of salami, cheese and bread from the deli eaten on the ferry. The lake's own dishes, perch on risotto and missoltini, are dinner food; lunch can be a sandwich with a view that costs nothing.
- Gelateria Del Borgo · Gelato by the church, a cone about 3-4 euros
- Bar Pasticceria Rossi · Coffee and pastry under the arcades by the pier, about 3-5 euros
- Pasticceria Castelli · Bakery for focaccia and biscuits for the boat, about 2-5 euros
- Snack Bar · Panini and toasties near the ferries, about 5-8 euros
- Pizzeria la Grotta · Pizza up a stepped lane, about 9-13 euros
- Butti salumeria · Salami, cheese and bread for a picnic, about 8-12 euros
- Riva Gelateria · Gelato on the Varenna waterfront between boats, about 3-4 euros
- Bar Molo · A spritz and a sandwich by Varenna's harbour, about 6-10 euros
Museums in Bellagio
- Museo del Ciclismo · Bikes and pink jerseys of the Giro; fifteen minutes up by car
- Villa Carlotta · Sculpture and painting, then the gardens; half a day
- Villa Monastero · House museum and shore garden in Varenna
- Museo del Paesaggio del Lago di Como · Small museum of lake views in Tremezzo
- Museo Barca Lariana · The wooden boats of the lake, further north on the western shore
Nature and day trips near Bellagio
- Gardens of Villa Melzi · Azaleas in spring and a Japanese pond; ten minutes' walk
- Punta Spartivento · The tip of the promontory; sunset over the Como arm
- Fiumelatte · Twenty minutes' walk south of Varenna on the lakeside path
- Orrido di Bellano · Walkways over the falls; a short hop north of Varenna
- Sentiero del Viandante · Old path along the east shore; walk a stretch from Varenna
Things to do in Bellagio with kids
- Castello di Vezio · Birds of prey and a tower to climb above Varenna
- Villa del Balbianello · The Star Wars villa; come by water taxi from Lenno
- Bellagio ferry pier · Ride a car ferry on foot and watch the cars drive on
- Isola Comacina · A boat to an island with ruins to explore
- Pescallo · A quiet pebbly shore for skimming stones
Where to eat in Bellagio
- Bilacus · Named for the old Latin name of the village; a terrace up the steps
- Ristorante la Punta · Near the tip of the promontory, for a table at sunset
- Ristorante Terrazza Barchetta · A terrace above the lanes of the old village
- Ristorante Bellagio · On the lakefront by the piers
- Enoteca Principessa · A glass of wine before dinner
- Locanda Isola Comacina · Fixed menu on the island; book, and go by boat
- Cavallino Trattoria dei Pescatori · Lake fish on the Varenna waterfront; ferry back after
Frequently asked questions about Bellagio
What is there to see in Bellagio?
The top sights in Bellagio are Basilica of San Giacomo, Villa Serbelloni and Villa Monastero. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Bellagio?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Bellagio without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Bellagio?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Bellagio, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The pearl of the lake.
How do you get to Bellagio and get around?
The main ways are Varenna-Esino-Perledo Station, Lecco Station and Piazza Mazzini bus stop. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Bellagio, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Bellagio that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Bellagio for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.