Lake Como in October Guide — Records of Roam

Once we were comfortably in Bologna, we felt our annual hankering for autumn feels, primarily driven by a desire to frolic in fall foliage.

We considered different options for a fall weekend getaway in late October, including Bavaria, Austria, Turin, the Dolomites, or a train ride through Switzerland. The winner, though, was Lake Como.

One of our friends recommended staying in Varenna (thanks, Scott!), and it was PERFECT. It was an easy one hour train ride to Milan, followed by another one-hour regional train further north. No car necessary, which was our aim for a relaxing lake getaway. We spent two full days/three nights in Varenna.

Our train ride up to Varenna would have featured impressive views of the lake, but there was a thick fog blanketing the lake that day. It created a little suspense for when we would get our first lake views.

Once we arrived in Varenna, we immediately felt at ease, calm, and relaxed. Varenna was incredibly charming! It's a quaint, small, picture-perfect village on the lake, close to Bellagio. There was a limited amount of cars and bikes - just hillside sidewalks of cobblestone steps leading down to the lake. We loved the quirky, colorful buildings that looked as though they were pulled straight from a Wes Anderson film.

We explored Varenna as the fog burned off, then enjoyed aperitivo hour with a glass of local wine, gorgonzola/walnut/pear bruschetta, and an incredible view.

Our dinner the first night at Il Cavateppi was wonderful, and it was conveniently just around the corner from our Airbnb. It was a cozy spot, and we shared a meal of pumpkin quinoa soup, orecchiette pasta with swordfish, tagliolini with veggies and fish, and eggplant parmesan.

Day 1: Exploring Lake Como by Ferry

For our first full day, we wanted to hop around the lake to visit a few towns, as well as experience the lake from the water. We started our day with a lovely breakfast at Caffe Varenna, a charming cafe around the corner from our Airbnb with beautiful views of the lake. The fog was replaced with sunshine and clear skies, but it was also incredibly windy!

In order to visit multiple towns and enjoy our own tour of the lake, we bought a hop on/hop off ferry pass. It was wonderful to experience Lake Como from a new perspective. The lake was so mountainous! At times, the lush, green foothills made us feel like we were in Hawaii or New Zealand. We were also surprised by how many towns there were on the lake.

Lenno: Our first hop off spot was Lenno. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the lake and a brief cocktail at the rustically-cute Hotel San Giorgio.

Argegno: Our next hop off was Argegno. It was very charming! After wandering the cute and empty streets of Argegno, we were getting hungry. A glass of wine and a piadina at Il Cantinone made for a perfect little lunch.

Bellagio: Our last stop was Bellagio. Although it was charming, it was definitely more touristy.

We snuck into the empty grounds of Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni and had a lovely but windy walk along the lake, sneaking views of Varenna.

Day 2: Castello di Vezio & Villa Monastero

On our second full day, we planned to enjoy nature with a hike to Castello di Vezio, a castle above Varenna. The crisp air and fresh smell of the trees during our hike was a welcome treat. Once at the top, we were greeted with a beautiful panoramic view of Lake Como.

We also were able to climb up the actual castle tower, which allowed for an even better view! The castle had eery "ghosts" scattered about, which we learned are made each summer by covering tourist volunteers in a gauze/chalk mixture to create a mold of a ghost!

We hiked back down to Varenna on a different path (Scabium), which turned out to be better than we anticipated. The path featured an unexpected and completely unobstructed panoramic view of the lake. We stopped off in an olive tree grove to soak in the sun and enjoy the view.

Next, we visited Villa Monastero for its beautiful gardens along the lakefront. We were so inspired by the setting that we had fun imagining our dream wedding there.

After our hike, we cleaned up and went out to enjoy aperitivo and dinner for our last night. The terrace we planned to have a drink at was closed for the season (Albergo Milano), but the hotel owner was kind enough to still serve us a glass of Prosecco on the empty terrace, so we had the most beautiful sunset all to ourselves! We stopped for one more at the Hotel Du Lac terrace, enjoying snacks and watching the ducks on the dock below.

We ended our evening with dinner at Borgovino. It was very good, but dinner the first night at Il Cavateppi was better. Fortunately, we stayed for dessert, which was a delicious toffee cake! We finished with complimentary limoncello and stumbled down to the Airbnb.

6 Hours in Milan

On the way back to Bologna, we planned to give ourselves a full afternoon to check out Milan in between train rides. Milano Centrale is one of the most majestic train stations I've ever seen. It was massive and very crowded.

We didn't have much time, so we took a cab straight to Navigli, a neighborhood which seemed interesting to us based on some light research we had done on Milan. Navigli was a hip area along a canal, with cute restaurants, bars, and shops flanking both sides. We enjoyed a light lunch at La Proscuitteria and cocktails at Mag Cafe in the afternoon sun.