Bellagio and Varenna from Milan

Bellagio is the most famous town on Lake Como and the one with no railway station. Varenna, straight across the water, has one. That geography is the whole route plan: train from Milan to Varenna, ferry to Bellagio, and back the same way.

The route

Trains leave Milano Centrale for Varenna-Esino roughly every hour and take about 64 minutes (€7.40). From the station it is a ten-minute walk down to the ferry pier. Ferries cross to Bellagio in 15 to 20 minutes for €5.50 each way; the same boats link Menaggio on the western shore, so the three towns form a tight triangle. A mid-lake day ticket covering Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia costs about €17.50 and pays off from the third hop. The alternative, train to Como and the slow boat north, takes about two hours on the water (€12) or 45 to 60 minutes by hydrofoil (€17): scenic, but it eats the day.

What to do in each

Bellagio: walk the stepped lanes of the old town, visit the lakeside gardens of Villa Melzi, and walk out toward Punta Spartivento, the point where the lake divides. Eat a street or two above the waterfront. Varenna: the lakeside walkway (the Passeggiata degli Innamorati), the colored houses from the water, the medieval Castello di Vezio above the village and Villa Monastero’s gardens. One stop further north, the Orrido di Bellano gorge is a short, dramatic add-on.

Guided options

Two small-group day trips from Milan build their day around exactly this triangle, with first-class train tickets and pre-booked ferry boarding: the Como, Bellagio and Varenna trip (4.9/5 from 1,585 reviews, from $127), which cruises up from Como, and the Bellagio, Varenna and gorge tour (4.9/5 from 860 reviews, from $139), which adds the Orrido di Bellano. The coach trips to Bellagio and Lugano from $92 cover Bellagio but not Varenna.