Visiting Varenna on Lake Como: our favourites

Wondering what to see and do in Varenna? You’ve come to the right place.

It’s our favorite village on Lake Como. We loved wandering through the pretty, colorful streets of the historic center and strolling along the lakefront.

Below, we give you all the information you need to prepare your future stay, where to sleep and our points of interest on our map.

What to do in Varenna?

Varenna is an authentic village where you’ll immediately feel at home.

This guide is completely independent, based on our own experience. We visited Lake Como by creating our own itinerary (after extensive research) and selecting our own activities.

You can download this guide free of charge as a PDF file for offline consultation at the end of this article.

Visit the old town

You’ll love strolling through the narrow streets , admiring the colorful houses and majestic lakeside villas. Take to the skies for panoramic views of the lake and surrounding mountains! Nature is everywhere at Lake Como, so make the most of it.

Boats : Find all the information you need about boat times and prices on the Navigazion Lago Como website. (about €15 for a day).

Villa Monastero and its gardens

This is the villa to visit during your stay in Varenna. This former monastery is still furnished, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by its incredible garden. We loved strolling among the fruit trees and palm trees, while enjoying the magnificent views of the lake! In short, a must!

The villa also houses a museum, the Casa Museo, which brings together four centuries of history. Casa Museo’s 14 rooms are fully furnished with precious materials and luxurious decorations.

This is one of the villas to visit during your stay on Lake Como. The villa is open to the public, you can visit its 14 rooms which are incredibly furnished and you will be especially pleasantly surprised by its incredible garden, we loved walking among fruit trees, palm trees … while enjoying beautiful views of the lake! In short, a must!

Information and prices on the official Villa Monastero website.

Degli Innamorati di Varenna” hanging cornice

As soon as we got off the ferry, we set off along the magnificent suspended cornice that runs alongside the lake – a great way to get started. No sooner had we set foot in Varenna than we were already keen to take lots of photos. We then continued our walk along the lake, which offers panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.

Vezio Castle

This castle is located 20 minutes’ walk from Varenna. Yes, it’s a bit of a climb, but you’ll be rewarded when you reach the top. You can visit the castle and especially enjoy the breathtaking 360° view from the top of the castle tower.

Boat cruise from Varenna

Favourite ❤️: Exploring Lake Como from the water is the perfect activity for your stay. From the town of Varenna, we recommend this cruise for a breathtaking view of Varenna, before setting off to discover the lake’s treasures and all its emblematic villas(Villa Balbianello, Villa Melzi Gardens…).

➡️ We advise you to book your tickets for a cruise from Varenna to Lake Como online in advance (approx. €40 per person), especially during the tourist season, as these excursions are very popular and the number of places is limited. The Bellagio Boat Servicei company, which operates the cruise, has an excellent reputation. Duration 1h30 minutes with audio guide in French.

We recommend booking via Get Your Guidebecause cancellation conditions are flexible: you can change or cancel your booking free of charge up to 24 hours before the start of the cruise.

Where to stay in Varenna?

To fully enjoy the charming village of Varenna, we recommend staying in the center.

➡️ As you can see, there’s very little well-placed accommodation in Varenna, so we advise you to book as far in advance as possible (in high season, expect to pay around €200 per night).

Good tip: Accommodation outside the historic center offers more affordable prices from €130 per night, and you can often reach the center in just a few minutes’ walk.

We suggest other addresses below, as it’s quite possible that the first is unfortunately fully booked on your dates.

Favourite

Albergo Del Sole, which we have tested and approved. The hotel is located right in the center of Varenna, on a lovely little square– you can’t get more authentic than that! We were just a stone’s throw from the lake and the Villa Monastero. The Italian restaurant is also very good, with pizzas topped with the finest ingredients. The bedding is comfortable! In short, we hope you enjoy your stay here as much as we did!

(from €175 rated 8.6 / 10 on Booking)

Click here for rates and availability

Hotel Diffuso Il Portichetto – mid-range with pool

Located in the hills above Varenna, 15 minutes’ walk from the center of Varenna.

🏊 Beautiful swimming pool with lake view, a real plus in this area
🌄 Lake view
🚗 Parking on site
🍳 With breakfast

Excellent value for money, with pool and parking included, with a slightly old-fashioned decor.

👉 Information and booking for Hotel Diffuso Il Portichetto

More generally, if you’re looking for an area of Lake Como to sleep in during your stay. To make your visit easier, we’ve included an article detailing the most interesting villages to stay in on Lake Como, along with our best hotel addresses.

You can get an idea of the prices with the map below:

Our good addresses restaurants

• Al Prato Restaurant: an excellent restaurant with a beautiful terrace, the delicious Italian dishes are cooked with fresh products and presented with care. The creamy risotto is incredible. If you still have a little room, try the desserts. In short, a must during your stay!
  
• Il Cavatappi Il Cavatappi: a small trattoria offering top-quality dishes made with fresh produce, as is often the case in Italy. Everything is good, and we recommend you try the orecchiette with pesto “della nonna”. Come early, as space is limited and there are only a few tables on the terrace.

Our map of Varenna

Here’s a little interactive map we’ve put together, to help you find your way around the various locations and addresses mentioned above.

You cansave itto your favorites or download it for offline use.

What to do?

1. Open map on Google maps
2. Click on the icon representing the three vertical dots at top left or on the map description.
3. Select the “Add to my saved places” or “Save map” option, depending on your version of the application.

How to get to Varenna?

By car

If you’ve rented a car, you can easily reach Varenna after your visit to Milan, from Como or Lecco. The national road that runs alongside the lake is in very good condition and offers some great views!

Car rental

🚘 Car rental:

After testing out a number of comparators, Discover Car has clearly become our favorite site for comparing car rental prices. The site aggregates offers from hundreds of car rental companies, allowing you to quickly identify the best rate according to your criteria.

This filter lets you check at a glance :

• the amount of the security deposit

• type of bank card accepted (debit or credit)

• what’s really included in insurance

• customer reviews for each rental company

👉 As an example, we found a car at €50 for 4 days via Hertz (excluding insurance).

We ticked the “debit card” option, as we had read that some rental companies do not accept credit cards. In France, a bank card is usually called a credit card, but if you look on your card, you’ll see “carte de débit” (debit card ) written on it.

🎟️ Compare Milan car rental deals easily at DiscoverCars

By ferry

You can also take a ferry from Como or Menaggio to Varenna. You’ll enjoy magnificent panoramic views over the lake, and of course you’ll have no trouble parking!

Ferry: Find all the information you need about the schedules and prices of the boats on the website of the Navigazion Lago Como.

Excursion from Milan

From Milan, you can book your ticket for a day trip to Lake Como, by bus, with stops in the most beautiful towns, Como, Bellagio and Varenna, as well as a 1-hour boat cruise to enjoy beautiful panoramas in the middle of the lake.

Find out more about the day

How to visit Bellagio and Varenna on the same day?

You can actually visit both villages, Bellagio and Varenna, in the same day, the easiest way is to go by ferry (about 15€ for a day).

How to rent a boat on Lake Como

Exploring Lake Como by boat is a must-do activity during your stay, and we’ve devoted an article to detailing the different options for exploring the lake by boat.

🪂 Unusual: Discover kitesurfing on Lake Como from Dervio (15 minutes north of Varenna): 🪂 Info and booking for a 1h Kitsurfing course from 80€ suitable for beginners

We hope you enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of this village as much as we did. If so, we invite you to apply for 5 stars below.

We wish you an excellent trip! Don’t hesitate to drop us a line below to let us know if you’re planning this trip, ask any questions you may have or share on social networks, our Instagram, we’ll get back to you with great pleasure.