If Bellagio is the town everyone photographs, Varenna is the one I keep returning to. It sits on the eastern shore, a small and tranquil fishing village of ochre and faded red houses that seem to have been painted straight onto the rock. I came here the first time almost by accident, stepping off a train from Milan with no plan beyond an afternoon, and I stayed until the last ferry because I could not make myself leave. Varenna asks very little of you. It rewards the traveller who is content to walk slowly, read on a terrace, and watch the light change over the water.
The town I keep coming back to
Varenna faces west, which is the single detail that shapes everything about a day here. It means the afternoon sun pours straight into the village and the evenings dissolve into some of the best sunsets on the whole lake. The houses climb the hillside in warm, weathered colour, and stepped lanes thread between them, too narrow and too steep for cars, which is part of the reason the place feels so unhurried.
What Varenna does not have is the crowd. Bellagio, just across the water, can feel like a stage set in high summer, beautiful but busy. Varenna keeps its scale. There is a fishing harbour still doing quiet work, a single small square with a church, a handful of restaurants pinned to the shoreline, and gardens that run for the best part of two kilometres along the lake. It is the town I recommend without hesitation to couples, to readers, and to anyone who is arriving by train and wants to feel, within ten minutes of stepping off it, that they have properly arrived somewhere.
Things to do and see
The Passeggiata degli Innamorati
Start with the walk, because it is the signature Varenna experience and because it introduces you to the whole village in a few slow minutes. The Passeggiata degli Innamorati, the lovers’ walk, is a slender waterside walkway pinned to the rock, linking the ferry area to the old village. In places it hangs directly over the water, and in a light breeze the lake laps at the stone beneath your feet. I have walked it at every hour, but sunset is when it earns its name. The path glows, couples slow to a standstill, and the far shore turns to gold and then to violet. It takes only a few minutes to walk, so do it twice.
Villa Monastero
Villa Monastero is the great pleasure of Varenna and worth planning an afternoon around. It is a former convent turned private residence, and its botanical garden runs for nearly two kilometres along the shore, a long ribbon of agave, citrus, and cypress laid out against the blue of the lake. You walk it slowly, past statues and pergolas and quiet stone benches placed exactly where you would want to sit. There is also a house-museum if you want to see how the residence was lived in. Entry to the garden alone is a soft band of around thirteen euros, with a combined garden-and-house ticket closer to fifteen. I would give it at least an hour, and more if you have brought a book.
Villa Cipressi
Next door, and easy to pair with Villa Monastero, are the terraced gardens of Villa Cipressi. They are smaller and more intimate, dropping in green shelves down toward the water, and the entry is a modest band. The villa itself is also a hotel, which means you can stay inside the historic gardens if you wish, but even as a day visitor the terraces are a lovely, shaded counterpoint to the long horizontal sweep of Monastero.
Castello di Vezio
For the view that puts everything in context, climb to the Castello di Vezio, the medieval watchtower above the town. It is roughly a fifteen to twenty minute walk uphill through olive terraces, and the ticket sits in a soft band of about five to seven euros. What you get at the top is a full 360-degree panorama, the branching arms of the lake, Bellagio on its promontory, the mountains folding away to the north. It is open from spring through autumn. Go in the late afternoon and you can watch the whole lake begin to gather the evening light before you walk back down for dinner.
The harbour, the church, and swimming
Down at lake level, spend time simply doing nothing in the right places. The little fishing harbour still has its boats, and the small Piazza San Giorgio, with its church, is the quiet heart of the old village. Sit at a cafe table, let the stepped lanes tempt you upward and then back down. In summer, Varenna is also a swimming town in the local way, off the rocks and at the small lidos, the water cold and clear and startlingly good after a warm afternoon of walking.
Getting to Varenna: the train advantage
This is where Varenna quietly wins. It is the best rail gateway to the central lake, and arriving by train is one of the real luxuries of choosing it as a base. There is a direct train from Milano Centrale to the Varenna-Esino station, a journey of a little over an hour, and from the platform it is a short walk downhill to the ferry dock and the waterfront. You do not need a car, and I would argue you are better off without one. The stepped lanes are made for feet, not wheels.
Once you are here, the car ferry connects you to Bellagio and Menaggio in about fifteen to twenty minutes, so the rest of the central lake is genuinely at your doorstep. You can spend a morning in Varenna, cross for lunch in Bellagio, and be back on your own western-facing terrace in time for the sunset the other shore does not get. For the fuller picture, see my guide on how to get to Lake Como.
Where to stay
Varenna is better value than Bellagio, which is one more reason I keep sending people here. The two classic lakefront hotels by the ferry are the Hotel du Lac and the Albergo Olivedo, both comfortably mid-range with rooms from around a hundred and fifty euros, and both with the kind of terrace you will not want to leave in the evening. For something more unusual, Hotel Villa Cipressi lets you stay inside the historic gardens themselves, which is a quiet romance all its own. Beyond those there is a good scattering of small lakefront hotels and B&Bs. Book ahead in summer, because the town is small and the best rooms go early. My wider notes are in where to stay in Lake Como.
Where to eat
Dinner in Varenna is best taken as close to the water as possible. Vecchia Varenna sets its tables at the very edge of the lake, under old stone arches, and the focus is on lake fish. It sits in a mid to upper-mid band and is worth reserving for a proper evening. For something more casual, the Nilus Bar and Bar Il Molo do relaxed lakeside aperitivo and light dinners, the sort of place to end up with a glass of something and no particular plan.
Order local while you are here. Look for missoltini, the sun-dried and salted lake fish, risotto with perch, and soft polenta, and drink the Valtellina reds from the mountains just to the north. It is honest, rooted food, and it tastes of exactly where you are sitting.
Best photo spots and sunset
The photograph everyone comes for is the coloured waterfront, the ochre and faded-red houses reflected in the lake, and it is at its finest on the lovers’ walk at sunset, when the whole village goes warm and the far shore lights up. For the wider composition, the panorama from the Castello di Vezio is unmatched, especially in the last hour of light. If you want to plan your shots properly, I have gathered the best photo spots in Lake Como in one place. And because so much of Varenna’s beauty is its gardens, it pairs naturally with my guide to the villas and gardens of Lake Como.
A perfect day in Varenna
Arrive by the late-morning train from Milan and walk down to the water. Take the lovers’ walk into the old village, then settle into Villa Monastero for the better part of the afternoon, a book in one hand, the lake in front of you. Cross for a browse in Bellagio if you feel restless, or simply climb to the Castello di Vezio for the panorama as the light softens. Come back down for aperitivo by the harbour, then dinner under the stone arches at the water’s edge, and finish by walking the lovers’ walk one more time as the sun goes down behind the mountains. That, to me, is the whole point of Varenna.
For everything else on the lake, this guide sits within my complete guide to Lake Como.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Varenna worth visiting?
Very much so, and it is often the town I recommend first. Varenna is smaller, quieter, and better value than Bellagio, with the best sunsets on the lake because it faces west. If you are a couple, a reader, or anyone arriving by train, it is close to ideal.
How do I get to Varenna from Milan?
Take the direct train from Milano Centrale to the Varenna-Esino station, which takes a little over an hour, then walk down to the ferry dock and waterfront. You do not need a car. The lakefront, the villas, and the ferries are all within easy walking distance of the station.
Bellagio or Varenna, which should I choose?
Choose Varenna if you want calm, good value, sunset light, and an easy arrival by train. Choose Bellagio for the famous promontory and a livelier scene. Happily, the car ferry links them in about fifteen to twenty minutes, so you can base yourself in Varenna and visit Bellagio in an afternoon.
How long should I spend in Varenna?
A full day lets you walk the lovers’ walk, see Villa Monastero and Villa Cipressi, climb to the Castello di Vezio, and stay for dinner and the sunset. Staying overnight is better still, because the town is at its most beautiful once the day visitors have caught the last ferry home.
What are the best things to do in Varenna?
Walk the Passeggiata degli Innamorati at sunset, spend an afternoon in the gardens of Villa Monastero, visit the terraces of Villa Cipressi, climb to the Castello di Vezio for the 360-degree view, wander the harbour and Piazza San Giorgio, and in summer swim off the rocks.
