Como is almost unfairly photogenic, and after enough visits I have stopped trying to fight it. You cannot really take a bad picture here. What you can do, though, is take the same picture as everyone else, in the same flat midday light, from the same crowded railing. This guide is my quiet argument against that. It is a walk through the places I return to with a camera, arranged by where the light actually falls and when it is worth setting an alarm for. The lake runs roughly north to south in three long branches, and that geography decides almost everything about your day. The east shore catches the evening. The mornings belong to whoever gets up first. Once you understand that rhythm, the whole lake starts to feel less like a scramble and more like a series of appointments you get to keep.
Villa del Balbianello and its balustrade
The curved stone balustrade at Villa del Balbianello, on the wooded promontory near Lenno, is the single most photographed spot on the lake, and it has earned the title honestly. The terrace steps down toward the water in a slow curve, framed by clipped plane trees and a run of pale balusters that seem to have been designed for exactly this purpose. The best light here is mid to late morning, when the sun has come up over the eastern ridge and lands softly on the stone without the harsh contrast of noon. The villa is reached by boat from Lenno or by a pretty lakeside path, and it is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays, which catches out a surprising number of people. Book ahead if you can, expect a moderate entry band for the gardens with a little more to see the interior, and go early in the day before the small terrace fills with everyone else who read the same advice.
Villa Melzi and Villa Carlotta
In Bellagio, the lakeside gardens of Villa Melzi are my golden-hour dream. The path runs right along the water, punctuated by classical statuary that glows in the soft light of late afternoon, and there is a small Japanese water garden that photographs beautifully when the sun is low and the reflections go still. Come in the last hour or two before closing and let the marble catch that warm, slanting light. Across the water near Tremezzo, Villa Carlotta is a different proposition, one tied firmly to the calendar. Its terraces erupt with azaleas and rhododendrons from late April into early May, and if you time your visit to that bloom you will find banks of colour tumbling down toward the lake that simply are not there in July. Both villas ask a modest entry band. For the wider story of the lake’s great houses, my guide to the villas and gardens of Lake Como goes deeper than I can here.
Varenna’s waterfront and lovers’ walk
Varenna is where I go for sunset, and the reason is pure geography. It sits on the eastern shore, which means it faces west into the evening light, so while the rest of the lake is falling into shadow, Varenna’s ochre and red houses are lit up gold along the water. The Passeggiata degli Innamorati, the little lovers’ walk that runs on a walkway over the lake, is the classic evening shot, all warm facades and the water going pink beneath your feet. Arrive an hour before sunset, walk the passeggiata slowly, and stay through the blue hour that follows, when the house lights come on and double themselves in the still water. It is a small place and it knows its own beauty, but it never feels less than lovely.
The point of Bellagio and its stepped lanes
Bellagio sits on the tip of the promontory where the three branches of the lake meet, and the view from the point is the one that explains the whole lake in a single frame. Behind the waterfront, the town climbs in narrow stepped lanes, and the loveliest of them, Salita Serbelloni, is hung with geraniums spilling over stone. Go early. By late morning these steps are a slow river of visitors and it is nearly impossible to make a clean frame. In the soft light just after the town wakes, though, you can have a whole flower-draped staircase to yourself. Down on the water, the promenade is lined with oleander that turns luminous at golden hour, and if you are patient, a white ferry will slide into the landing and give you the picture that says Como more than any other. To fit Bellagio into a fuller route, see my notes on the best towns on Lake Como.
Brunate and Castello di Vezio, the high views
Two climbs reward you with the widest frames on the lake. Above the town of Como, the funicular carries you up to Brunate, and from near the San Maurizio lighthouse you get the broadest panorama down the whole southern basin, the water narrowing between its shoulders of green hill. It is best in clear morning air, before the summer haze softens the far distance. On the eastern side, above Varenna, the ruined Castello di Vezio gives you a 360-degree view down the lake in both directions, north toward the mountains and south toward the branches. It is a short, steep walk up from the village, and it charges only a small entry band. I like Vezio in late afternoon, when the light rakes across the ridges and the lake below turns a deeper blue.
The smaller pleasures
Not every good photograph needs a grand terrace. Menaggio, on the western shore, has a graceful lakefront with small gardens and the open, easy Piazza Garibaldi just behind it, a good place to shoot ordinary Italian life at a slower pace. In Como itself, the marble facade of the Duomo is worth a frame all its own, its pale stone carved into a lacework that changes with the hour. And then there is the classic wooden boat, the varnished Riva-style launch that seems to belong to another decade. If you can catch one crossing at golden hour, its wake fanning gold behind it, you will have made the most romantic picture on the lake without setting foot in a single villa. For more ways to fill the days between shots, my guide to the best things to do on Lake Como covers the boats, the swims, and the long lunches.
A word on the season, since light and weather are bound together here. The bloom at Carlotta, the clarity of the mornings, and the angle of the sunsets all shift through the year, and I have set out how they change in my guide to the best time to visit Lake Como. All of these spots sit within the wider picture I paint in Victoria’s complete guide to Lake Como, if you would like the whole lake in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most photographed spot on Lake Como?
The curved stone balustrade at Villa del Balbianello, on the promontory near Lenno, is the single most photographed spot on the lake. Remember that the villa is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays, and go in mid to late morning for the softest light on the stone.
Where is the best place to shoot the sunset?
Varenna, on the eastern shore. Because it faces west into the evening light, its coloured waterfront and the Passeggiata degli Innamorati glow gold while the rest of the lake falls into shadow. Arrive an hour before sunset and stay for the blue hour afterward.
What is the best time of day for photos on Lake Como?
Mornings are calmest, clearest, and least crowded, which makes them ideal for the high panoramas from Brunate and for Bellagio’s stepped lanes. Late afternoon gives you golden light on the villa gardens at Villa Melzi and along the Bellagio promenade.
Where do you get the classic view of the three branches?
From the point of Bellagio, where the three arms of the lake meet, you get the view that explains the whole lake in one frame. For the widest panorama down the southern basin, climb to Brunate and the San Maurizio lighthouse above Como.
