Northern Italy Day 2: Lake Como (Varenna)

The next morning, we took a somewhat circuitous and frustrating journey from Bergamo to Varenna (a major ingress spot for Lake Como, as it is about halfway up the lake on the right side and is on the train line), involving a bus and a series of trains (the left side is the best!). Bergamo to Varenna Esino cost €11.50. Be sure to check the bus/train times before you get up, as there are limited trains due to track work. We connected through Lecco, and the train from Lecco to Varenna was jam packed - we only managed to squeeze in in front of the door; I think some people couldn't even get on the train. 

We -- and masses of other people -- walked from the train station to the shore, which took about 10 minutes. There is a ferry station right there, which can take you to other towns on the lake. We were planning to stay for two nights and use Varenna as a base, so we booked a room at Hotel Olivedo, which was extremely quaint, had a great balcony, and a good included breakfast (although being next to the ferry station, it was a bit noisy at night). Definitely recommend!

We followed the Lovers Walk path (packed with people) which connects the ferry station and historical town a few minutes down the coast, and wandered a bit through the alleys and very steep staircases (all packed with people). 

We then continued on to Villa Monastero, which has a beautiful garden and a villa that you can visit. We got the ticket (approximately €20) that included the villa, garden, and another garden next door, Villa Cipressi (no villa to visit there). Doing both may have been a bit redundant, of the two, I would recommend just Villa Monastero. The views from both of the lake are great!

We headed back towards the. town piazza a few minutes down the street to get a drink at one of the little cafes there, and peeked into the church there. 

For dinner, I had scoped out Il Cavatappi in advance, but couldn't figure out how to make a reservation. Our hotel called for us when we checked in, but they were full. They do, however, reserve a table or two for walk-ins, so we went to awkwardly stand against the wall next to the restaurant door around 6:40pm (they open at 7pm), and managed to be first in line to secure a table. The food was pretty good! 

Varenna was absolutely packed with people - even walking by restaurants at 3pm, they said they had a 2 hour wait - so I definitely recommend reservations somewhere several days or weeks in advance. 

We then returned to our hotel for a drink or two on our balcony and a lot of people watching, as hundreds of people walked back towards the train station in the evening.