The Sublime Lake Como and Bellagio

On the days we take our guests to Lake Como and Bellagio we like to drive to our first destination, Menaggio, with the sounds of Anrdea Boccelli streaming through the car stereo. It is a lovely way to arrive at the lake. We have time to look around the town of Menaggio(situated on the west of the lake)before you board the ferry for the beautiful town of Bellagio(situated on the east of the lake). This is about a 30 minute ferry ride. The passenger ferries stop alongside a tree-lined waterfront. Across the road is a lovely arcade with cafes and restaurants. Walking to the right as you disembark from the boat, you'll find more 'touristy' cafes - the types of place where you can sit in the afternoon on a lakeside terrace with a big fancy ice-cream and watch the boats passing by. A little further along in this direction you'll pass the car-ferry departure point, the historic Hotel Grand Bretagne which is currently abandoned and falling into disrepair, and then reach a pretty lakeside promenade. A few minutes further on, you come to one of the two gardens open to the public, Villa Melzi, which we recommend to take the time to look through or even picnic in. From the central waterfront, stepped and cobbled lanes rise up the hill in a tight little network separating the lakeshore from the town's main street, Via Garibaldi. This is a pretty lane where you'll find more shops, cafes and also Bellagio's main town square, Piazza San Giacomo, or Piazza della Chiesa. The square is dominated by the town church, the Romanesque Basilica di San Giacomo, which is worth a visit for its frescoes and statues. On the opposite side of the square is a medieval tower, once part of Bellagio's now-disappeared defences and now a tourist office where you can buy tickets for the tours of Villa Serbelloni's gardens. The fountain in the centre of the piazza is said to have been originally commissioned by a resident Englishman for his garden to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Walking from the piazza past the church and out towards the tip of the Bellagio promontory, you reach a viewpoint, park and little harbour at Punta Spartivento, where the lake divides. Heading in the other direction from the square, Via Garibaldi passes the main entrance to Villa Serbelloni and reaches the town hall ( Municipio ). At this point a paved footpath (signposted) leaves the road and heads towards Pescallo, about ten minutes' walk away. Pescallo is an enchanting little fishing hamlet looking out over the western Lecco branch of Lake Como, on the opposite side of the promontory to the main settlement of Bellagio.