Relaxing in Varenna and the Italian lakes district

May 17, 2015

Relaxing in Varenna and the Italian lakes district

Mr. Steves, start us out please. "Lake Como--lined with elegant 19th century villas, crowned by snowcapped mountains, and busy with ferries, hydrofoils, and slow, passenger only boats--is a good place to take a break from the intensity and obligatory-turnstile culture of central Italy. It seems like half the travelers you'll meet have tossed their itineraries into the lake and are actually relaxing."

We only spend two nights here, since we are ending our trip in Lugano, Switzerland only about ten miles away as the crow flies, but we could have easily spent a week. We are in a lovely little apartment in Varenna with fantastic views of Lake Como and the Swiss Alps. We like our view so much that we eat both our dinners in, to take in as much of our view as we can. Varenna is small, and quaint, has a romantic promenade and a wonderful ambience - apparently according to Mr. Steves a hundred or so American couples tie the knot in Varenna every year. Again Mr. Steves suggests that Varenna is "just the right place to savor a lakeside cappuccino or apertivo", and our second day here we do that acting like a proper English couple (and very out of character for us) and enjoying a gin and tonic at a waterfront cafe. Two wonderful British men did the same (spritz drinks though, not gin and tonics) next to us and we shared a nice conversation while taking in the breathtaking view.

We strolled the village, walked by the local Villa, shopped and of course had our daily gelato. When we left Varenna for Lugano after our two nights here we decided to take the slow and very scenic ferry to Como and then the train to Lugano, which although longer was a beautiful way to end our time here.