Greenway del Lago di Como, Colonno to Cadenabbia
The Greenway del Lago is an 11-kilometre signed walking path along the western shore of Lake Como between Colonno and Cadenabbia, passing through olive groves, fishing villages, private villa gardens and ancient stone lanes that road traffic has never touched. It is one of the most beautiful easy walks in northern Italy, and most visitors have never heard of it.
The Route Village by Village
The path links six villages — Colonno, Sala Comacina, Ossuccio, Lenno, Tremezzo and Cadenabbia — each with its own character. Ossuccio is home to the UNESCO-listed Sacro Monte, a 17th-century pilgrimage route of fourteen chapels climbing through the woods above the lake, each containing life-size terracotta figures depicting scenes from the New Testament.
At Lenno you pass the dock for Villa del Balbianello (see tip 1), and the path briefly joins the lakefront promenade before ducking back into the olive groves above Tremezzo. The whole route is waymarked with green-and-white signs and takes 3–4 hours at a relaxed pace with stops.
Isola Comacina Detour
Just offshore from Sala Comacina lies Isola Comacina, Lake Como's only island — a 600-metre-long sliver of rock with Roman ruins, a Romanesque church apse and a single legendary restaurant, the Locanda dell'Isola Comacina, which has served the same fixed theatrical menu (including a ritual burning of the coffee) since 1947.
A rowing boat from Sala Comacina's dock takes you across in five minutes. Even if you skip the restaurant (book weeks ahead; it is not cheap), walking the island's perimeter path through the ruins takes 20 minutes and the views back to the Greenway shore are exceptional.
Return to the mainland and continue south to Cadenabbia, where ferries connect back to Bellagio or Varenna — making the whole day a satisfying loop with no car required.
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