Varenna Old Town
On Como's eastern shore, Varenna is the village that makes grown adults audibly gasp as the ferry rounds the headland and its amber-and-rose houses come into view. Narrower, quieter and less touristed than Bellagio, it rewards slow wandering through car-free lanes that end, abruptly, at the water's edge.
The Passeggiata degli Innamorati
Varenna's signature promenade — the Lovers' Walk — hugs the shoreline on wooden walkways bolted directly into the rock face, connecting the ferry pier to the southern end of the village. At sunset the light turns the water amber and the mountains across the lake go deep violet; couples have been proposing here for generations.
The walk is free, takes about 15 minutes end to end, and is genuinely one of the most beautiful short strolls in Italy — not a marketing claim, just a fact confirmed by anyone who has done it.
Villa Monastero and Villa Cipressi
Two historic villas sit side by side at Varenna's southern tip. Villa Monastero — a former Cistercian convent — has botanical gardens that stretch along 500 metres of lakefront, planted with citrus, bougainvillea, agave and rare camellias. Entry is €5 and it is consistently undervisited compared to Balbianello.
Villa Cipressi next door operates as a hotel but opens its terraced gardens to day visitors for a small fee — the cypress-lined terraces dropping to the lake make for exceptional photographs even in flat midday light.
Between the two villas and the passeggiata, you can fill an entire slow morning without ever feeling rushed or crowded — a rare gift on Lake Como in high summer.
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