The Best Things to Do in Lake Como

12.07.2024 - 23:05 / cntraveler.com / Lake Como

The Roman poet Virgil declared Lake Como “our greatest lake,” a proclamation that still rings true two thousand years later. For millennia, its lush green hillsides have plunged into the sparkling, opaque water that radiates hues of cobalt blue and emerald green. Today, grandiose villas preside over the lake, and clusters of pretty towns line its shores. Equal parts glamorous and discreet, the ancient Roman holiday destination hasn’t lost any of its appeal.

The view of Lake Como from a precarious balcony on a cobblestone street in the town of Lecco.

While Hollywood didn’t put Lake Como on the map, the lake’s popularity among A-listers and jet setters has undeniably helped catapult the northern Italian destination into the limelight. Behind its aura of mystique, though, Lake Como harbors a humble side that warrants just as much fanfare as its flashy counterpart. Below, you’ll find a list of the very best things to do in Lake Como, ranging from the widely touted to the lesser-known spots every traveler should have on their radar.

The exterior of Como Cathedral features a rose window among its Gothic architectural elements.

Clinging to the lake’s southwestern pocket, Como is an ideal jumping point for exploring the territory, but the city itself shouldn’t go uncharted. The remains of Como’s 33-feet-high medieval wall enclose its quaint historic center. Shops and restaurants stand snugly alongside each other in lively pedestrian streets that teem with picture-perfect sights, like elegant interior courtyards framed in arched doorways, the storybook-like Piazza San Fedele and the 15th-century Duomo, a magnificent Gothic cathedral. On the lakefront, Daniel Libeskind’s Life Electric sculpture protrudes from the pier. The soaring steel voltage symbol pays homage to Alessandro Volta, the Como-born scientist who invented the electric battery. Passeggiata Lino Gelpi, a walkway to the left of the lake, leads to the bucolic manicured gardens of Villa Olmo.

Address: Como, 22100

Strands of orange, golden, and eggshell reel through a loom at the Silk Museum.

Though the Comaschi had been spinning silk since the Renaissance, Como didn’t become Italy’s silk capital until the 19th century. It remains at the top of its game today as fashion designers worldwide source silk from within and around the city. The Silk Museum, adjacent to the Setificio silk trade school, depicts the local history of the shimmering textile. From silkworm feeding to dyeing to garment creation, the permanent exhibit covers every step of the production process through fabric samples, documents, tools, and machines. For silk souvenir shopping, head to A. Picci and Inseta in the historic center. Otherwise, the Mantero outlet in Grandate is just a