Is it worth going to Lake Como in November and December?
You’re probably familiar with images of people enjoying motorboats, swimming in the lake, capturing photos of blooming trees, lively streets filled with people, and warm weather. This is the spring and summer season. However, during autumn and winter, the weather changes, and many hotels, restaurants, shops, and activities close down, including the Lake Como villas.
Where to stay in winter time
If you choose Como city
If you choose to stay in Como city, where you’ll find more services and attractions such as restaurants, shops, and museums that remain open also in winter, you must take a boat ride or organize a private tour to explore Bellagio and Varenna.
If Villa del Balbianello is open, consider including the Lenno tour in your itinerary as well. You can visit them in a day to relish the beauty of these wonderful villages on Lake Como. A practical tip: since it’s the low season, you might not find a bar open (due to their closing day), so always bring something to drink and nibble on with you.
For your stay in Como during winter time, we suggest you to stay in the historical centre, as in this period it gets dark quite early in the afternoon, you don’t need to walk around in the dark.
If you decide to book your hotel in Como you can use this link to access Booking.com, I’ll get a little commission from Booking.com but to you it doesn’t cost any extra.
If you choose Bellagio
Bellagio is very tranquil during the winter. Many restaurants, hotels, shops, and services like boat rentals and water taxis close down. However, some bars and restaurants, as well as apartments, remain open. So, if you visit Bellagio in November or December, it will be very quiet, but we suggest taking advantage of it to arrange guided tours, both on foot and by boat.
For parkings in Bellagio we recommend reading this post I wrote regarding parkings.
If you haven’t got a car and you need a private transfer to reach Bellagio, just click here.
Once you are in Bellagio, to move locally, it’s not very easy to find a private taxi, you can use the public bus that goes to Como or Lecco and get off in the different stops in Bellagio.
In this article you can find Lake Como weather information, my suggestion is also to download the free app MeteoSwiss because it’s the one that locals use.
