After taking the Lake Maggiore Express from Arona, Italy to Locarno, Switzerland, we immediately…read morehopped on the Tourist Train that was waiting by the dock. We have taken these little tourist trains in many cities and find them to be a quick way to learn a little information about the town, and where things are located - making it easier to navigate the city on foot. Our driver was a bit heavy on the peddle, and we would often 'slide to the side' while turning corners, but we saw lots of sights and had a good time. It's really a quick, inexpensive way to orient yourself to the city. Notes: First train leaves at 11:00am and are only available from March through October.

Take a cruise or a ferry to explore Lake Como…read more We booked a day trip from Milan to Lake Como with Ciao Florence. The public ferry was an interesting experience. Our family was able to find a place to stand on the top deck and eventually find seats. Our tour guide and group were scattered all over the ferry which made it a bit disorganized. The ferry itself was amazing. The views were magical on a wonderful sunny Friday. When our guide finally located most of the group that had migrated to the top floor, he gave us a bit of insight into Villa Carlotta. The history is one with many families involved. Originally built on ancestral land by the Clerici family who became successful silk merchants. The country estate and gardens were built in the 1690s. As with many wealthy families, the great grandson spent too much money building an extravagant palazzo, the Palazzo Clerici in Milan, which forced his heirs to see their Lake Como villa sold to cover their debts. Over the next couple of hundred years, the property continued to exchange hands until it was eventually was converted to a museum and gardens by royal decree. Nice to be able to see it from the ferry. Maybe next time, we will have more time to explore the villa and its gardens.

What an amazing place! It's a museum and a garden, the bottom floor is a cool interactive museum.read more

Had a great tour of Lake Como. Beautiful day with beautiful views. It was booked directly by our…read morehotel. We did the hour no stops around the lake. There are different tours available. We paid with cash so we got a small discount. Captain Luca was great. He had lots of knowledge and a few jokes to throw in. He knows where the George Clooney Villa is but I'm not sure which tour takes you there ;) Would highly recommend this tour.

After arriving in Bellagio for a short stay we were looking to get out on the water. Our high-end…read morehotel recommended these guys and we booked a 1-hour, private, "highlights of the lake tour" (230€). It was a 15 minute walk down to the waters edge (look for the blue and white striped poles) where we met the Australian wife of the operation and checked in. She was warm and friendly and gave us some good tips for other sight seeing during our stay. We boarded precisely at 4:30 and headed out right away. There wasn't much in the way of narration, in fact we had to keep asking questions just to get some information in between the pre-planned sights like the villa featured in the bond film Casino Royale and one of Richard Branson's houses. Most of the tour was spent at slow wake speed going along the shore. Not really any effort to try to help you get great pictures. In the end this didn't quite live up to expectations-just someone going through the motions and collecting a big fee. While it was great being out on the water, the high sides of the boat and slow speeds did little to cool us off on the very very hot day. Luckily we had brought along our own water! For 230€ per hour you'd think they'd serve prosecco and caviar. Cannot recommend

An easy, relaxing yet exhilarating way to see Lake Como! We did their tour of the lake and will…read moredefinitely recommend it to anyone who wants to see the highlights of the lake. We customized the tour and for 8 people it came up to 350 Euros. The tour boat picked us up from Varenna, and proceeded to go by Bellagio, Menaggio, George Clooney's villa (haha...he was still with Elisabetta Canalis during that time), and then dropped us off in Como. The tour took 2 hours total and was worth every penny! Make all reservations through their website. Luca Valsecchi, our tour guide and captain, was very friendly, spoke excellent English and was knowledgeable about all the places that we buzzed by. I wish I could remember some of the stuff he talked about but I was enjoying just looking at the water, hills and villas that I was spacing out most of the time. Check out the pictures!

Pietro is simply the BEST! I was planning to travel to…read moreItaly, and didn't really have an idea of where to go or what to do, but Pietro-did! I met hIm thru a mutual friend and we hit it off! Pietro usually takes hard core bicyclists anywhere they want to go, and the roads he chooses are often stunning, breathtaking views that leave you in awe. You can always go at your own pace, or push yourself. I was not a biker on a bike. I rode a Vespa as I did not have the motivation or the energy to physically "ride a bike". I did follow along and had some great conversations with Pietro along our rides together. He is truly a gem! He knows where the best food is hands down, takes you to many different cities to explore, he knows the history of all of the towns and villages he brings his patrons to...and believe me the food he picks OMG!!! Every meal was truly magnificent. Pietro often delights in telling stories of his adventures as he is a very good athlete, he has seen it all. He is charming and funny-and truly wants to share his love of his country with others. You can't find a better tour guide! If you need an amazing tour guide to take you from town to Town, to help you book hotels and suggest meals, shop for that special Someone, or even go Wine tasting-Pietro will give you the full experience and he speaks the language so you are always going to have fun. I don't drink wine so that is lost on me but...) if you like wine-he knows what to pick as well for Tasting purposes. Lake Como Cycling is not just for cyclists, it is also a business that allows you, the costumer to choose where you want to go. What you want to do. He has a big van that he uses to carry your luggage and get you from town to stunning town. He finds picturesque villages, and amazing food, he can arrange for you to book cooking cLasses-which is what I did and I LOVED it! You can't go wrong with this guy. If you want to "Experience" Italy, pick Pietro! You will laugh a lot and truly enjoy the trip of your life. Tell him I sent ya! Lake Como Cycling is THE BEST!!!! And he does Know where George Clooney lives in Lake Como !!! FYI.

From the owner: Lake Como Cycling is the original and premier Cycling Tour and Bike Rental establishment in the…read moreLake Como region. We are pleased to offer a variety of cycling experiences for all level of rider. We maintain a collection of over 100+ bikes from top-of-line Pinarello to E-bikes and everything in between!

Went on a saturday afternoon and did the self guided tour which is really looking at the museum of…read morethe chocolate factory. A lot of old tins, molds and tools. I am not the biggest fan of tours. Tours of anything seem to go push my patience so I would save your 2 Euros and just go to the store. Buy pounds upon pounds of chocolate. Minus one star because I asked an employee where something is and she couldn't seem to multi task though I think she understood the question. I ended up leaving still not knowing where a chocolate variety was. They have a few varieties to try. The chocolate is excellent. The solid bar that's coffee flavor is wonderful! And take a picture with the red and white cow statues out front! Accepts Swiss francs and Euros.

The first time visiting Lake Como Italy. We were referred by our Gate 1 tour guide Anna to try…read morethis place out. First and foremost, theview from this restaurant is amazing. You have to take the tram up the mountain that cost 5.50 euros roundtrip. The service at Trattoria Dei Bracconieri Ristorante Bar was excellent. We were greeted by Aldo and others that made us feel very welcome. We were lucky to find a table outside to have our lunch. I ordered the Bolognese and my girlfriend ordered the risotto with truffles and porcini mushrooms. It was all delicious. We both cleaned our plates and ate all the complementary bread. Lastly, for desert we had the panacotta with berries. This place is a hidden gem in Lake Como. We definitely recommend this place for first timers.

We came to this place for a birthday lunch. I emailed them a week prior to reserve a table outside…read more(as this place was selected specifically for its views) but got zero reply. Ok well... came anyway. First things first, while this place does offer great views on lake Como and the towns, it is not the only place in Brunate with this characteristic, and there are at least a couple more options that seem to be more or less the same level. The food here is quite good, although not exceptional. And I would argue that it is overpriced for a trattoria in a small (albeit a resort) town. We spent ~100 euro for 2 adults and a kid, without wine. The service is underwhelming to say the least. As mentioned, I contacted this place well in advance and received zero reaction, which - I think - is hardly acceptable in XXI century if you care about your business and reputation. We got a seat inside, it was noisy and crowded, the locals and larger parties were treated way friendlier and had to wait significantly less than we did (an experience that is, unfortunately, not unique to this place only in Northern Italy). All this did not boost our enthusiasm about this place. The manager (owner?) of this place was plain rude initially when I asked for a table outside (on the terrace which was empty but for one table at the time anyway). Eventually, seeing how disappointed we were they did give us a table there (which saved the situation to some extent). Still, I think a somewhat friendlier attitude to foreign tourists could not hurt this place. All up, 2 stars for this kind of experience.