If you’re planning a road trip in the Italian Lakes region, you’ll likely need a vehicle, so why not rent a car on Lake Como?
Lake Como is characterized by its small, typical villages accessible by ferry or road. However, depending on your itinerary, a car will be very useful for reaching the more remote locations.
It’s also important to consider the narrow, winding roads, often uphill, which are best traversed with smaller vehicles rather than larger ones.
In this article, we’ll try to discover all the best options for car rental on Lake Como!
- Car rental Lake Como
- Lake Como 1 day itinerary
- Lake Como itinerary 2 days
- Lake Como itinerary 3 days
Car rental Lake Como
If you’re passing through Como, it means you’ve either decided to go on a road trip in northern Italy and thus already have a vehicle, or you’re arriving in Como from Milan, in which case renting a car on Lake Como will be essential to optimize your visiting time.
- Depending on the duration of your stay, we advise you to plan your itinerary in advance so that you can rent a car on Lake Como only if necessary. For example, if you’ve decided to stay just for a day in the area, it’s unnecessary to rent a car. However, if you’ve decided to stay at least one night, then a vehicle will be very useful.
- The second piece of advice we can give you is to make your reservation as soon as possible, as waiting longer may lead to price increases.
- The third useful tip is to simulate car rental from Milan. Indeed, it’s possible that prices may be lower in Milan, where the demand for rentals is higher.
- Finally, we recommend comparing prices from different agencies through Discovercars, the comparison tool we’ve selected, which will allow you to obtain the most advantageous price
Free quote for car rental in Como
In our article “60 things to do on Lake Como,” we tried to provide you with a non-exhaustive list of points of interest in the area, but now we will explore different itineraries on Lake Como.
Lake Como 1 day itinerary
Visiting Lake Como in just one day is far too short, but it will allow you to see the most iconic places in Como and enjoy an unforgettable day.
Firstly, a visit to the center of Como will let you explore the small shops located in stone alleys. At Piazza San Fedele, the former market square, you can admire the old 16th-century palaces with their picturesque facades. After walking for a couple of hours, we recommend taking a coffee facing the Como Cathedral and the Broletto Palace.
You can then continue the stroll by passing through Piazza Volta and reaching the Temple of Volta, the museum dedicated to the famous inventor of the electric battery, in the form of a dome. After a brief stop in the Temple Park, where you can have a small picnic facing the lake with a fougasse from Beretta dal 1950 (located in the city center).
After finishing your meal, you can board the ferries and embark on a one-and-a-half-hour excursion to see the towns of Cernobbio, Moltrasio, and Torno from the lake. Once back at the starting point, you can then take the funicular and reach Brunate to have a sensational view of the city of Como and the lake. You can also take the opportunity to climb the Volta lighthouse for the best views.
Once back down, it’s time to have an aperitif at the Terrazze of Como. Finally, we recommend having a good Neapolitan pizza at Napulé, via Luigi Dottesio 22, one of the best pizzerias in Como.
After this busy day, it will be time to return and start a new Italian adventure the next day!
Lake Como itinerary 2 days
Most tourists stay at least one night in Como, which allows you to enjoy the various attractions a bit better and also do more things.
In our itinerary for a weekend in Como, we recommend some of the activities for the first day, but not only that!
In this case, it could be useful to rent a car on Lake Como to optimize your time, as ferry rides can lengthen travel times. With limited time at your disposal, renting a car on Lake Como remains the best option.
The first day on Lake Como
- If you love mosaics, you absolutely must make a stop in Blevio to visit the Blevio Mosaic Park. While strolling around, you can enjoy the superb view of the lake.
- We then recommend continuing your journey with a visit to Nesso, an enchanted village known for its gorges and small stone bridge.
- Leaving Nesso, you can get back on the road and drive along the lake to reach Bellagio, one of the most beautiful towns on Lake Como. You can wander through the small shops in the center and visit the gardens of Villa Melzi and Villa Serbelloni.
- For lunch, you could enjoy the superb cuisine of the Mistral restaurant, which has a terrace with a direct view of the lake and is recommended by the Michelin guide.
- In the afternoon, you could stroll around the center of Como, visiting Piazza San Fedele, Piazza A. Volta, Piazza del Duomo, and the Broletto.
To conclude the evening, a little aperitif in the center or at the Terrazze will allow you to end the day beautifully
Free quote for car rental in Como
The second day on Lake Como
- A quick visit to Moltrasio could be a great way to start the day; several waterfalls are present in this small village, and one seems to run through it.
- How about a little hike in the morning? For example, you could head to the parking lot of the Lake Como Greenway in Ossuccio and then make your way to Villa del Balbianello, which has served as a filming location for “Casino Royale” and “Star Wars.”
- We then suggest heading to Menaggio, well-known for its colorful small houses and nature walks along the lake.
- For the afternoon, you could relax on the beach in Menaggio.
- Once back in Como, we recommend taking the funicular to Brunate to enjoy a panoramic view of the lake and to climb the lighthouse overlooking the city.
- Finally, you could opt for a little tour of the city and focus on A. Volta (his temple, his birthplace) or delve into the history of silk, which is an important heritage of the city (by visiting the silk museum or finding a unique piece at the historic A. Picci boutique)
Lake Como itinerary 3 days
For the 3-day itinerary on Lake Como, we recommend keeping the program outlined for the first 2 days unchanged. What will change is the third day on Lake Como.
- Firstly, you could go see the Fiumelatte River, the shortest river in Italy, which is located in Varenna and measures just 250m. This river was extensively studied by Leonardo da Vinci, who included it in his work “The Atlantic Code.” But in Varenna, there are also colorful houses, villas, and museums that will make for a very pleasant time.
- Once you’ve finished visiting Varenna, you can head to Lecco, the city where Alessandro Manzoni, the famous author of “The Betrothed,” stayed. It’s a Milanese love story known by all Italians. While strolling along the lungolago, you can also see the old bridge that is over 700 years old and climb up to Piani d’Erna to see the city from above.
Now, you’re ready to rent a car on Lake Como!