Last updated September 19, 2026

Varenna’s coloured houses and bell tower on their headland above Lake Como, with the mountains of the western shore behind

Gabrielle Merk / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Italy

Where to Stay in Varenna

Varenna is a village of about 800 people on the eastern shore of Lake Como, built onto a steep headland where the lake splits into its two southern arms. It was founded by fishermen in AD 769, destroyed by rival Como in 1126, and took in refugees from Isola Comacina in 1169 — a history that left it dense and vertical, a knot of stepped lanes climbing from a narrow waterfront rather than a town that spreads. Two villa gardens sit at its southern edge, Villa Monastero and Villa Cipressi, and the ruined Castello di Vezio stands on the hill above. What makes it work as a base is geography: the ferry pier, the railway station and both gardens are within a few hundred metres of each other, so a stay here needs no car at all — the boats across to Bellagio and Menaggio take fifteen to twenty minutes and run through the day.

Quick facts

Best time to visit
April to June and September are the best months — the gardens are open, the ferries run a full timetable, and the village is busy in the middle of the day but not overwhelmed. July and August bring heat and day-trip crowds off every boat. Winter is very quiet, with reduced ferry sailings and many hotels and restaurants closed.
Renting a car
A car is a liability in Varenna itself — the village is stepped and largely closed to traffic, and parking is genuinely scarce. It is useful only for arriving and leaving; the lake is better handled by ferry, which is faster and far less stressful than the shore roads.

Where to stay

Couples and first-time Lake Como visitors who want to walk to the ferry, the gardens and dinner without moving a car, and who would rather have a quiet evening village than a lively town.

Varenna’s ferry pier and the yellow Hotel Olivedo on the quayside, with Lake Como opening out beyond

Xavier Caré / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Varenna Village & Waterfront

Best for: Couples, First-time visitors, Road trips, Nature lovers

Our picks for Varenna

A handful of editorial calls across every neighborhood above, not just the highest star rating — see each hotel's own card further down for the full case for and against it.

🏆 Our overall pickHotel Royal Victoria, by R Collection HotelsVarenna Village & Waterfront💰 Best valueHotel OlivedoVarenna Village & Waterfront❤️ Best for couplesAlbergo MilanoVarenna Village & Waterfront✨ Best luxuryHotel Villa Cipressi, by R Collection HotelsVarenna Village & Waterfront📍 Best locationHotel OlivedoVarenna Village & Waterfront

A couple of hotels in Varenna Village & Waterfront

Varenna Village & Waterfront is the top-recommended area to stay in Varenna.

Hotel Villa Cipressi, by R Collection Hotels

★★★★
  • ✨ Best luxury

Our take You are paying for the garden, and on that basis it delivers: terraced grounds on the water you can walk before they open to the public. The rooms don't match the price the setting commands.

Highlights

  • Terraced botanical gardens running down to the lake, open to guests outside public visiting hours
  • Directly next to Villa Monastero, at the quiet southern end of the village
  • A genuinely historic villa building rather than a hotel styled to look like one

What to know

  • Rooms are spread between the villa and its outbuildings and vary considerably — worth checking which you are booking
  • About a ten-minute walk from the ferry pier, much of it stepped
Check availability on Booking.com

Albergo Milano

★★★
  • ❤️ Best for couples

Our take For a couple who would rather have a terrace and a small, personal hotel than a pool and a big resort — and who don't mind paying less than the lakefront four-stars for it.

Highlights

  • A large terrace over the lake where breakfast is served, the main draw.
  • In the old village's pedestrian lanes, minutes from the ferry and the villa gardens
  • Small and individually decorated, with several rooms having their own balcony or terrace

What to know

  • No lift, and the hotel is reached through stepped lanes — a real consideration with heavy luggage
  • Not on the waterfront itself; the lake views come from the terrace and the balconies
Check availability on Booking.com

Useful travel information

Italy uses the euro. Varenna-Esino-Perledo station sits just above the village on the Lecco–Tirano line, with direct regional trains from Milano Centrale in about an hour, which makes arriving without a car entirely practical. The ferry pier at the northern end of the waterfront serves Bellagio, Menaggio and Cadenabbia. Parking is the village’s real constraint: on-street spaces are few and mostly resident-only, and the public lots above the village fill by mid-morning in summer, so confirm parking with your hotel when you book.

Tips

  • Walk the Passeggiata degli Innamorati, the walkway pinned to the rock between the ferry pier and the old village. It takes about ten minutes and is worth doing twice, once in daylight and once at dusk.
  • Check the last boat back before you set off for the western shore. Missing it means an expensive taxi around the bottom of the lake, and it catches people out at Villa del Balbianello in particular.
  • If you arrive by car, confirm a parking space with your hotel at the time of booking rather than on the day — the public lots above the village are full by mid-morning through the summer.

Frequently asked questions

Is Varenna a better base than Bellagio or Como?
For most trips, yes. It is quieter in the evening than Bellagio, far smaller than Como town, and its ferry pier, station and two villa gardens are all within a few hundred metres — so you can reach the rest of the lake easily without ever needing the shore roads.
Do I need a car in Varenna?
No, and it is better without one. The village is stepped and largely traffic-free, parking is scarce and mostly resident-only, and the ferries handle the lake faster than driving. A car is useful only for arriving and leaving.
How do I get to Varenna from Milan?
Direct regional trains run from Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino-Perledo in about an hour. By car it is roughly an hour and twenty up the SS36 along the eastern side of Lake Lecco.
Is Varenna steep?
Yes — it is built onto a headland and almost every lane between the waterfront and the upper village is stepped. It is a short village to cross but not a flat one, which is worth knowing if stairs are a problem.

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