Touring Como City and Lake Como FAQ

While most tours highlight a city’s main attractions like loose pieces of a puzzle or fragmented, my tours present the city’s story, its people and its evolution as a complete picture, a work of art, from our geologic origins and Roman foundations to modern times. You will discover the consistent theme that has shaped the city for three thousands of years.

My specialized Como city tours such as the Architect’s Tour, Natural Scientist’s Tour, Economist’s Tour and Fortifications Tour give us time to focus on topics of most interest to you. 

Yes, I lead tailor-made excursions across Lake Como including the famous villa museums and gardens of Carlotta, Balbianello, Monastero and Melzi and of towns such as Bellagio, Varenna, Torno and Cernobbio. It depends on your interests and how much time you have.

I also lead tours to other cities: Milan, Duomo of Milan, Florence, Rome, Modena, Pisa, Sienna, Bologna, etc. and wine regions across Italy.

Yes, I frequently do tours of Como and Bellagio. Bellagio is at least one hour from Como, so Bellagio is often a full day trip. Bellagio can be over crowded, so it’s better to plan well.

Yes, the ferry system (navigazione lago) can be complex. Part of my service is ensuring we use the most efficient transport—whether that’s the “free-circulation” ferry tickets, private water taxis, or public hydrofoils—to maximize our time and avoid long queues.

No problem! When it rains in Como, we try to schedule around the rain. We can walk under porticos and spend some time indoors in the two basilicas of Como.

We can reschedule or adapt the itinerary to include more indoor attractions such as our museums.

Como’s historic center is flat and pedestrian-friendly, but some lake towns have steep stairs and roads. I customize the pace and route for every group. For example, in Como I avoid traffic and crowds of tourist and walk where we find public benches.

If you have mobility concerns, please let me know in advance as I will adapt your tour for your comfort and convenience.

Como’s high season is late April through October. Weekends and Italian public holidays are the most busy days. Some villas and hotels close in January and February.

All the “boat tours” that you find online are simply “boat rides” with a local captain. The captain has a boat driving license, but has no formal training nor license as a tour guide nor as a tour leader. As such the captain points out a few attractions on the lake and perhaps offers you a bottle of sparkling wine.

A tour leader and tour guide has a specific license and provides a “tour by boat”. For example, by boat I tell the story of Lake Como, its evolution and the story behind all the villas and their unique architectural secret.

As a tour leader, I take you ashore and tour local towns such as Bellagio, Varenna, Torno and their sites. Then we get back on the boat back to Como. A boat captain or driver will stay on the boat and doesn’t tour you around.

Discover these and many other answers to good questions on a tour with me.

Absolutely! As a sommelier, I can easily organize a quick Lake Como wine tasting-tour with a taste-through presentation of the local wines of Lake Como (Lariana).

I also organize a Regional wine tasting-tour of wines from Lombardy from the sparking white wines of Franciacorta through to the reds of the Valtellina, which can also be done in combination with a multi-course lunch or dinner.

A tasting of local cheeses can include: Taleggio, Gorgonzola and tome from the Valtellina.

Yes, as I am the only native-English speaking translator at the Courthouse and Chamber of Commerce of Como, so I can assist with translating and interpreting as well as related immigration and relocating to Italy topics. Traduzioni-a-como.it/en