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Varenna

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    • TravelerCarpe Diem
      Day 17

      George Clooney for a day

      September 16 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Today I got to be George Clooney for a day. George owns a house on Lake Como which has done a lot to draw attention to the area and increase its notoriety. Rick Steves suggestion was to take the train up to a town on the east of the lake called Varenna, maybe do a ferry ride on the lake to another town before returning to Varenna. Varenna was a very picturesque Como lake town originally built without roads for automobiles but which were added in later. Known for its large lakeside estates with beautiful gardens I enjoyed a nice roam through town before visiting one of the lakeside villas and garden. Rick's tour didn't take as long as I had thought so also on his recommendation I decided to take a ferry to Como at the most southern tip of the lake and then take the train back from there rather than Varenna.Billed by the ticket office as a 2:15 minute journey it turned into a 3 hour journey. Some of the ferries don't do all the stops.It was nice after the first few stops as pretty well the majority of people disembarked. I chatted a lot with a funeral home owner from Dayton Ohio and an Australian couple from Sydney. The funeral home owner from Dayton said he noticed a dramatic drop off in deaths from Covid after the vaccine was released in March 2021. He said that no matter what people say about the vaccine it had a pretty dramatic effect on Covid deaths. I think it is easy for us to forget that. I saw a lot of the lake and many of the beautiful villas along the shorelines. We even went by George Clooney's house. All in all it was a pleasant way to spend a day.Read more

    • TravelerComer See 🛵💗✨🇮🇹
      1
      Day 5

      Varenna

      August 27 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Mit der Fähre sind wir nach Varenna gefahren. Dort konnten wir für 9€ 2 botanische Gärten der Villa Monastera und Cipressi besichtigen. Anschließend gab es Aperol to go🍊. Gerade waren wir essen in einem schönen, preiswerten Restaurant.Read more

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    • TravelerEurope - August 2023
      1
      Day 18

      More Lake Beauty and a Piadina Lunch

      August 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      A long sleep-in today with a 9am breakfast. We are definitely on holidays.
      Today was our chance for some touring by ourselves as Sara and Kris offered us use of their car for the day. Yesterday we had seen the western side of the Lake while en route to Como, so late morning today we headed off to see some of the eastern side of the Lake. Small picturesque villages dot the edges all around of the lake and as you drive you are passing through these every few minutes. Between these town the sights of Como lake are spectacular. Most of the towns are small with perhaps a few hundred residents, but some are larger. Today the larger towns included Bellamo and Varenna, two very scenic towns which are very popular tourist places. It was these two towns in particular that we wanted to see.
      Bellamo has a unique strategy for presenting itself to visitors. Most large buildings have very large portrait photos on most of the walls. This adds an interesting element to a walk around the town. The town is situated in a lovely cove and has a ferry terminal. Getting a parking place was difficult but we finally managed to get one quite close to the town centre and had a good walk all around seeing the sights. Great weather with great views! We had the obligatory cappuccino and then shared some Piadinas for lunch. These are flat breads folded with cheese and ham in the middle and make for a typical Italian light lunch.
      Then it was on towards Varenna which is the largest town on the eastern side of the lake. Again this has a large ferry terminal with a walkway that clings to the edges of the high rock walls of the surrounding mountains to connect the ferry area to the main part of the town. Lots of shops, hotels, restaurants line the stone beach and the edge of the mountains. All over Italy there are beautiful old buildings built centuries ago and Varenna is no exception. A really scenic town with a mixture of history and beauty. Lots of tourists around and parking again was a problem. We finally did find a parking spot about a kilometre outside the town but then found that the parking meter would only accept €2 coins even though it was supposed to accept all euro coins. There were no shops or people around and we only had one €2 coins which gave 1 hour parking. We did not want to get a parking ticket in Sara’s car so we were limited to one hour seeing the sights of Varenna. We saw everything but Carolina would have liked to stay longer.
      We return to Gravedona around 5:30pm for some Aperol Spritz with our friends on their balcony overlooking the lake views. Kris followed this up by making a wonderful Porcini mushroom risotto. A long chat over dinner with a few liquors afterwards ended another very nice day.      Read more

    • Interrail
      Day 7

      Lake Como Day 2 Varenna part 2

      June 11, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      On return from Varenna and some lovely lunch some nice slushies to cool down it was time for another chapel. Small one in the village centre before getting the boat back to Bellano. A chilled and relaxing evening next to the lake as the clouds started to form for a night of thunder and lightening as we slept. We felt relaxed now on our holiday as we chatted about the highlights and what was still to come.Read more

    • TravelerInterrail 24
      Day 3

      Lago di Como Pt. 2

      February 19 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Weg von der Menschenmasse und rauf aufs Bötchen! Mit dem Zug sind wir ein Stündchen nach Varenna gefahren (begleitet von tollen Aussichten). Dort sind wir mit der Fähre erstmal rüber nach Bellagio gefahren. Beides sind kleine charmante Städtchen am Lago di Como.
      Bellagio hat viele süße Gässchen durch die wir gelaufen sind und eine Kirche, die wir besucht haben. Dann ging es aber schon zurück nach Varenna. Der Blick auf Varenna aus dem Bötchen war wirklich malerisch. Und auch der Steg der ins Städtchen direkt am Wasser entlangführt ist bezaubernd. Erstmal ging es zur Eisdiele und wir setzten uns auf einen Steg, um unser Eis zu genießen. (Das war so lecker 😋). Dann spazierten wir bergauf durch die Gassen. Es war wirklich malerisch schön und es fühlte sich teilweise an als wären wir die einzigen Menschen dort. Sehr romantisch ❣️. Nach einem ausgiebigen Spaziergang ging es zurück zur Bahn, um in Mailand den Abend ausklingen zu lassen.
      Wir halten fest: der Ausflug hat sich zu 100% gelohnt und es war traumhaft schön :)      Read more

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    • Alejandro QuesadaPiemonte e Lombardia 🇮🇹🏰🏞️
      Day 3

      Varenna: Tramonto sulle sponde 🌅🍻🍕

      December 2, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

      A solo 15 minutos en un catamarán se encuentra Varenna, un pequeño pueblo con una línea costera preciosa y la famosa Villa Monastero, convertida en un museo y jardín botánico con vistas espectaculares al lago 🌳🌷

      Justo llegamos a la hora del atardecer y los colores en el cielo son espectaculares. Eso sí, cuando se va el sol nos quedamos pajaritos y tenemos que resguardarnos en un restaurante, en el que decidimos hacer una cena napolitana, acompañada de unas birras Moretti 🍕 No paramos de hacer bromas con el camarero y pasamos un rato muy agradable antes de volver en tren.

      Ya en Milán, pensamos que va a ser la única noche con opción de salir y, aunque no encontramos el ambiente de anoche, vamos a un par de bares a tomarnos nuestras correspondientes agüitas con misterio 🍻🍻      Read more

    • TravelerLearning To Swim
      Day 12

      Varenna

      August 28, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Up for breaky. We head to the dock and collect an all day ticket for the lake.

      With an hour to spare I took Athena to the beauty parlor, where my pedicure was done. Athena needs her brows waxed. I had left my mobile behind at the dock, and thought shit!
      The lady had it though. Thank god.

      We hit the shuttle boat with umbrella's in hand. It is overcast and raining with thunder overhead.
      We sit at the side windows and the view is sublime.

      Slow cruising with the towns passing by.
      I wish to see Villa Balbianello in the town of Lenno, where Anakin wed Padme in secret, but find out it is closed Wednesdays 😔
      So we continue to Varenna. The boat is truly hypnotic and we just stare out at the water, hills and cascading earthenware villas whilst being gently rocked.

      We stop at Varenna at 2.10pm. It is a pretty town with views across to Bellagio and Menaggio.

      A bit of jewellery shopping. I buy a bracelet with pink, purple and aqua stones. We have a late lunch on the river at Nilus Bar.

      Athena is having the drowned octopus 🐙 soup and I the tagliatelle with bacon.🥓 and parmesan. Athena tells me her drowned octopus is absolutely delicious and she also ordered her favourite food chippies nom nom.

      One thing I have noticed is that we are yet to eat indoors. The weather in Europe is devine.

      We walk upwards through rounded stone pathways toward the Villa Monestery. We go into an ancient church with rock pillars. It is a fairytale town with ivy hanging over everything.

      We head back to the dock about 6.30pm. I grab a gelati and we catch the slow boat again, this time we sit outside and just meditate on the blissful scenery.

      Athena and I play 80's pop quiz's. And a young couple quip in and play.

      Get back at 8.30pm and head off to bed. Doing nothing is tiring.      Read more

    • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
      Day 13

      Afternoon trip on Lake Como

      July 2, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Today we took the ferry to Bellagio and Varenna again. It was lovely and cool on the water and we returned to a beautiful cafe on the waterfront to have dinner before returning home by train and walking the 2km up the hill to our apartment.Read more

    • TravelerGrands lacs Italie in family
      Day 8

      Varenna et Villa Monastero

      August 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Aujourd'hui, départ en bateau pour Varenna. Magnifique ville avec une vue impressionnante sur le lac de Côme. Visite de villa monastero, un jardin botanique splendide donnant directement sur le lac.
      Repas tranquille en amoureux face au lac dans un super hôtel pendant qu'Auguste s'est endormi dans sa poussette, suivi d'une glace home made succulente.
      Nous nous posons sur une plage aux cailloux au bord du lac plus qu'agréable. Disons que la baignade n'est pas de trop sous 36 degrés !Auguste semble plus qu'apprécier ces vacances comme d'habitude!      Read more

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    • TravelerItalien
      Day 3

      Varenna am Lake Como

      September 25, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Heute bin ich alleine unterwegs gewesen weil Xenia Uni hatte. Ich bin dann erst noch in ein Cafe und hab Cappuccino getrunken weil ich noch über eine Stunde auf den Zug warten musste (schlechtes Timing meinerseits). Dann musste ich noch eine Stunde Zug fahren bis Varenna. Dort bin ich erstmal einfach an der Promenade langgelaufen und das war super schön dort. Bin dann zufällig an einem botanischen Garten lang gelaufen und bin für 5€ rein gegangen. Da haben die auch gerade eine Hochzeit vorbereitet. Bin dann dort langgelaufen und hab einige Fotos gemacht. Als ich fertig war hab ich mir dann noch eine focaccia und ein Eis geholt. Danach bin ich nur noch zu einem 'strand' gelaufen, der aber ganz klein war und irgendwie auch nicht sonderlich schön. Habe dort dann etwas gelesen und bin dann mit dem zum gegen Abend zurück gefahren. Da es keine anzeigetafeln gab und auf dem Zug auch nicht stand, welcher das ist, bin ich auch einmal in den falschen eingestiegen (mit ganz vielen anderen, die auch dachten, das das der zug nach Mailand wäre).Read more

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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Varenna

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