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Holiday in holiday apartments, holiday houses and hotels on Lake
Como
Lake Como - piece of jewellery in Upper
Italy - book your holiday house online
Lake Como (Lago di Como or Lario) is one of the most beautiful
Upper Italian lakes and enjoys great popularity with holidaymakers.
The Romans used to call the Alpine lake Lacus Larius, therefore even
today the locals call the lake Lario.
The lake is situated in the scenic Lombardy and the third largest lake
in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. This remarkable lake is
embedded between the foothills of the Alps and the Po Valley in the
south and surrounded by wonderful tributary valleys. Moreover it is in
direct neighbourhood of Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore.
It lies in a glacier tongue basin of the former Adda glacier, which
branched off into the arms of Como and Lecce, wherefrom the lake has
its remarkable shape like the letter “Y”.
The lake is subdivided into four sections, Alto Lario in the north,
Centro Lario in the middle, Lecco in the southeast and Como in the
southwest. In the Alto Lario area you find the most scenic beauties
and numerous cultural objects of interest.
Lake Como is fed by the Adda River, which enters the lake near Colico
and flows out again at Lecco. Since the climate is very mild here,
Lake Como is a popular holiday place and along its shores you find
profuse vegetation, many beautiful parks, health resorts and bathing
places.
Holiday apartments and holiday houses at the
Lake Como:
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There are numerous sport possibilities, here you can practice water
sports, hiking, mountain biking, you can go for a walk along the
lakeshore, play golf and much more. However, you also can spend a
relaxing time and enjoy a quiet holiday.
The beauty and the very special charm of this landscape bewitch the
visitors already for some centuries, therefore numerous beautiful
buildings, parks and gardens have been developed along the lake. Also
the different museums attract tourists from all over the world.
On the west side of the lake lies the famous Sacro Monte di Ossuccio,
the holy mountain with its path flanked by several chapels
(Kapellenweg), which was inscribed on the list of the UNESCO World
Heritage. Already in times of the Etruscans and Ligurians the lake was
very popular and also Greeks and Romans felt attracted by this scenic
beauty. Also Virgil praised the beauty of this lake, which was an
extremely frequented trade route at the time of the Romans.
Facts
Lake Como is the deepest lake in all of Europe, in some places as deep
as 425 meters. The lake is 55 kilometres long and 4.5 kilometres wide
at the widest point. The lake covers a water area of approximately 146
km², making it the third largest lake in Italy. With 170 kilometres it
has the longest shoreline of the three lakes. Lake Como lies
beautifully embedded between high mountains. The highest mountain on
Lake Como is the Monte Legnone, which rises up to 2609 meters.
Find on the following pages the suitable holiday apartments, holiday
houses or hotels for your holiday on Lake Como in Italy.
Landscape
The lake forms a harmonious unit with the mountains surrounding it.
You can find here the most diverse landscape types on a relatively
small area.
The impressive, up to 2000 meters high mountains protect the lake
against cold winds and therefore the vegetation on the shores is
marvellously profuse. Above Colico impresses the Monte Legnone with a
height of 2609 meters. It lies embedded into the Bergamask Alps, which
is a mountain range of the Southern Alps. The difference in height
between Monte Legnone and the deepest point of the lake amounts to
impressing 3 kilometres.
The places on Lake Como and in the surrounding area
Around Lake Como there are numerous beautiful places, of which
everyone has its completely special charm. The north side of the lake
is favoured by sportsmen, as there are markedly good wind conditions.
In Gera Lario, Colico and Domaso you find beautiful flat beaches,
which are well suitable for a holiday with the whole family. In the
east and the west of the lake the two famous silk cities of Lecco and
Como attract their visitors. Here you can wonderfully ramble about the
city and view the pretty houses and shops or stop by in one of the
many inviting street cafes and restaurants.
At the level of the middle part of the lake lie the charming towns of
Menaggio, Bellano, Lierna, Varenna and Bellagio. They invite to be
explored without ruffle and excitement.
Also in the surrounding area of Lake Como there are very beautiful and
interesting cities, which you can explore usually on a day trip. The
certainly most interesting city in Lombardy, Milan, is an absolute
must for each holidaymaker of this region. Besides an active fashion
scene with elegant boutiques and pretty designer shops you find here
numerous objects of interest. Other Lombard cities worth seeing are
Bergamo, Brescia, Mantua, Lodi, Cremona and Sabbioneta, as they
accommodate innumerable valuable art treasures.
Places on the southern shore of Lake Como (from west to east)
Como
Blevio
Torno
Faggeto Lario
Pognana Lario
Nesso
Lezzeno
Bellagio
Malgrate
Lecco
Places on the eastern shore of Lake Como (from south to north)
Lecco
Varenna
Bellano
Colico
Places on the western shore of Lake Como (from south to north)
Como
Cernobbio
Moltrasio
Laglio
Brienno
Argegno
Ossuccio
Lenno
Mezzegra
Tremezzo
Cadenabbia
Menaggio
Dongo
Gravedona
Domaso
Gera Lario
Arrival
Who travels by car travelling from Switzerland, should take the route
via St. Moritz and Chiavenna. Arriving from Milan you can drive on the
motorway approach road to Como and Lecco. Along the eastern shore of
the lake runs the well build road SS36.
Who travels by train can take the Gotthard line from Switzerland and
from Milan there are several train connections to Como. From Germany
you there is the overnight train, which runs directly to Como San
Giovanni.
The next airports are in Milan and in Bergamo. Shuttle services are
offered to Lake Como.
Between most of the larger places on Lake Come exist connections with
ferries and hydrofoils. Car ferries operate between Varenna, Bellagio,
Cadenabbia and Menaggio.
Sport possibilities on Lake Como
Who loves fresh air and movement will get his money’s worth on Lake
Como. There are innumerable interesting possibilities, both on water
and on land.
In and on the lake you can go besides swimming and diving also
surfing, sailing, canoeing water skiing and kitesurfing. All around
the lake you find all necessary equipment to rent as well as training
schools. Especially in the north there are north and south winds in
the afternoon, which let the heart of each surfer leap for joy.
Sportfishers can make spectacular catches from the boat and in the
evening eat with relish the self-caught delicacies.
For those who prefer onshore activities can do this on the back of a
horse or choose even the more modern variant and use the mountain
bike. Bikers and hikers find marvellous routes in the surrounding area
of the lake, partly steep, partly flat, according to one’s own taste
and condition. Adventurous people can have a try at climbing or take
off with a paraglider.
Who likes to be comfortably under way by bike should make excursions
into the Valtellina and follow the course of the Adda River.
If you want to spend your holiday even more quietly, you find on two
well-maintained golf courses near Menaggio and Montofarno a wonderful
18-hole challenge.
For those who want to spend a relaxed and restful time in between can
do this on one of the sunny beaches around the lake.
Find here your holiday house/holiday apartment on Lake Como
Worth knowing around Lake Como
VIP’s
Also the VIP’s love Lake Como. After George Clooney shot the scenes of
the film „Ocean's Twelve“ in his villa on Lake Como, the lake became
very popular also with many other prominent figures. Each year George
Clooney stays at his villa at the entrance to the town of Laglio for
several months. When he shot the film „Ocean's Twelve“, the villa
served as refuge for the gangsters. Since Laglio has accommodated lots
of famous people in this time, as for instance Brad Pitt, this little
town with its only 900 local inhabitants was turned upside down.
Since that time the demand for exclusive villas is large and the real
estate prices on the lake have exploded.
The Isola Comacina – legendary island in Lake Como
The only island in Lake Como is the Isola Comacina. It lies not far
away from the village of Ossuccio and you can see already from a
distance the pretty white church San Giovanni. Furthermore, the
remnants of a large Basilica from the 10th century, which became
destroyed in 12th century, are here located.
The history of this small island is very varied and adventurous: In
the year 569 the rich from Como and the towns of the surrounding area
took refuge at the island, as gangs of Burgundians and Normans
threatened South Italy. They built houses, churches and fortresses on
the island and offered resistance to the invaders.
Many years later, in the year 1118, a war began between Milan and
Como. The Isola Comacina allied with Milan and together they won the
war ten years later. However after some time Como recovered from the
defeat and in the year 1169 the island was attacked under Emperor
Barbarossa (Kaiser Rotbart) and the buildings were completely
destroyed. Emperor Barbarossa interdicted each reconstruction and
accursed the island: „It will never ring the bells anymore, nobody
will ever put a stone on another, nobody will be landlord here under
the punishment of a painful death “. Afterwards the island was
uninhabited for a long time.
Today the island is a centre for the culture on Lake Como. Pretty
small villas were built, in which artists live and work.
There is a well-known restaurant located on the island, the La Locanda
dell'isola Comacina, where after each meal a ceremony takes place in
order to avert Barbarossa’s terrible curse.
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