A Tour of Italy’s Lake Como Region – Milan to Como

Italy’s Lake District, in the North of the country, has some of its most beautiful scenery, and the region is an extremely popular tourist destination. The three largest and most famous lakes in the region are Lake Como, Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore.

Lake Como is situated in the Lombardy region of Italy and its southern shores are about 50km from the city of Milan. There are many picturesque towns and villages located near the lake, making it a great place to explore.  In this article, the first of a series of posts about touring the Lake Como area, we will be looking at how to get to Lake Como.

One of the easiest ways to reach Lake Como is to fly to Milan’s Malpensa International Airport and then drive to the lake. You can hire a car at the airport and travelling in this way will allow you to plan your own itinerary without needing to rely on public transport.

Before driving to Lake Como, you may want to spend a few days exploring Milan. The city is well-known as one of the world’s fashion capitals, so it’s packed with designer stores, particularly in the Quadrilatero d’Oro area. You can also visit the stunning Duomo (Milan’s Cathedral), the world-famous Teatro Alla Scala Opera House, or some of the many galleries and museums.

Once you have explored Milan, jump in your hire car and head north on the take the A8 partial toll road.  Take the exit for the A9/Como/Chiasso to get onto the E35 partial toll road and follow this for 22.8km. This will take you to the town of Como, which lies at the southern end of the western “leg” of Lake Como, and is the perfect place from which to start your tour of the lake. It will take you about 40 minutes to drive from the airport to Como in your hire car.

In the next post in the series, we will take a look at some of the attractions that Como has to offer.

Tags: car hire, car rental, Como, Italy, Lake Como, Milan, travel