"Idyllic Lake Como" a Como Travel Page by AnnS

I had wanted to visit the Italian Lakes for a long, long time but had never liked the look of the package holidays on offer. So when I became an "independent traveller", Lake Como was at the top of my list. All the guidebooks recommend staying in places like Bellagio and Menaggio and some wrote of Como town as a place of no real interest. However, I wanted a base that had good tranport links so I decided to stay there... and I really don't agree with the books. I found it to be a delightful town and as I'd hoped, an excellent starting point for trips around the region. I got a very cheap flight to Milan Linate Airport, a bus from there to Milan Central Railway Station, then a train direct to Como.

Como, on the south-west 'leg' of Lake Como and very close to the Swiss border, has been an important town since Roman times as a main route from the Alps to Rome. The Roman city walls can still be seen around the historic centre. Como has also long been a centre for silk production and today still produces 78% of all silk produced in Europe.

I chose October for my trip, knowing I was risking less than perfect weather but I wanted to take photographs without hoards of tourists getting in the way. And what an excellent plan it turned out to be. The region had a few unseasonal hot and sunny days which lasted just for the length of my stay and for most of the time, I felt like I was the only tourist there.

I took boats to other places on the lake, went to Milan for the day by train and had some wonderful walks around Como itself. It was the perfect trip and the area was even more beautiful than I'd expected so I got the set of photos I'd hoped for.

Lake Como is the deepest lake in Europe and the third largest in Italy, after Garda and Maggiore. It's shaped like an inverted 'Y' and 46km long. There are beautiful little towns along the shores and the countryside includes high mountains and hills and valleys which are perfect for walkers.

The climate is mild and humid and that's what makes the area so lush and packed with wonderful trees, plants and flowers. The gardens of Lake Como are world famous and can be visited from April to October.