Lake Como has one very well known resident and almost every travel guide you read mentions that George Clooney has a house in Bellagio. In fact the first restaurant we visited even had a  mini shrine to George, with pictures of him and his house in a cabinet!  Unfortunately, although we spotted the house, we didn’t get to meet the man himself, but that didn’t stop us from having a good time in Como.

The town of Como is at the base of Lake Como, Italy, and easily reached via train from Milan.  It’s a small town – easy to walk around in a day with a beautiful cathedral, and many quaint streets.

The highlight of Como though is getting out on the water and visiting the many little towns dotted around the lake.  We caught the slow ferry up to Bellagio, which takes just over 2 hours and stops at close to 20 little towns on the way.

Bellagio is the most touristy and busy of the lakeside villages, but still very pretty.  Loads of restaurants dot the waterfront, but the alleyways leading up the hill house more authentic restaurants and little shops.

An easy walk along the waterfront from Como takes you to the Funicular, the easiest way to get up the hill to the town of Brunate.  There’s not a lot there aside from tourist shops, but there is a walk another 1.5KM up the hill to the light-house for a stunning view.

On our final day we visited the small village of Lenno – hoping to see inside the Villa del Balbianello, a stunning house that featured in Casino Royale.   Unfortunately, the villa wasn’t open the day we went – so we meandered through the little town instead.