Things to Do in Como in Winter (Lake Como Off-Season)

The Christmas market and festive lights

From late November, Como puts on its festive coat. The historic centre fills with wooden chalets, the smell of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts, garlands strung between the palazzi, and light installations that mirror on the water. The mood is intimate — a real city rather than a postcard: you drift between the stalls, warm your hands around a cup, and pick out a small, handmade gift. Winter evenings, with a light mist over the lake and the shop windows glowing, hold a magic that summer simply doesn’t.

We won’t list exact market dates and hours because they change every year: it’s always worth checking the current festive programme before you travel. What doesn’t change is the slow, welcoming rhythm of these weeks — perfect for a weekend escape.

The quiet lakefront and crowd-free views

In winter, Como’s lakefront is a different thing entirely. No queues at the landing stages, no packed terraces — just the water, the often snow-dusted mountains behind it, and a low golden light that photographers love. It’s the ideal season to stroll unhurried from Piazza Cavour toward the war memorial and the lakeside gardens, or to climb — when the sky is clear — to the viewpoints above the city.

The villas and lakeside villages have a different charm off-season too: hushed, stripped back, authentic. Some gardens and attractions reduce their hours or close in the coldest months, so it always pays to check what’s open first. But the reward is real: seeing Como and its lake the way the people who live here do, without the high-season crowds. To get your bearings across everything the city offers, start with our guide to things to do in Como.

Museums and culture indoors

When the cold bites or the sky turns grey, Como plays its cards indoors. The centre packs civic museums of history and archaeology, spaces devoted to science and to the city’s famous silk tradition, frescoed palazzi and churches to explore slowly — all into a few blocks. They make perfect winter mornings: you stay under cover, walk little and learn a lot.

For a whole day under cover, take a look at our guide to indoor things to do in Como; and if it really pours, our rainy day in Como guide lines up the best ideas, from a historic café to a glass of local wine.

Winter flavours: what truly warms you up

Winter is also the most delicious season. This is the time of soups, polenta, alpine cheeses, chestnuts and the region’s red wines — robust flavours that ask to be tasted slowly, at a trattoria table or at the counter of a warm wine bar. A thick hot chocolate in a historic café, a steaming plate at lunch, a glass in the evening: the taste of Como in winter is made of things that warm you from the inside.

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The warm heart of winter: at the stove with us

If one thing makes a winter day in Como complete, it’s coming back into the warmth and getting your hands in the dough. Three hours in our kitchen in the historic centre are the ideal antidote to the cold: you learn to roll pasta by hand with our resident chef, trained at the Accademia della Sfoglia of Rina Poletti; you learn to build your own spritz — Aperol or Campari — to drink as aperitivo; and you finish with gelato topped with Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena DOP, fresh and surprising even in winter. It’s sociable, warm and unforgettable — and just steps from the market and the lakefront. It’s also, not by chance, one of the best Christmas gifts you can give someone you love: an experience, not an object. Once you’ve picked your date, book a class and leave the rest to us.