Travel guide · Como · Lake Como
Things to Do in Como and Lake Como
Como is a small, walkable town, but the lake is the real star. The best day mixes a little old town, a ferry to a village, and one thing you actually do with your hands. This is our local guide: pick how much time you have, hop a ferry, eat like a resident — and, for a keepsake to take home, roll fresh pasta a 10-minute walk from the centre.
Plan by how long you have
However long you stay, build the day around the lake and add one thing you actually do with your hands.
Out on the lake
The lake is the star — hop a ferry to the villages, the gardens and the villas.
Explore Como town
A compact, walkable old town with a marble cathedral and centuries of silk history.
Eat & drink like a local
From the market stalls to the aperitivo hour — and the dish you cook yourself.
Find your kind of day
Raining? Travelling as a couple? Here with the kids? Start here.
By season
The lake changes with the calendar — gardens in spring, swims in summer, quiet in autumn.
The one hands-on thing we recommend
Of all the things to do in Como, one stays with you: making fresh pasta with your own hands. At Mani in Pasta, in a small group (up to 12 guests) a 10-minute walk from the centre, you knead the panetto, roll the sfoglia with a wooden pin, build your own spritz as an aperitivo, then sit down to eat what you cooked, with wine and gelato. Our resident chef trained at Rina Poletti’s Accademia della Sfoglia. €150 per person · about 3 hours · in English and French · no upfront payment.
Book a class Our StoryComo travel: quick answers
What are the best things to do in Como?
Spend the morning in the walkable old town around the marble Cathedral, ride the Brunate funicular for the view, take a ferry to Bellagio or Varenna, and break the sightseeing with one hands-on experience — a small-group pasta cooking class a 10-minute walk from the centre, where you roll fresh pasta by hand and eat what you make.
What is there to do in Como when it rains?
Como is easy on a rainy day: the Cathedral and the historic cafés, the Silk Museum and the Tempio Voltiano, and an indoor 3-hour cooking class that runs rain or shine. See our guide to a rainy day in Como.
What can you do in Como in one day?
In one day you can walk the old town and lakefront, ride the Brunate funicular, have an aperitivo by the water, and join an evening pasta class. Our one-day-in-Como guide lays out a relaxed route.
Is Como worth visiting?
Yes — Como pairs a handsome lakeside old town with quick ferry access to Bellagio, Varenna and the villas, plus genuine local food. It makes an easy day trip from Milan (about 40 minutes by train) or a relaxed base for several days.
More practical detail is on our cooking class questions page and in the Journal.