November 2017 (by YK)
I was driving. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have been. I had found it a bit odd that no one was recommending it in any of the write-ups that I had come across regarding getting to Varenna. It looked like a nice, simple enough drive along the east coast of Lake Como.
Well, those who knew about this road know what I ran into. That 36km drive on route SP583 from Como to Bellagio was the scariest drive I’ve ever had in my life. Pretty? It could’ve been, but I could not look or feel. The hilly narrow road came with hairpin turns, and it was filled with motorcycles. They were all speeding like crazy. There was no break even to take a breath. My passengers were conspicuously quiet except when they blurted out, “Oh, My God!” every now and then. Maybe it was worse that day because it was some kind of a holiday, but I am not brave enough to go back & try again to find out.
Coming from Stressa area, next time I’d try to take S340 from Como and drive up the west coast of Lake Como to Menaggio then get on the ferry across to Varenna. This may be the better way to get to Bellagio as well.
Once we arrived in Bellagio, a little village packed with big pretty mansions, the ferry port was not hard to find. SP583 pretty much ends where the port is. There were several different lines for the ferries going to different destinations on the lake. We had to get out of the car & look around to make sure we were in the right lane. In November 2017, the ferries heading to Varenna from Bellagio ran every 30 minutes or so, and the cost was reasonable. More information here.
There were plenty of cafes and restaurants around the port area in Bellagio so that we could get drinks and snacks while waiting. Once we arrived in Varenna after a 20-minute boat ride, there was nothing much right by the port area, but Varenna is a small enough town, and you can drive to the center of town in 5-10 minutes from there.
Our Aibnb studio was up the hill, and I mean up and up. When there was a choice, you took the road going up. This meant we were almost next to the castle, Castello di Vezio. There were plenty of signs pointing to the right direction to find it, and the walk in small alleyways in the surrounding area was fun. People climbing up to the castle from the village down below may have a different experience, though. The small cafe by the castle entrance was good for snacks and drinks, and do not miss the falconry show if you go there.
The restaurants in Varenna were all good and not too expensive(under 20 euros for a decent main course). Well, at least the ones we checked out the menu were like that. There is a big parking garage toward the south end of the main drag in town as the road turns east and becomes a highway. Parking fee was reasonable and you can walk 5 minutes to the right as you exit the garage & come to a small plaza across from a church. There are at least a dozen or more eateries in this area. We tried Al Prato down an alleyway from here & loved it. I believe those two plates in the photos above are from there, but I could be wrong. As Pat says, you can’t have a bad meal in Italy. We had to go to Albergo Del Sole (right on the plaza) one night because all others were closed. It was more down-home & quite decent.
We did not have time to do much else since one of our 2 days here was spent doing the Bernina Express train trip. But here’s a suggestion by Lonely Planet.
Small Wide World 