My husband and I booked a last minute trip to Italy in April 2014. We landed in Milan and traveled to the Cinque Terre. After spending a few days there, we headed for Lake Como.

Check out my Milan blog post to read about Day 1 of our trip! To read about the Cinque Terre (Days 2-4) check out this blog entry.

Day 4: Varenna – Lake Como

We woke up early and took the train from Riomaggiore to Monterosso to Milan to Varenna. It sounds a lot worse than it was but it wasn’t. The first leg of the train took 5 minutes.  It’s an hour from Milan to Varenna. We booked our tickets online from Trenitalia. You can get one ways for 9€ a person. You don’t have to book in advance but you may save money on tickets. Be sure to review all the details and dates before hitting submit.

We stayed at the Hotel Beretta. It was 75€. There was nothing great about the hotel besides the location. The room was extremely basic as was the breakfast. No one was really welcoming or rude. To them, we were just paying customers. We paid, they gave us the key and that was that. I don’t need pomp and circumstance at a hotel but it just didn’t feel welcoming.

We walked around town and had a delicious lunch on the water.

We then toured Villa Monastero. It was pretty.

Day 5,6 : Bellagio – Lake Como

We woke up the next morning and took the ferry to Bellagio.

We stayed at the Hotel Suisse which I LOVED. My husband and I stayed here for two nights and had a wonderful time. We got a lake view room and you really need to splurge and get one when staying here. We ate at the restaurant twice for dinner and both times were superb. The owners are very friendly as well as their staff. The free breakfast was standard croissants with meats and coffee. It was perfect all around and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.

Here is a view from our room. It was 150€ a night.

I loved this bakery!

I practically had one of each.

If you get the opportunity to visit both the Cinque Terre and/or Lake Como please go for it! You will not be disappointed. Every day, I look at pictures to remind myself of this incredible experience.