Lake Como, Lake Garda or Lake Maggiore: which Italian lake should you choose?
By Aspen Travel Advisors · Last verified · Counts drawn live from the Virtuoso-sourced atlas
Choose Lake Como for grand villa hotels, steep wooded shores and the deepest choice of top-end rooms. Choose Lake Garda for space, sailing, spa resorts and an easy link to Verona and Venice. Choose Lake Maggiore for gardens, the Borromean Islands and a quieter Belle Époque pace near Malpensa. Base mid-lake on Como, on Garda's western shore, and at Stresa on Maggiore.
Planning this trip? An Aspen advisor will shape it around your dates and price it with Virtuoso VIP benefits included.
You'll hear back within 24 hours.Lake Como is the one most people picture: narrow, deep and shaped like an inverted Y, with mountains dropping straight into the water and old villas along the shore, several of them now hotels. It has the densest concentration of serious luxury hotels of the three, and the summer crowds and prices that come with that. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and really two lakes. The south, around Sirmione and Desenzano, is broad, flat and resort-like. The north, around Limone, Malcesine and Riva del Garda, is narrow and mountainous, with reliable winds that make it a sailing and windsurfing centre. Lake Maggiore is long, partly Swiss at its northern end, and noticeably calmer, known for its gardens and the three Borromean Islands off Stresa.
Where you sleep matters as much as which lake. On Como, base in the central lake, in Bellagio, Varenna, Tremezzina or Menaggio, where the boats tie everything together. Cernobbio and the southern shore put you close to Como town and Milan, at the cost of a longer ride to the middle of the lake. On Garda, the western shore between Salò and Gargnano holds the quieter high-end hotels, and Sirmione is better as a day or a night than a week. On Maggiore, Stresa is the practical base for the islands and the railway, with Verbania and Pallanza a calmer alternative across the gulf.
The three lakes side by side
| Lake Como | Lake Garda | Lake Maggiore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character | Narrow, steep, villas and gardens to the waterline | Wide and resort-like in the south, fjord-like in the north | Long and open, gardens, islands, Belle Époque hotels |
| Regions | Lombardy | Lombardy (west), Veneto (east), Trentino (north tip) | Piedmont (west), Lombardy (east), Switzerland (north) |
| Best bases | Bellagio, Varenna, Tremezzina, Menaggio; Cernobbio for Milan access | Gardone Riviera, Gargnano, Salò; Malcesine or Riva for the mountains | Stresa; Verbania and Pallanza for quiet |
| Nearest airports | Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Bergamo | Verona; Bergamo and Venice are workable | Milan Malpensa, unusually close |
| By train | Milan to Como, or Milan to Varenna | Desenzano and Peschiera, on the Milan to Venice line | Stresa, on the Milan to Domodossola line toward Switzerland |
| Getting around | Boats, mostly; the shore roads are slow | Car, mostly; boats are scenic but slow end to end | Boats for the islands, car for the hills and Lake Orta |
| Best for | Couples, villa gardens, a first lake trip | Families, sport, spa weeks, pairing with Verona or Venice | Garden lovers, repeat visitors, a quieter week |
| Skip if | You dislike crowds in July and August | You want old-world grandeur on every corner | You want nightlife or a scene |
The honest summary: Como is the most beautiful and the most crowded, Garda the most varied and the easiest with children, Maggiore the most restful and the least fashionable. None of them is a mistake, but they suit different trips.
Boats or roads
On Como the boat is the answer. The lake is narrow and the shore roads, especially the western one, are slow, twisting and congested in summer, with little parking in Bellagio or Varenna. On Garda it is the reverse: the lake is too big for boats to be practical end to end, and a car is the realistic way to see both shores. Maggiore sits between the two.
- Como: public ferries link Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio frequently in season, so a mid-lake base needs no car at all. Car ferries cross between those towns and Cadenabbia, and faster hydrofoil services run up from Como town.
- Como: a private boat with a driver, arranged through your hotel, is the most pleasant way to visit villas such as Balbianello and Carlotta, and it avoids the busiest ferry hours.
- Garda: the western shore road runs through a long series of tunnels and is slow in summer. A car ferry between Toscolano-Maderno and Torri del Benaco saves the drive around the southern end.
- Maggiore: public boats and private water taxis leave Stresa for Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori. A car ferry links Intra and Laveno, and in season boats reach the Swiss shore at Locarno and Ascona.
- Arriving: Maggiore and Como are easy from Malpensa by car or train. Garda is better approached from Verona.
When to go
May, June and September are the best months on all three lakes: warm enough to swim from a hotel lido, gardens in good shape, ferries on their full timetable. July and August are hot, humid and busy, with afternoon thunderstorms, and the weeks around Ferragosto on 15 August are the peak of the Italian holiday. April and early May are the time for the azaleas and rhododendrons at Villa Carlotta, Isola Madre and Villa Taranto.
Many of the best-known lake hotels close for winter, typically from around November to March or April, and ferry timetables shrink sharply outside summer, so check opening dates before planning anything at the edges of the season. On Como in June and September the hotels people want fill early and the difference between a true lake-view room and the rest is large; that is the one place where an advisor who knows the room plans changes the result.
Lombardy properties in the atlas, smallest first
Every property the supplier files under Lombardy: 21 in all, 13 of them city hotels. Lombardy covers Lake Como, Garda's western shore and Maggiore's eastern shore, but also Milan, so expect city hotels in the list. Stresa and Maggiore's Piedmont shore, and Garda's Veneto shore, sit outside it. Each links to its own page with the benefits currently on file.
| Property | Where | Rooms | Benefits listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocco Forte House, Via Manzoni, Milano | Milano, Italy | 11 | 4 |
| Casa Cipriani Milano | Milan, Italy | 15 | 4 |
| Passalacqua | Como, Italy | 24 | 4 |
| Il Sereno | Torno, Lake Como, Italy | 40 | 4 |
| L'Albereta | Erbusco, Italy | 53 | 9 |
| Bvlgari Hotel Milano | Milan, Italy | 58 | 4 |
| The Carlton Milano, a Rocco Forte Hotel | Milan, Italy | 71 | 4 |
| Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa | Menaggio, Italy | 73 | 5 |
| Portrait Milano | Milan, Italy | 73 | 4 |
| Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como | Blevio, Italy | 75 | 5 |
| Grand Hotel Tremezzo | Tremezzina - Lake Como, Italy | 78 | 4 |
| Palazzo Cordusio a Gran Melia Hotel | Milan, Italy | 84 | 4 |
| Grand Hotel Fasano | Gardone Riviera, Italy | 86 | 4 |
| Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni | Bellagio, Italy | 94 | 5 |
| Armani Hotel Milano | Milan, Italy | 95 | 5 |
Showing 15 of 21 matching properties in the atlas.
Frequently asked
Can you combine two lakes in one trip?
Como and Maggiore pair easily, since both sit close to Milan and Malpensa, and small, quiet Lake Orta is just west of Maggiore if you want a third. Garda is further east and combines more naturally with Verona and Venice than with the other two lakes.
Do you need a car?
Not on Como if you base in the central lake, where boats do everything better than a car. On Garda, largely yes, because the lake is big and the boats are slow over distance. On Maggiore you can manage the islands from Stresa without one, but a car helps for Lake Orta and the hills.
Which lake is best for families?
Garda, usually. It has more beaches and flat shoreline, sailing and windsurfing in the north, and the Gardaland theme park near the south-eastern shore. Como's steep shores and couple-oriented villa hotels make it a better fit for adults, though it works for older children who enjoy boats.