Lake Como

The third and final leg of this trip was on a train going north from Milan to the city of Lecco.

Lecco is one of many towns and cities located on the shores of the famous lake Como. Being so far north and close to the Alps makes weather unpredictable. When we got off the train it was drizzly and misty, visibility was poor and my jumper was definitely needed. This stayed pretty consistent throughout the few days we were there, unfortunately ruining the quality of our photos. Aside from this, Lecco was a nice place to stay, with plenty of picturesque walks, shops and restaurants, and provided opportunities for some fantastic day trips further along the lake.

The first day trip was a short train journey north to Varenna, where we used the ferry service to Bellagio in the middle of the lake. There isn't a lot going on here in all honesty, but it does offer some nice views of up the lake, and during sunny weather you may feel like your somewhere on the Mediterranean, and not 10 miles east of the Swiss border. There are some nice shops and traditional Italian cafe's on the shores here also.

After one day staying in Lecco, our final full day of the holiday featured another train journey- this time west to Como where the lake ends. Both of these journeys were very scenic at times, so make sure to properly take it in. Once again it was a very misty day and views were not as good as they could have been. Como offers some potentially great walks along the lake, where you can find boats, sea planes, and multiple villas built by the water. Walk round to the eastern shores of the lake and you'll come across the main tourist part where you can find restaurants and boat hires. Hidden within the very Italian buildings you will eventually find the funicular railway which takes you high up the onlooking mountain, whilst providing wonderful views of the city below. Even further up this mountain is Faro Voltiano, a climbable lighthouse with panoramic views of lake Como and the Alps. To get here you either walk up a very steep hill for a couple of miles- or just get the bus. Views from up here are very weather dependent, and we were ultimately in the clouds and couldn't see much at all.

And that concludes lake Como, and concludes our trip to Italy as a whole. It definitely had its high and low points but overall a great experience.