Lombardia · Como
Bellagio
On the promontory where Lake Como splits into three arms, with Villa Serbelloni on the high ground and Villa Melzi on the western shore.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 16 min from Milan
- Population
- 3,554
- J10°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J25°
- J28°
- A28°
- S23°
- O19°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Bellagio sits on the promontory that divides Lake Como into its three arms, the Como branch to the west and the Lecco branch to the east, with the upper lake running north. Paleolithic settlement traces date back 30,000 years, and an Iron Age castellum may have stood on the high point between the seventh and fifth centuries BC. From the late 13th century the Visconti incorporated Bellagio into the Duchy of Milan.
Villa Serbelloni was built in the 15th century on the site of an old razed castle and rebuilt several times; in 1788 Alessandro Serbelloni filled it with 17th- and 18th-century art, and in 1959 the Rockefeller Foundation took ownership, turning the villa into an international conference center. Villa Melzi, built on the western shore by Francesco Melzi d'Eril (Vice President of Napoleon's Italian Republic), made the village a fashionable summer station for Milanese nobility in the early 1800s.
How to get there
From Milan Bergamo (BGY), about 1 h 24 min by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 2 h 31 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 1 h 51 min or Parma 2 h 26 min.
Coming by train into Monza? Bellagio is about 57 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Milan Bergamo airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Villa Serbelloni
Fifteenth-century villa on the high promontory, owned by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, with gardens open by guided tour only.
Villa Melzi
Early 19th-century neoclassical villa built by Francesco Melzi d'Eril on the western shore at Loppia, with public botanical gardens along the lake.
Punta Spartivento
Northern tip of the promontory where the lake splits in three, with a park, marina, and panoramic view up the Bellagio branch.
Salita Serbelloni
Steep stone staircase climbing from the ferry pier into the old village, lined with shops, small piazzas, and the original lakefront houses.
Basilica di San Giacomo
Eleventh-to-twelfth-century Romanesque basilica in the historic center, with sober stone façade and an ambo carved with the symbols of the four evangelists.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
MistralRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (88/100) for Mistral, along with a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Alle Darsene di LoppiaRistorante
A Gambero Rosso listing, at Alle Darsene di Loppia.
La PuntaRistorante
La Punta has one Gambero Rosso fork (75/100) to its name.
1 more place the guides name in Bellagio
Grand Hotel Villa SerbelloniHotel
Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni has a La Liste score of 92, a place on Italy's historic-locali register and a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Bellagio is at the end of the road.
- A village of 3,554. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Canzo, is 23 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Lecco, a city of 47,233, is 36 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 3,554, down 6.3% since 2015
- Nearest city Lecco, 36 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Menaggio, 4 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,350 to €2,000 per m² to buy, €5.80 to €8.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 93% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Milan Linate airport (LIN), 1 h 17 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Milan, 1 h 16 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
8% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Peru, against 9% across Italy. 35 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, the United States and France. There are 319 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 61% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Como province ranks 25th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Menaggio, 4 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Lecco, 19 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Gravedona ed Uniti, 19 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Como, 31 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is English Gate School, 29 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.98% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds nothing to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lombardia spends about €2,410 a month, €510 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €415 a year for water, on the Lombardia average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 3% in a high or medium one. 4% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
VILLA SERBELLONI
Fifteenth-century Rockefeller-owned villa on the high promontory, gardens reachable only by guided tour twice a day.
THE FORK
Promontory where the Como, Lecco, and upper lake branches meet, with ferries fanning out to Varenna and Menaggio across the water.
VILLA MELZI
Napoleonic-era villa with public botanical gardens along the western shore, planted with cypresses, camellias, and rhododendrons.
Common questions
- What is Bellagio known for?
- On the promontory where Lake Como splits into three arms, with Villa Serbelloni on the high ground and Villa Melzi on the western shore.
- Where is Bellagio?
- Bellagio is a comune in the province of Como, in Lombardia, at 229 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Bellagio?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Linate (LIN), about 1 h 17 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Brescia to Bellagio?
- About 1 h 51 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Bellagio?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 19 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Bellagio?
- Menaggio, Tremezzina and Angera.
- How many people live in Bellagio?
- 3,554 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Bellagio a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Bellagio is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Canzo, is 23 min away. The nearest city, Lecco, is 36 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Menaggio, 4 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 93% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 229 m
- Population: 3,554
- Surface area: 29.06 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Bellagio appears in
- The best small lake towns that eat well in LombardiaLombardialakeeats wellsmall6 towns · smallest 666 residents
- The 8 best lake towns within 90 minutes of MonzaNear Monzalakewithin 90 min8 towns · smallest 666 residents · closest 55 min away
- The 8 best lake towns worth staying overnight in LombardiaLombardialakeworth staying overnight8 towns · smallest 1,041 residents
- The 8 best small towns worth staying overnight in LombardiaLombardiaworth staying overnightsmall8 towns · smallest 1,041 residents
- The best small towns with a serious restaurant in LombardiaLombardiaserious restaurantsmall10 towns · smallest 507 residents
- The best towns worth staying overnight that eat well in LombardiaLombardiaeats wellworth staying overnight10 towns · smallest 1,041 residents
Similar
Towns like Bellagio
What all six share with Bellagio: lake towns · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · hill towns
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