How to Live Lake Como Like a Local: Elisa's 10 Tips

We’ve already said in our interview to Lakeside Managing Director Sara that the lake we prefer is actually quite far from the one on the touristic routes: it’s the one you can glimpse in the eyes of those who are born here, like us.

That’s why we decided to give you a portrait of “our” lake through our tips, memories, and confessions: we do hope this will let you fall in love once again with new, unexpected sides of the paradise we live in.

Today we continue our tit for tat with another member of our team, Elisa, our Rentals Consultant. Continue reading if you’re curious to learn something new about Lake Como!

Elisa, our Rentals Consultant, in one of her typical contemplative moments in front of Lake Como

What’s your favorite village of the lake?

I know it may sound predictable as it’s my place of birth, but I do love Acquaseria, one of the 19 hamlets of the municipality of San Siro. The thing is that I have so many sweet memories in every single corner of this village: the beach where I used to collect stones with my father and my sister when I was a child, the river near the woodland where I used to dive in summer, the old wash house near the charming S. Abbondio Church where I used to stroll with my grandma, the club of my first nights out when I was a teen… I could go on forever. Acquaseria has really its own beautiful flair that it’s humble and not immediate: it asks you to be discovered little by little, with no rush.

The public beach in Acquaseria (San Siro)

Your number 1 restaurant or club?

I have two answers I really can’t decide between. One is La P'Osteria in Argegno: it’s a stylish restaurant with a stunning stone vault that makes it look like an old cellar. All dishes are excellent and prices very good! The other one is Caffè Colombo, still in Argegno: the staff is just adorable and the happy hours are in my view the best I ever tried on the whole lake. Also, they often organize theme nights with live music. The piazza wouldn’t be so vibrant without this club!

What about your I-can’t-live-without special dish of the lake?

Undoubtedly rice with perch, the king dish our laghée table!

Is there a season at Lake Como you particularly LOVE?

I like spring so much: the sun makes me happy. I like spending my lunch break at the beach with a good book! Spring at Lake Como also means camellias all around, clear days, and happy tourists wandering around: the vibrant vibe you can feel is so contagious!

A song you link to Lake Como?

For me the official soundtrack of Lake Como is “Akuaduulza” (literally “freshwater”, in local dialect) by Davide Van De Sfroos, the well-known songwriter born in Tremezzina. It’s a bittersweet song steeped in melancholy. Basically it tells that the lake is always there to wait and forgive those who have gone far away from it looking for something else; the water of the lake is somehow a rebel, as no one and nothing - neither the wind, nor a war, nor a storm - is able to really disturb its surface permanently. My favorite sentence says pretty much this: “Freshwater, I have so much of you filling my eyes”.

3 places/things to do at Lake Como you absolutely recommend?

Greenway for sure, as it’s one of the best way to discover with an easy stroll the multifaceted identity of our lake (the villas, the gardens, the hidden beaches, the terraced lands with olive trees etc.). Then I would say the excursion to San Martino Church in Griante: you’ll be surprised to see how this little church looks incredibly nestled among the rocks overlooking the lake (I can grant you’ll shot like hundreds of pics). Last, Villa del Balbianello: you can’t visit the lake without dropping by this unique gem! If you have the chance, book a boat tour and make sure to pass near it to admire this villa directly from the water!

Your “place of the heart”?

San Domenico Chapel in Breglia, Plesio. I love sitting on the rock and admire the beauty of the lake in silence. From above, everything looks so incredibly calm and immaculate.

the best villa of the lake?

I’m a fan of Villa Monastero in Varenna: its waterfront huge terraced garden is just breathtaking. I don’t think there’s something similar in the whole area.

What’s your favorite local event?

I love the Città dei Balocchi festival in Como, during Christmas weeks: all those lights excite me like if I were still a child!

An adjective, a scent or a sound that for you best represent Lake Como?

As far as the adjective is concerned, I’d say “magical”, because a place with so many shimmering colors can’t be defined otherwise. For me Lake Como is simply the sound of the waves crashing on the boats near the shore. It’s like the voice of the water, busy in a romantic dialogue with the dry land.

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