5 Romantic Spots On Lake Como You Should Take Your Other Half To
I thought of how many places in the world belong to someone like that. Places that someone has in his blood, and nobody else knows them.
Cesare Pavese
Stendhal in his La Certosa di Parma said that everything on Lake Como speaks of love. So what better place on earth to spend memorable moments with your sweet other half on S. Valentine’s and year round?
In this article we have picked for you 5 special spots around Lake Como: they’re places that for us have a terribly romantic allure. It wasn’t that easy for our team to brainstorm and make a list, browsing the hundreds of charming places we have in our area, BUT we made it. We set one main selection criterion: each spot must be panoramic, quiet (because certain love words often need a proper silence!), and far from the classic touristic routes.
Probably your already know most of these places, or maybe you don’t; in any case, we wish you to create great memories there.
Belvedere di Pigra: a balcony on the lake
Image by Valerio Carletto
As most of you will already know, Pigra is called “the balcony of Lake Como” due to the breathtaking view from its dominant location.
Starting from its famous cableway, take the paved road that leads to the centre of the village and when you reach the roundabout, take the "via alla Villa" on your right. You go down the asphalted stretch to the last house, when you find a detour to the left along the path. It’s really impossible to make a mistake: the route (around 650 meters long) leads directly to the Belvedere.
From the Belvedere you can admire a really spectacular view, stretching from Laglio, Nesso, Argegno, Monte San Primo, Lezzeno, Monte Gordona, Bellagio, Varenna, Grigna, Grignetta, Pizzo dei Tre Signori, Peninsula and Isola Comacina. Not bad at all as a background for your photo together!
Sighignola: the milky way has never been so close
Image by Eugenio Gottifredi
You can’t - seriously, you CAN’T - help swinging by this magical place during your stay at Lake Como. Enjoying the dawn, the sunset, or the starry sky from Sighignola is an emotional experience that you and your love will hardly forget.
It’s not by chance that the surname of this peak (1.320 m) is “balcony of Italy”: from here you have an outstanding view on Lake Lugano, Monte Rosa (4.634 m), Monte Cervino (4.478 m), Gran Paradiso (4.061 m) and Monviso (3.841 m) to name but a few.
All you have to do is to take your car - or, even better, your motorbike - and drive up and up from the centre of the quaint village of Lanzo d’Intelvi, following the signs to Vetta Sighignola. Bring a bottle of wine: you’ll want to make a toast to such a stunning scenario.
Acquafraggia waterfalls: a surreal place where unplugging from reality
Image by Massimo Mazza
Hearing the breath of Acquafraggia waterfalls will immediately transport you and your love into another, incredibly peaceful dimension. Consider that even Leonardo da Vinci was impressed by their grandeur: he described this natural masterpiece in its Atlantic Codex.
We are in Valchiavenna, an hour’s drive from Menaggio.
From the top of the waterfalls you can follow a path equipped with chestnut trees, gorse and rocks. A short detour on your right leads to a romantic terrace, a few meters from the thunderous swirl of the waters. Here you really have the surreal feeling of being "inside" the waterfall itself, with all its powerful splashes of water and fairy-tale light.
San Fedelino: wild beauty, far from everything
There is nothing more fragile than the balance of a beautiful place.
Marguerite Yourcenar
This is a far less popular destination: we are in the northern side of Lake Como, in an isolated corner of pure, wild beauty.
Image by Enrico Minotti
The location has something ancestral and primitive: there’s just a very old Romanesque temple (a real jewel, open from March to October on weekends only), a little pebbled beach, and the emerald green water of Lake Mezzola all around.
You have only two ways to reach this paradisiac corner: you can go on foot, starting from Dascio and following the signs to “San Fedelino” (we recommend this to experienced hikers, as it’s a quite long and demanding path), or you can easily take a little ferry in Novate Mezzola.
Crocetta in Menaggio: take your camera with you!
Image by Beppe Galbiati
The Crocetta is one of the most panoramic spots in the surroundings of Menaggio. We are 500 meters above the lake, and the view on Lecco branch, Orobie, northern/central lake and Valtellina, well, is just stunning.
Monte Crocetta was one of the cardinal points of the complex system of fortifications built for defensive purposes during First World War. This line was called "Advanced Occupation North Frontier", more commonly known as Linea Cadorna.
You can reach this truly special place very easily from Croce hamlet, following the directions to Menaggio-Cadenabbia golf club and the sign “Via per la Crocetta” (Via Pigato).
We’re quite sure that - to paraphrase Orazio (65-27 BC) - this corner of the world will be able to smile at you!
Massive thanks to Barbara for the great picture of the header!
Are you planning a trip to Lake Como for your house hunting and you need helpful tips to get around? Owning a property near the spots described in this article is your dream?