[Updated July 2025]
At the end of your slow-boat ride on Lake Como is your destination: Bella Bellagio.
Beautiful, lush, lakeside Bellagio
“One of the things that makes Bellagio so unique are its ‘streets’. These are no ordinary streets, as no autos can travel them”
The setting for Bellagio is unique, as it sits at the end of a spit of land which juts out into Lake Como, or Lago di Como. This location actually adds a good bit to its charm, as there is no through traffic to clutter up your visit...one has to either intentionally be driving to Bellagio, or one must be lost.
Getting There
To learn more about how to get to Bellagio, see my article from last week, appropriately titled, "Getting There: Bellagio".
Here you can see a passenger 'slow boat' that I so espouse as it arrives at Bellagio.
One of the 'slow boats' that ply the waters of Lago di Como
Ah, the destination has been reached...we are now in Bellagio.
The 'Streets' of Bellagio
One of the things that makes Bellagio so unique are its shopping 'streets'. These are no ordinary streets, as no autos can travel them. There are about a half-dozen of these ally-like streets that go from the lower, lakeside, outbound roadway of Bellagio, to the upper, inbound roadway.
In this photo is the lakeside portion of the auto roadway that leads out of town. The roadway makes a bit of a jog to the left at the Hotel Metropole, our hotel for this stay.
The roadway headed through, and then away, from Bellagio. The pink hotel in the distance is the Metropole
And here is the upper roadway...yes, that's actually the road coming into Bellagio, and we are driving it in a car that we rented for a day (see more in the article 'Stumbling Upon Something Magnificent').
And here is the lower roadway which leads away from the center of Bellagio…yes, this is indeed the roadway.
In between these two portions of auto road are the pedestrian shopping streets, as you can see below. These streets echo the difference in elevation between the lower and upper roadways.
Be sure to wear your comfortable shoes…ones that will be appropriate for walking on cobbled walkways, as seen below.
Shopping Bellagio
The Como area was once the silk capital of Europe. Mulberry trees kept the silkworms happily making silk, and the Italians were happily making silk cloth. Though this industry has all but vanished, there are still many items made of silk available in Bellagio.
Here we see some of the silk and its shoppers.
A tradition of days gone by was for young women to wear a bridal headdress made of intricately design hair pins -- I'm sure there is a more appropriate name for them, but that's how I know them. Just below is one of those hair adornments.
Today, these head pieces have been disassembled into its individual parts and they are available for purchase. Here you see Ellen and Debbie as they consider their purchase of serving pieces that have been fashioned from these pieces.
In the market for Italian-made shoes or shirts? You are in luck!
Here are a few more photos that show you other things that are available for your shopping pleasure.
Food!
I always try to include photos of food from any place that we visit...this is important, don't you think? Here are a few selections from a number of restaurants we have visited on our trips to Bellagio.
And there are some beautiful settings for partaking of food. We especially like the lakeside setting of the first photo, which is the al fresco dining for the Hotel Florence. And both of the ladies in our group thought that our waiter made the setting more attractive, too.
Hotels
Here are the three hotels in Bellagio that I recommend. This photo gives you an excellent feel for their location and the size of the main part of town.
Hotel Metropole
Our hotel on one trip, the Albergo Metropole, sits in a perfect location in town. We had a room with balcony overlooking the lake. This hotel is being remodeled at the time of this writing.
Here is the link to the Hotel Albergo Metropole, which indicates that it should open in 2026.
Centrally located Albergo Metropole
Our lakefront rooms were superb. You can see the ferry dock in the photo with Scott and Debbie, and across the lake to Menaggio in the photo with Ellen and me.
And the view at sunset left nothing to be desired. Here is an evening ferry from Menaggio nearing the Bellagio ferry dock.
Evening view from our room at the Metropole
GRAND HOTEL VILLA SERBELLONI
On a previous trip we stayed at the five-star Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni. The guest register for this palace of a hotel is chock-a-block full of names of the past that you would recognize -- including yours truly, of course.
Here, you can see the layout of the GHVS, with the main portion of Bellagio being to the right. We swam in the pool -- brrrrr -- and actually found a dip in the lake from that pier to be a bit warmer! The Mistral Restaurant sits dead center within the pink awning. This is THE PLACE to eat in Bellagio for fine dining.
Have you ever eaten in a more opulent breakfast room?
The breakfast room
Lunch on the terrace is exquisite.
Below is one of our dinners in the dining room at Mistral Restaurant.
Here is the link for the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni.
HOTEL FLORENCE
The Hotel Florence would be my economical hotel choice today. It is well located across the street from the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni. My great friends, the Masters, stayed at the Hotel Florence and highly recommend it.
Between the Hotel Florence and the Metropole is the Hotel Suisse. Although I found the restaurant there to be good, I cannot recommend this hotel…it seems to be a ground floor restaurant with an afterthought of rooms on the upper floors.
Here is your link to the Hotel Florence of Bellagio.
Sights of Bellagio
It is interesting to note that, though Bellagio sits at the base of the alps, it is in a sub-tropical climate. You will find several palm trees, like this one, scattered around.
Below are several photos of Bellagio and its environs. Here you will see the view of the lake and beyond from Bellagio, the beautiful flowers, buildings, etc. Enjoy.
And here is an interesting view of a Pringles dispenser! Have you ever seen one of these? But what a great idea for those emergencies when you feel you need something lite and a bit salty.
Here is a photo that just about sums it all up for us...
And now, it’s time to say “good night”.
Want to make a trip to Bellagio? Drop me a line and I'll be happy to give you some more tips!
Ciao for now,
Steve