Once the world started opening back up, my flatmates and I decided to take advantage of the cheap prices and go on a little holiday after our exams were over. We picked Lake Como, specifically the village of Nesso. I didn’t realise it until after the trip, but Nesso is famous from the water because of the Ponte della Civera and the ivy-covered house next to it.
We flew from London Stansted to Milan Bergamo, then got a coach from the airport to Milan central train station, hopped on a train from Milan to Como and then got a bus from Como to Nesso. So it was a pretty long travel day, but the views were amazing and having friends always makes it more fun and less stressful!
On our first evening, we walked down to the Ponte della Civera and had a swim. The water was colder than you’d expect in June but very doable and the views were incredible.
Nesso has all the essentials, but before we got the bus from Como to Nesso, we stopped off at a Carrefour to get some essentials and I was able to find some lactose free products (although do note that cheese is often wrapped in wax which I didn’t realise, so I was grating wax on my pasta for a hot second) and just some other general items. We were staying in an Airbnb (it’s no longer listed unfortunately otherwise I would share the link) and we decided to cook most of our meals to save on cost!
In Nesso there are two greengrocer-type shops, more expensive than a Carrefour, but as you would expect. One is a steep walk up from the main road and the other one is just opposite the pharmacie on the main road, where you can also buy bus tickets. There’s also a bar-tabac (we had a few apérols here), a restaurant and a café that had croissants (I think from frozen but they were still yum) that you could put different fillings in (I went for nutella obviously) and gelato which was really delicious, I got Spaganola and Nocciola. I think there were a few more shops in the village but those are the main ones we went to.
We discovered what was basically a square of concrete called Piazza Vecchia right on the lake in Nesso, so we spend a few of our days lounging there and enjoying the sun and water. It was very quiet, just a few locals with their deck chairs some of the time and the views were breathtaking as usual.
On one of our days, we decided to go to Bellagio since that’s “the place” on Lake Como. We took the ferry there, which I definitely recommend, it’s a cheap way to see Lake Como from a boat, and it took probably around an hour to get from Nesso to Bellagio with various stops along the way. Bellagio was nice but in my opinion a bit overrated. Coming from Nesso where there were basically no tourists, Bellagio was a bit overwhelming. There were lots of nice shops if you’re in the market for some gifts and more choice of restaurants, but everything was quite expensive. I remember I was really craving a cantaloupe melon, so I bought one for €7 I think it was? Complete rip off but it was the one thing I wanted LOL. And then, disaster struck and it somehow fell out of my shopping bag and proceeded to roll all the way down an alley. I was devastated. Some boys started pretending the play football with it when it reached the bottom :'( and a shopkeeper even came out to watch. I obviously still took it back and ate it, but it was pretty bashed up. We also ventured slightly outside of the main part of Bellagio to find a swimming spot called Spiaggia Publicca di Bellagio. Honestly I wouldn’t recommend it unless your dying for a swim. It’s a bit of a walk if you don’t want to pay to go through the gardens of a manor house and it’s not a sandy beach or anything. It’s lots of pebbles, stones and debris from the lake on the shore, but there is a bar. It’s got a nice view but everywhere does on Lake Como! If I went back I would skip Bellagio all together. I would’ve liked to visit Varenna but we didn’t get the chance, so I’d go there instead.
Another thing I want to mention is the public transport, more specifically the buses. Lake Como is really not made for the amount of traffic it gets these days, so the public transport infrastructure isn’t the best. The buses only go every hour, and sometimes they just don’t show up at all. Especially on weekends, they have quite weird times, so be aware! We almost missed our flight home because the bus we planned to get just never showed. In the end we actually had to hitch a ride to Como, but it was very touch and go.
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