I feel so grateful to continue checking off my bucket list destinations one by one. Just like Iceland, Lake Como has been on my list for a long time! Also, I’ve always been intrigued by the famous Duomo in Florence. So, I finally planned this trip, the second one ever with my mom! The first one was right before the pandemic, when I took her to Spain.
Getting There
We were going for a wedding in the UK and decided to take a trip to Italy from there. What I did was book two separate tickets. I booked a round trip ticket from US to UK. Then, booked a separate roundtrip ticket to Milan, Italy from London, UK. This made the cost cheaper! I ended up paying $300 per ticket to Milan but originally when I was looking, it was $70-$150. Lesson: if you plan ahead enough, you can get good deals.
Transportation
Getting from city to city on a train is really easy in most of Europe so that is what we did. I use the Omeo app to book trains. Another handy app is Rome2Rio which helps you figure out the best transportation from point A to point B.
We also used a taxi service in Como from the station to the accommodations and back. There is no Uber in most cities in Italy so we just hailed a taxi at the station and used the phone to call one to get picked up from our stay.
Uber is allowed in Milan so we used that to get from the airport to the train station.
Other than that, we walked everywhere and used the fairy on the lake to get to the smaller towns.
Itinerary Breakdown
Day 1: Milan to Como
We landed in Milan around 10am on Tuesday, June 23, 2023. When we arrived, we headed straight to the train station to catch the train to Como and check into our fabulous airbnb.
On our first day, we basically explored the town.
Got gelato, dinner at Mediterranee Bistrot di mare Pizza and enjoyed the views. Our goal was to get the lay of the land.
Day 2: Como + Bellagio
This was our full day at the lake in which I had planned for us to take the fairy to check out some of the towns in the middle part of Lake Como. We took the slow 2 hour fairy from Como to Bellagio. An hour into the fairy ride, there was a maintenance issue with our fairy so we ended up docking at Argegno.
We were told smaller boats would come to pick us up within the hour so stay around the dock. I honestly couldn’t complain because we found a small little lakeside cafe to get a snack and enjoy the views.
Since we had our eyes on the dock, we were able to board the first of the two boats that came to pick up all the passengers that were originally on the fairy to Bellagio. This hiccup did cost us time but we managed nonetheless.
I Giardini di Villa Melzi
The main stop in Bellagio was the Villa Melzi D’Eril. Tickets are 10 euros for adults to enter and kids under 11 are free. Ticket and other important info about the villa can be found here.
The villa was quite picturesque. It was a 15 minute walk from the dock which wasn’t bad, except the sun was high in the sky and it was starting to get pretty hot. A lot of the walk was along the lake which was beautiful!
The villa itself had tons of photo ops and I could not get enough. For some reason, I kept noticing how perfectly they had placed a lot of the shade trees. lol
The town of Bellagio
Next up, we walked back to the town and stopped at Bar Sanremo to get some shade and a cold drink which basically meant a freshly squeezed orange juice that I would get any chance I got. My original plan was to get lunch but since we had gotten a snack over in Argegno, we weren’t that hungry.
So we trekked up to the top of Bellagio, to the famous spot that I’ve seen numerous photos of. It was beautiful for sure. We checked out the local shops and basically went into search for gelato, another thing that we ate any chance we got. It was around 6pm by this time and I wanted to see what our return would look like. Our plan had been to catch the fast fairy back to Como but by the time I got to the ticket counter I was told that all the fast ones were booked for the evening so our best choice was to take the slow 2 hour ride back at 7 pm.
We went back into town, however most of the shops were starting to close so we just came back to the dock and found a spot to chill until our fairy came. I thought it would be annoying that we were doing the 2 hour ride back, but it ended up being very enjoyable because it was around sunset and the lake looked completely different in the golden hour.
Once we got to Como, we grabbed some pizza, shawarma and fruit from a local shop and took it to our airbnb to enjoy on the balcony.
Day 3 Como to Florence
We woke up, had breakfast and enjoyed the last bit of views on the balcony and headed to the train station to get to our next stop of the trip, Florence.
We arrived in the early afternoon, checked in to our AirBnb and relaxed with some lunch that we got on our way to the accommodations. Then, our first order of business was to see the Statue of David.
Statue of David at Galleria dell’Accademia
Pro tip: If you are mainly interested in seeing the famous statue, go towards the end of the day, an hour or so before the museum closes. There were no lines, I paid and headed straight to the statue, saw it, laughed about it with my innocent mother and headed out.
Duomo
Next, we walked through the town, towards the famous Duomo. I was in complete awe of it as soon as I saw it. It was so big and had so much detail. I always wonder how people back then could make such masterpieces. It was closed at this time so we couldn’t go inside until the next morning.
Dinner at Osteria Dell’Osso
By this time in the trip, we hadn’t had a lot of meat so we were ready for the well known Florentine steak! I found this restaurant via google reviews so we sat down to eat. The traditional steak is super thick and done pretty rare. Though that is what we ordered, the waiter took one look at us (meaning there were only two of us) and was like, are you sure? So he asked us if we wanted a similar steak but it would be thinner than the traditional. We agreed and ordered some potatoes on the side and devoured it all. Even my mother who isn’t too keen on beef enjoyed it.
We ended the night by getting gelato and heading home early for the night because we had to catch a train to Venice the next morning.
Day 4: Venice
Our train to Venice was around 8 am so we got up early, had breakfast and headed out! We arrived in Venice at 10 am and the plan was just to wander the streets. I didn’t have much research done on Venice if I am honest. The only thing I had looked up was the fried mozzarella sandwiches that I knew I had to try.
Lunch at Rosticceria Gislon
We basically headed in the direction of lunch and got that mozzarella sandwich and it did not disappoint! I got one with anchovies in it and it was delicious! We tried more of the grilled fish and veggies, they were not great so I’d come here for the sandwich and other fried things.
St. Marks Basilica
Next up we wandered to the Basilica and hung out there for a while. We did not go inside, just saw the outside and took photos around the square. In hindsight, I kind of wish we had gotten tickets to see the inside to take a break from the heat.
Giardini Reali
We some how ended up in this garden to find respite from the heat instead. It was a nice break and totally unexpected amongst the historic architecture and canals.
After wandering around town and forcing my mom to take a billion photos, by 5pm she was done (especially with the humidity). Our tickets back to Florence were for 7pm so we went back to the station to see if we could catch an earlier train. We couldn’t. So we sat around the canals near the station, had some snacks until it was time to go.
Honest thoughts on Venice: it is definitely very picturesque. However, with the many tourists in the middle of the summer and with the heat, it was hard to enjoy. Especially for my mom. Nonetheless, glad I went. We also didn’t do a gondola, which I would have liked but my money saving Asian mother was not up for a 100 Euro trip on a boat around town. lol
A note for navigating in Venice: We kept getting lost on foot because my google maps would go in and out. Though I am pretty good at reading a map without given actual turn by turn directions, it got a bit tricky here with the canals and random tiny streets going in every which direction.
Day 5: Florence
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
First thing on our agenda was to get in line to see the inside of the massive cathedral that sits in the middle of Florence. We got in line around 11 am and were inside within 45 minutes which didn’t feel too bad. The interior dome was pretty cool, but other than that, I think the exterior is more magnificent!
Loggia dei Lanzi via Piazza della Signoria
Next up, a FREE open-air sculpture museum! This was pretty cool to see. While here, there is a replica of the Statue of David which could also be seen in the near vicinity. We even went inside the Palazzo Vecchio because you could go inside for free but had to pay to see the museum and get up to the tower. We just went in to check out the courtyard which was beautiful!
Ponte Vecchio
Last stop before lunch was the famous bridge that was lined in shops with views over Arno River.
Lunch at La Fettunta
In the entire trip thus far, I hadn’t really had “authentic” pasta. Not sure how that was possible, so finally decided to get some. I got Le pappardelle al ragù and my mom got a rotisserie chicken. Once we sat down, they brought focaccia bread which I want to say was fresh and amazing, but wasn’t. I rate this experience a 6.5/10. (this could be my South Asian pallet talking) The chicken was better than the pasta.
Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo
After lunch we headed home for a break from the summer heat, freshen up and regain energy to trek up to see the sunset form the famous Piazzale Michelangelo. On our way we stopped to get a cannoli and orange juice.
The walk from our AirBnB was quite a bit but it was so worth it once we got up there. It’s a famous spot, especially at sunset but despite all the people there, it was amazing! We spent a while up here, admiring the views of the city against the colorful sky. I live for sunsets, so I try to catch views any chance I get.
Coming down from the piazza and back into the city was beautiful as well since we left before it got dark.
Dinner from Pizzeria Starita Firenze Pizza
I grabbed a tiramisu from a tiny random spot called Gelateria Vegana and then headed to get pizza to go. We ate a lot of pizza during our trip because that never really disappointed us.
Accommodations
Lake Como June 28-June 30: Como Lake – Apartment between lake and sky Splurged here and it was well worth it! The place was clean, had amazing views and the host was responsive! I give this a 5/5!
Florence June 30-July 3: LOFT XXVII, City Center Location was good, loft itself was spacious and designed well. We had a bit of an issue with something in the bathroom, but the host was pretty quick to assist and sort it out. It could have been a bit cleaner, so I give this place a 4/5.
Well there you have it. I only highlighted a few dining spots because a lot of the times we found ourselves getting things on the go. I know people also come to Italy to see all of the art galleries. However, I had to take my mom into account who wouldn’t enjoy that as much. Overall I’d love to be back to explore the other towns at Lake Como, Florence and see other parts of Italy! The country really is as beautiful as they say. The pizza is as delicious as I was expecting. The pasta, not so much.
