Overview
The village is one street long and several flights of steps deep. Villa Monastero, a former convent turned into a house with a two-kilometre botanical garden along the shore, runs south from the centre; Villa Cipressi is next to it and now a hotel whose garden is open. Above, the ruined Castello di Vezio looks down the whole length of the lake and is reached in twenty minutes of climbing.
Highlights
Take the train from Milan Central to Varenna-Esino, an hour, and the ferry from there — it is faster and cheaper than driving to Bellagio. The waterfront walkway, the Passeggiata degli Innamorati, is a few minutes long and worth timing for sunset. Vezio’s castle is the view most photographs of Lake Como are taken from.