We spent a day in Como with kids as part of our trip to Milan in October 2018. You can read the full trip’s itinerary in our Milan post.
While in Milan, we took a day trip via train to Como. It is a beautiful little town north of Milan, near the Swiss border, on the southwest tip of the left arm of Lake Como. The train ride, operated by Trenitalia, takes less than an hour from Milano Centrale to the Como San Giovanni train station. The roundtrip cost is around 20 EUR per adult, 7 EUR for kids and our 3-year-old was free.
We arrived in Como in the morning. It was raining heavily so we waited in the tiny cafe in the train station (the food is fine if you need a quick snack). As soon as you exit the train station, you can see the mountains in the distance. It’s only a short walk downtown, though there are also taxis lined up outside of the station, if needed.
We meandered through the narrow brick streets admiring the colorful buildings and old architecture. This included the Porta Torre (above left picture), the medieval town entrance built in 1192 as part of the town wall.
We stopped for lunch at Pasticceria Aida, a nice restaurant in Piazza San Fedele with outdoor (but covered) seating. It also had a nice view of the Basilica di San Fedele across the square.
5 minutes away is the Basilica Cattedrale di Como (Como Cathedral), with its white marble façade and green domes. It’s a large church in a tightly packed area, so it’s hard to step back and really take in its grandeur. We skipped going into the church, as we were eager to go to the lake while the sun was shining.
This turned out to be the right move because the lake and surrounding mountains with hillside houses is just stunning. You can walk out on platforms to be closer to the lake (which was quite high when we were there…perhaps from all the rain!).
We walked along the lake for around 10 minutes to get to the Como-Brunate Funicolare. The funicolare goes from Lake Como up to the town of Brunate on top of the mountain. There are beautiful panoramic views of the lake and town of Como along the way.
You buy tickets at the lower station at the lake, and the funicolare departs regularly, every 15-30 minutes. So if the car is near full when you get to the front of the line, it may be worth waiting for the next departure time so that you can get a good spot. The ride up the hill was as much fun for our kids as reaching the top, and they wanted to be at the front of the car to see how it climbs the hill. For scenic views of Como, you’ll want to be on the righthand side of the car on the way up.
It’s less than a 10-minute ride to the top, and you can then walk around the area a bit. There are more panoramic views of Lake Como and the surroundings towns and mountains. There is also a small gift shop, a restaurant and the Church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo (a pretty church worth stopping in), among other things. You can also walk into the town of Brunate, but we decided against it. We spent about 20 minutes before heading back down the funicolare.
Once back in Como, we walked along the lake toward town, grabbing some ice cream by the shore. We then wandered the streets on our way back to the train station before it got dark.
If you are in Milan or anywhere else in the Lombardy region, I highly recommend a visit to Como with kids! It is a beautiful escape from the city sights, and there is plenty to keep both adults and kids busy for a day.