Guide to Lake Como- plant based & low waste

I always wanted to travel to Italy and Rob and I chose Bellagio, Lake Como as the Italian destination for our unintentional babymoon. This Guide covers where we stayed, what we did, and where we ate, with recommendations for vegetarian/vegan options and low waste living while traveling. We happened to travel to Lake Como during our babymoon, but this Guide is not all babymoon focused! (Check out my blog post here on healthy, low waste traveling while pregnant).

Bellagio is known as the Pearl of Lake Como. It’s picturesque and is at the center of the Lake, where all three branches of the Lake merge, making for the most gorgeous views and easy access to the whole lake.

The tight Via Giuseppe Garibaldi in Bellagio.

We flew into Milan and rented a car to drive to Bellagio. Driving was quite the experience- the roads were tight and windy, but the views were spectacular. Driving through Bellagio midday on a Saturday was another experience…I thought our car was going to get stuck between buildings on the narrow Via Giuseppe Garibaldi! If you’re going to drive to Bellagio, I recommend arriving on a weekday!

Where to Stay:

We stayed in a beautiful third floor apartment with gorgeous views of the Lake through Nene Accommodation in Bellagio. We chose an apartment as opposed to a hotel because we wanted to cook some of our meals using the fresh Italian ingredients found in local markets.

What to Do:

Our favorite thing to do in a new city/town is to walk. We walk EVERYWHERE. And, there’s nothing better than a good walk after sitting for so many hours in an airplane and car. Bellagio, and all the towns in Lake Como we visited, are perfect for walking. There are so many cute streets, Villas, and gardens to explore to learn about the history of the Lake and take in breathtaking views.

These are the Villas/Gardens you don’t want to miss:

A small cottage in Villa Serbellioni Park where scholars work.

- Villa Serbellioni Park- Bellagio: Villa Serbellioni’s last owner left it to the Rockefeller Foundation to ensure that it would be preserved and appreciated. The Villa and grounds now serve as a meeting place for scholars who must apply for a residency there. You can only access this amazing Park by going on a guided tour, which we definitely recommend. There are small cottages sprinkled throughout the grounds for the scholars to work. Free from distractions and surrounded by the most gorgeous views, it must be such an inspired place to work. From different points on the grounds, you can see all three arms of the Lake. It was the perfect walk and learning experience.

- Villa Melzi Garden- Bellagio: The walk down the Lakeside Promenade to the Garden is gorgeous itself. Inside, you can walk along a path by the water or venture up the hill for additional paths. (Usually, I always opt for the more challenging walk, but I had to take it a bit easier being pregnant!).

- Villa Monastero + Botanical Garden- Varenna: It was a short ferry trip from Bellagio to Varenna. We walked all the grounds and luckily many of the gorgeous plants and flowers were in full bloom. We also went inside the Villa itself, which I definitely recommend. The views of the Lake from inside the Villa were incredible. Imagine waking up to those everyday!

- Villa Balbianello- Lenno: Another short ferry ride took us to Lenno to visit Villa Balbianello. You might recognize the Villa from movies, including Casino Royale. You can either walk from the ferry station to the Villa or take a water taxi. We opted for the walk to the Villa and then took a water taxi back because my legs were too tired! Once on the grounds of the Villa, there are two options for the walk- one more direct and one longer and more scenic. We highly suggest purchasing tickets for the Gardens and the Guided Tour. We learned so much on the tour and it brought the entire Villa to life. We got to see secret passageways and the amazing collections of the last owner of the Villa, Guido Monzino.

Where to Eat:

Of course, we were excited to sink our teeth into Italian food! From pizza to pasta to gelato, we arrived hungry and left really full. Every single restaurant looked amazing and we wished that we could try them all. There weren’t any strictly vegan restaurants, but lots of vegetarian options and ways to make your own vegan meals if you’re strictly plant-based. I must admit that it took some time for my stomach to adjust to how much cheese there was in all the food, so I had to be really mindful when ordering. Most of the restaurants had traditional Italian food. Here’s where we recommend going:

- Hotel Suisse Restaurant- Bellagio: We ate here for our first night in Bellagio and I loved the eggplant parmesan. All the restaurants down by the water in Bellagio have outdoor seating with great views.

- La Punta- Bellagio: We had a lovely romantic date here on our last night. (It would have been nice to have a glass of Champagne with this meal!). I recommend making a later reservation so you can enjoy the nighttime view of the Lake and try to be seated closer to the kitchen where it’s a bit more bustling. The spaghetti with pesto was out of this world and Rob really enjoyed the special of freshly caught local fish.

- La Goletta at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbellioni- Bellagio: As much as I love Italian food, I started to crave a big old, veggie filled and cheese free salad. We ended up at La Goletta and it was perfect. This was the only place that we went to that had designated vegan options- including this salad!

- Antico Pozzo Restaurant- Bellagio: The pizza here was really special with a nice thin crust! We loved sitting outside while enjoying the live music.

- Natural Mente- Varenna: I always look up the local health food stores wherever we’re traveling and luckily there was one right near the Villa Monastero. This little shop and café was super cute and we were able to get fresh juices, organic coffee (adpatogenic coffees were also on the menu) and a salad (for breakfast…I needed vegetables!). The waitress kindly filled our own cups with coffee, which was wonderful. I cried a bit inside when I saw the following signs outside the shop…glad the American influence is a positive one…

- Varenna Caffe Bistrot- Varenna: We ate here after visiting the Villa Monastero and it was lovely. We sat outside and Rob nearly fell off his chair. Luckily, the tables were so close that the people in the chairs behind him caught him! I laughed to the point of tears for a solid 20 minutes. Anyway, back to the food. There were fresh juices and vegetarian options on the menu. I had penne with a tomato-based pesto sauce that hit the spot and Rob loved his beetroot tartine with fresh feta cheese. The desserts looked really good, but we were too full to order them!

- Homemade Pasta: We cooked ourselves a gorgeous Italian meal with a recipe for tomato sauce provided by Nene Accommodation. I highly suggest taking a cooking class or cooking with local ingredients at some point in your trip. It’s fun to go to local markets, see the fresh food, interact with the shop clerks, and cook using those fresh ingredients!

Gelato Time:

It wouldn’t have been a trip to Italy without gelato indulgences. Every single gelato stand looked amazing so I don’t think that you can really go wrong! I was on a hunt for vegan options and found one spot, Smooth Operators. Unfortunately, the vegan options were packaged separately in plastic containers😭, so I had to decide between zero-waste gelato in a cone or vegan gelato in plastic. I chose the cone!

Day Trip Options:

While there’s so much to see and do in Lake Como, there are also many places to go for a day trip. We decided to drive two hours to Saint Mortiz, Switzerland and I highly recommend it! Even though we were there for only one day, we really made the most of it and I put together a separate Guide to Saint Mortiz for you. You can also take a day trip to another Swiss city, Lugano.

The last day we were supposed to be in Bellagio it was forecast to rain, so we decided to leave a day early and spend the day and night in Milan instead. There were many vegan restaurants in Milan as well as bulk stores and health food stores in Milan, so I also put together a Guide to Milan for you! I can’t wait for you to check it out.