Lake Como Food & Wine Experiences
Lake Como’s food is lake fish, mountain cheese and Nebbiolo from the Valtellina, eaten on terraces that people cross the world to photograph, and the cooking classes here come with the view built in. This is our Lake Como hub. Below are the top-rated food and wine experiences on the lake, then our notes on Como, Bellagio, Varenna and the wine, and our cooking classes page.
Top-rated food and wine experiences on Lake Como
Wine tastings on the lake
Why Lake Como for food? Because the setting turns an ordinary meal into the memory of the trip, and the food itself, missoltini, risotto with perch, Valtellina wines, is worth knowing.
Ways in: cooking classes in Bellagio, Varenna and Como; food walking tours of Como town; wine tastings with a sommelier or at a lakeside winery; aperitivo cruises. From Milan, the lake is 40 minutes by train; see the Milan hub.
What to eat: missoltini, sun-dried shad grilled and served with polenta; risotto with perch fillets; lavarello, the lake whitefish; pizzoccheri and Sforzato from the Valtellina; miascia bread pudding.
Where to base yourself
Como is the easiest: 36 to 49 minutes from Milan by train, a walled old town with a food tour worth doing, and the ferry pier for the rest of the lake. Bellagio, at the point where the lake forks, is the postcard and has the wine tastings and terrace cooking classes. Varenna, opposite, is quieter, has its own train station from Milan and the best-reviewed home cooking classes on the lake. Como to Bellagio is 45 minutes by hydrofoil or two hours by slow boat; Varenna to Bellagio is 15 to 20 minutes, which is why the fastest route to Bellagio from Milan is the train to Varenna plus the ferry.
The food
Missoltini are the lake’s signature: agone, a small shad, salted and dried in the sun, pressed, then grilled and served with polenta and vinegar. Perch fillets over risotto is the other. Cheese comes from the mountains, and the wine from the Valtellina to the north-east, where Nebbiolo, called Chiavennasca here, makes Valtellina Superiore and Sforzato, a dry wine from grapes dried for months. Pizzoccheri, buckwheat tagliatelle with potato, cabbage and cheese, is the Valtellina dish everyone orders.
Experiences
Cooking classes are the strongest category, in home kitchens and on terraces in Bellagio, Varenna, Bellano and Como; see Lake Como cooking classes. Como’s food walking tour covers the old town in three hours. Wine tastings run with a sommelier in Como and Bellagio, and at the winery in Domaso at the top of the lake. Aperitivo cruises at sunset are the lake’s version of the Navigli.
Frequently asked questions
Which town is best for a cooking class on Lake Como?
Varenna for the home classes and easy access from Milan; Bellagio for the terraces and views; Como if you are day-tripping without a ferry.
What wine is Lake Como known for?
The lake itself makes very little; the wines poured are from the Valtellina, Franciacorta and the rest of Lombardy.
Can I do Lake Como as a day trip from Milan?
Yes: Como in 40 minutes, Varenna in about an hour, and a class or a food tour fits a day. Two nights is better.
Read next: Lake Como: Varenna or Bellagio?
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.