Weekend Getaway Lake Como

We spent the three-day holiday weekend in beautiful and family friendly Lake Como in the tiny village of Cernobbio. We took the train 2 hours and 45 minutes to Lake Como from Zürich. Our villa’s location was absolutely perfect located next to the famous Harry’s Bar, the Cernobbio ferry terminal and playground, a gelato shop, a church, and a few restaurants.

How We Got There

We took the train from Zürich to Chiasso on Friday night, which took 2 hours 45 minutes and cost 30 Francs with our 1/2 price card. Then we got a taxi from Chiasso to Cernobbio for 30 Francs. On the way home we took the boat from Cernobbio to Como and the train from Como to Zürich. If you go all the way to Como, there are border control people who walk up and down the train and ask for passports and valid documents of passengers. When we got off in Chiasso we were not asked as it is still on the Switzerland side since Como is in Italy.

Where We Stayed

We stayed in a beautiful villa in Cernobbio that I booked on Booking.com. It was only 400 Euros for three nights for the four of us. There was a pull out sofa bed on the main floor for the girls, a bed upstairs for us as well as a crib for the next time with visit as a family of 5! There are two bathrooms, one on the upper floor and one on the entry floor. The kitchen was so cute and we made a few pre meals for the girls there before heading out for dinner. The places in Italy tend to open at 7pm or later which is later than we are used to eating dinner.

We loved being able to wake up in the morning and walk 30 seconds to Pasticceria Poletti for coffee and a large assortment of fresh pastries. This was a busy spot and we loved coming here for our pastries. I grabbed 5 Euro take away pizzas for all of us on the first night from Giardino which is just across the street from the bakery. For dinner we loved the authentic Italian family atmosphere of Osteria del Beuch, which has a little play nook which our girls loved.

Prices

I couldn’t get over the prices in Cernobbio. Located next to two famous landmarks, Villa D’Este and Villa Erba, Cernobbio is a pretty fancy place on Lake Como I imagine. Located next to Harry’s Bar I would expect very high prices. So even if prices are slightly inflated here, we were shocked at the amazing prices. 5 Euros for a whole pizza. 1.40 Euros for a cappuccino. Pastries for 1 Euro. Perhaps the incredibly high prices in Zürich have me completely shocked to Italian prices. Even in the USA or England you can’t get a cappuccino for 1 Dollar or 1 pound. And the food tastes delicious in Italy! And the service was happy and friendly everywhere we went. I was so happy with our weekend away, the food we ate, and the place we stayed.

The Cernobbio Lido and Playgrounds

Cernobbio has plenty to keep families happy and busy besides food and the ferry terminal. There were two playgrounds within 2 minutes of our house. The girls liked the one next to the ferry terminal with the carousel. This is a pedestrian walkway without any car traffic which made it a wonderful place for the girls to run around. The other playground is Parchetto Cernobbio, next to the roundabout in town and behind Como Burger. The Lido is just on the other side of the ferry terminal where families can eat and swim all summer.

Where We Ate

Pasticceria Poletti- A huge assortment of freshly made pastries. We ate breakfast here every morning and stopped in for an afternoon tea and pastry while waiting for dinner restaurants to open.

Osteria del Beuch- A wonderful cozy authentic Italian family friendly restaurant great for dinner with a kids play nook.

Giardino- This is a hotel and a restaurant. We ordered take away pizza here twice and it was delicious. At 5 Euros a pizza, we couldn’t believe the prices to feed a family of 4 was 20 Euros! We took the boxes back to our house and ate in the comfort of our own space.

Next Time

We loved our weekend away in Cernobbio. I know we will be back in the summer for another weekend getaway. We have also loved staying further up the Lake Como at Bellagio. Here is my post from our stay there (the girls look so tiny in the pictures in that post from 2 years ago!). I have to admit that Como the city is not my favorite place to visit, it’s just a bit grittier than the sweet little towns along the lake. I have heard amazing things about Lenno and Varenna, so I’d like to visit those towns next time we visit Lake Como.