Greenway del Lago di Como

A Walk Along the West Shore

The Greenway follows, in part, the line of the historic Strada Regina — the Roman-medieval route between Como and Switzerland that has run along this shore for two thousand years. By turns paved village lanes, narrow mule paths, gravel stretches at the water's edge and short flights of stone steps, it stays almost entirely between 191 and 276 metres elevation, with a single longer climb on the Lenno – Mezzegra section.

If you'd rather take it in stages, you can join or leave the path at any of the seven villages — bus and ferry both serve the entire route.

From South to North

The walk begins in Colonno, beneath the steep slopes of Monte Costolone, with the Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo and a medieval core of narrow lanes, plus a 16th-century wooden portal on the Palazzo Pretura. Over the bridge across the Pessetta stream, the route continues to Sala Comacina, which sits inside the Zoca de l'Oli — a sheltered bay with an unusually mild microclimate — opposite the Isola Comacina, the lake's only island, once fortified and today an archaeological haven.

In Ossuccio the landscape opens out into olive groves; above the village stands the Sacro Monte della Beata Vergine del Soccorso, a 17th-century Baroque sequence of chapels listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site since 2003. A little further on, the path reaches Lenno and the bay of the Dosso del Lavedo — at the tip of the peninsula stands Villa del Balbianello, one of the most iconic addresses on the entire lake.

The longest climb leads up to Mezzegra and its historic core Bonzanigo, where the frescoed palazzi recall the village's 18th-century trade with northern Europe. In Tremezzo — the only village in the province of Como to be part of the Borghi più belli d'Italia — the Greenway crosses the Parco Teresio Olivelli and ends in front of the botanical garden of Villa Carlotta. The final stretch continues to Griante and its lakefront frazione Cadenabbia, where Italy's first Anglican church was consecrated in 1891 and where Giuseppe Verdi — and later Konrad Adenauer ("my second home") — were regular guests.

Getting There & Tips

• Families and dogs are welcome. With small children, a baby carrier works better than a stroller — the path has steps and uneven sections.
• Strollers, wheelchairs and road bikes are not suitable; mountain bikes only with care.
• Public transport: bus line ASF C10 (Como – Menaggio – Colico) serves all the borghi; from Como San Giovanni it's about 45 min to Colonno. The battelli of Navigazione Lago di Como call at Sala Comacina, Lenno, Tremezzo and Villa Carlotta; the fast aliscafi only at Lenno.
• Walking it in stages: if you'd rather not do the whole stretch, you can join and leave at any borgo — a lovely way to round off the day with a picnic in the park at Ossuccio, the lakefront promenade in Lenno, or an espresso in the Parco Olivelli.

Official website: greenwaylagodicomo.com.