As hard as it was to leave our hotel (the Grand Hotel Tremezzo), we found some time to explore Tremezzo town and visit nearby Bellagio. Sure, most of our sightseeing was done on our way to eat, but that still counts, right? After the jump, our thoughts on some of the most well reviewed restaurants in the area, including Al Veluu, Pizzeria Balognett, and Alle Darsene di loppia.
Tremezzo in the morning
Lake Como is a Y-shaped lake located about 50 miles north of Milan and bordered by Switzerland on the West. Tremezzo is situated at around the halfway point of the lake, and where the three branches of the lake intersect (Tremezzo literally means “halfway” – or “middle” – or something….it’s incredible CateyLou and I each took a full year of Italian in college..)
We need @LBarto2 to go on more trips with us so she can take pictures!
Villa Carlotta
The legends of Italian bocce: TheBetterHalf and this statue
For lunch on Saturday we ate at Pizzeria Balognett. Pizzeria Balognett is located a few blocks away from the lake and is famous for having the best pizza in Lake Como. Their pizza is cracker thin and has a distinctive garlicky flavor. The toppings were all incredibly fresh – most seemed to come right from the restaurant’s garden area. We even watched our waitress pick some fresh basil to put directly on our pizza.
Pizzeria Balognett
After our boat tour of the lake on Sunday morning, we spent a few hours in Bellagio. Bellagio is one of the more well-known towns along Lake Como and is located directly across from Tremezzo. Although the town itself is beautiful, most of the stores and restaurants that lined the cobblestone streets were too touristy (for us at least).
Bellagio
While in Bellagio we ate lunch at Alle Darsene di loppia. Alle Darsene is definitely off the beaten path, a 15-20 minute walk from the town center. However, the menu was more distinctive than many of the tourist-catering spots in town and we ended up being the only English speaking people in the restaurant. Highlights were the zucchini flower stuffed with ricotta over sundried tomatoes and the truffle risotto.
This is truffle season…
The first of many gelato stops on our trip
The view from Al Veluu
Our last dinner in Lake Como was at Al Veluu in Tremezzo. Located a good distance above sea-level (lake-level?) the views were truly spectacular. Unfortunately, despite high TripAdvisor reviews the food was only so-so. Our pastas lacked flavor and were a far cry from our favorite neighborhood Italian restaurants in New York. Still, can’t beat that view.
Dinner at Al Veluu
Pizzeria Balognett
Via delle Mele 5a | Frazzione Balogno di Tremezzo, 22019 Tremezzo, Italy
Al Veluu Ristorante & Suites
Via Rogaro 11, 22019 Tremezzo, Italy
Alle Darsene di loppia
Via Melzi d’Eril,1 | Frazione Loppia, 22021 Bellagio, Italy
The photos are wonderful. What a wonderful holiday!
Beautiful photos! Looks amazing!
Thank you so much! It really was amazing, I want to go back!!
I’m so jealous! 😉 Gorgeous, Cate!!!
Thanks, Carol! I loved every second of it.
Ahhh so beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I want to go back! It was so gorgeous!
So glad I stumbled upon your blog! My fiance and I are in the process of planning our honeymoon and are most likely going to be staying at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo for 4 days. Do you think that’s enough time? I’d love to hear how you got around to the different restaurants, Bellagio, etc. If you have time, feel free to just shoot me a quick email mollyms619@gmail.com. Thank you!
Hi Molly! What a great spot for a honeymoon! 4 days is plenty of time. The hotel is lovely and the area is beautiful, but there isn’t a ton to do, and there aren’t that many great restaurants – so you will definitely be able to do everything in 4 days. We took a private boat ride on the hotel’s boat, Ruy, and while it was a bit expensive we absolutely loved it and I highly recommend that! The boat dropped us off in Bellagio at the end of our ride, and then we took the ferry back over which is really easy. We actually walked to Al Veluu for dinner, although I wouldn’t recommend doing that – it was all uphill! We took a taxi back, which was much better. We took a car service from the Milan airport to the hotel, and then on the way back we took a ferry to Como to catch the train. While the car service is a bit of a splurge, I think it is worth it. The trip to the train station was pretty miserable with our bags in the summer heat. If I went back, I would get a car service both ways. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me chezcateylou@gmail.com. I’m happy to answer anything! Happy honeymoon planning!