· · 9 min read · by Salimar Boat Tour
Things to do in Varenna: 10 places worth your time (2026)
Looking for things to do in Varenna? Varenna is the village you see from Bellagio: a cluster of ochre and red houses stacked above a small harbour, with the mountains of the Lecco shore behind. It has a railway station, which Bellagio doesn't, so it is the easiest spot on the central lake to reach from Milan. This guide lists what is actually worth seeing, with 2026 prices and opening hours taken from the official websites on 8 November 2026. Where we could not find an official figure we say so.
1. Villa Monastero: the garden and the house museum
The villa belongs to the Province of Lecco and stands on the site of a Cistercian convent founded at the end of the 12th century; the house museum opened in 2003 and the botanical garden runs for almost two kilometres along the shore. It is the one place in Varenna you should not skip.
- 2026 tickets: €15 garden + house museum, €13 garden only; free for ages 0–14; during the Christmas lights (7 Nov 2026 – 10 Jan 2027) €18 and €16
- Hours: June–August every day 9:30–20:00; April–May and September 9:30–19:30 (museum closed Tuesdays); November–February Thursday to Monday 10:00–17:00, garden until 20:00 in November–December. Never fully closed in winter. Last entry 30 minutes before closing
- Address: Viale Giovanni Polvani 4, about 15 minutes on foot from the ferry landing
- Arriving by boat: a free dock for drop-off and pick-up, booked by phone on +39 0341 830129
Official site and 2026 prices: villamonastero.eu
The garden is accessible as far as the citrus grove; dogs on a lead are allowed in the garden only. A combined ticket with Villa Cipressi exists, sold only at the two ticket offices on days when Cipressi's garden is open.
2. Villa Cipressi: the terraced botanical garden
Two hundred metres from Villa Monastero, Villa Cipressi is a group of buildings from the 15th to the 19th century, today a four-star hotel whose terraced garden drops to the water through cypresses, palms and agaves. The garden is open to visitors even if you are not a guest.
- 2026 ticket: €13 (reduced €10 for ages 4–15 and over-65s; free under 4)
- Hours: April–September 9:30–19:30, October 10:00–18:00; Christmas Garden with lights 1 Nov 2026 – 10 Jan 2027, 10:00–21:00, €15
- Address: Via IV Novembre 22, in the old town
Official site and 2026 prices: rcollectionhotels.it
3. Castello di Vezio: the view over the three branches of the lake
The castle stands on the promontory above Varenna, in the municipality of Perledo; tradition credits it to the Lombard queen Theodelinda, historians date it to the 11th–12th century. The reason to climb is the view: from the tower you see the three arms of the lake at once, with Bellagio straight ahead. First World War trenches and tunnels survive under the castle.
- 2026 ticket: €5, reduced €3 (ages 7–18, over-65s), free under 7
- Open every day 1 March – 1 December, 10:00 to between 17:00 (March, October, November) and 19:00–20:00 (summer); December–February weekends only, weather permitting. Closed when it rains
- The walk up from Varenna takes about 40 minutes on a steep stepped mule track; not suitable for pushchairs
Official site and 2026 prices: castellodivezio.it
Note: the falconry shows that many guides still mention were permanently suspended in October 2022 (the castle's own website says so). What you find today is the castle, the gardens and the view.
4. The Passeggiata degli Innamorati (Lovers' Walk)
A walkway fixed to the rock and hanging over the water, linking the ferry landing at Olivedo to the old town. It is a few hundred metres long (the local press gives 250 m, other sources 500) and takes five minutes, which is exactly why everyone walks it twice: once arriving, once at sunset. It was rebuilt and reopened in June 2020. Free, always open, flat.
5. Piazza San Giorgio and the two churches
The square at the top of the old town has two churches facing each other. San Giorgio, the parish church, was built between 1250 and 1313 and holds a carved stone Lamentation from the late 15th–early 16th century. Across the square, the small San Giovanni Battista is older, probably 11th century, with 14th-century frescoes of St George, St John the Baptist and St Christopher on the side walls. Opening hours are not published: they are usually open during the day, outside services.
6. Fiumelatte and the Greenway dei Patriarchi
Fiumelatte is often called Italy's shortest river: 250 metres from the spring to the lake, and it only flows from around the end of March to October, when the karst system of the Grigna fills up. Leonardo da Vinci noted it in the Codex Atlanticus. From Varenna it is a 20-minute walk south along the Greenway dei Patriarchi, past Villa Monastero; the spring is another 10 minutes up a mule track. Free.
7. The Sentiero del Viandante
The old footpath along the Lecco shore passes through Varenna. The classic stage from Varenna-Esino station to Bellano via Vezio and Perledo takes about 2 hours 30 with 350 metres of climb, grade E (hiking shoes, not trainers); you come back by train in ten minutes. Orange signs mark the route.
8. A swim: Lido di Olivedo
The lido is on Via Lido 4, next to the ferry landing, with sunbeds, showers and a bar; entry is paid in season (in 2023 two sunbeds and a parasol were €25 a day; the 2026 price list is not published online). Dogs have their own free beach, Spiaggia Bau Bau, at the end of Viale dei Giardini.
9. The Scanagatta Ornithological Museum and the alleys
Inside the Varenna Turismo Infopoint at Via IV Novembre 7, the civic museum founded in 1962 keeps more than 800 birds and animals of the lake region. It follows the Infopoint's hours (June–September every day 9:30–17:30, shorter hours in the other months, closed Tuesdays in spring and autumn). From there, lose yourself in the stepped alleys between Via IV Novembre and the harbour: Contrada Scoscesa is the steepest and the most photographed.
10. See Varenna from the water
Everything above is on the land side. The other half of Varenna is the view back from the lake, with the village stacked up the hill and Bellagio and the Tremezzina shore around you. Our two-hour tour leaves from the lakefront walkway at Olivedo at 13:00, passes Villa del Balbianello, Villa La Cassinella and Isola Comacina, and gives you an hour of free time in Bellagio before bringing you back. €54 per person, prosecco on board, maximum 12 people. It makes sense if you are based in Varenna for the day and want Bellagio without the ferry timetable; if you only want to cross, the public ferry at €5.50 is the right tool, and we explain it in /en/blog/varenna-to-bellagio/ .
When to go
The villas keep their long hours from April to September (Villa Monastero until 20:00 in summer), Fiumelatte flows from late March to October, and the lake ferries run most often from July to early October. Spring and September are the balance between open gardens and manageable crowds; July and August weekends are the busiest, with the ferries and the Lovers' Walk full by late morning. From November to early January the two gardens light up for Christmas and the village is almost empty: short hours, but a different Varenna. Map: Varenna on Google Maps.
Getting to Varenna and parking
Frequently asked questions
How long do you need in Varenna?
Is Varenna better than Bellagio?
Can you visit Varenna in winter?
Is Varenna walkable?
Prices and hours updated on 8 November 2026 from villamonastero.eu, rcollectionhotels.it, castellodivezio.it, navigazionelaghi.it and trenord.it. They change every season: check the official sites before you travel.
