Como Brunate Funicular

The full list for passengers, from the single ride to the weekly card. Resident, monthly and annual passes are left out because they make no sense for a visit.

Why You May See €3.60 On Another Price List

The fare went up. The operator's older sheet, still linked from ATM's own funicular page, prints no date and shows $4.15 (€3.60) one way and $8.31 (€7.20) return. The newer sheet on the funicular's site is dated from 1 September 2026 and shows $4.27 (€3.70) and $8.54 (€7.40).

If a blog or an old sign quotes the lower figure, it predates the change. Pay what the station asks.

Passes That Already Cover The Ride

ATM says the regional Io Viaggio tickets and passes are valid on the funicular: Io Viaggio Ovunque in Provincia, Io Viaggio Ovunque in Lombardia and Io viaggio in Famiglia. If you already hold one for your trains, check that it covers Como before you buy a separate funicular ticket.

ATM publishes the timetable as three bands. The morning peak is the only time the gap shrinks to 12 minutes. After 09:00 the cars leave on the quarter hour until the last departure at midnight.

Because departures are simultaneous from Como and from Brunate, the timetable is the same at both ends. Miss a car and the next one is never more than 15 minutes away.

One official page disagrees with itself. The Comune di Brunate's funicular page carries a summary line saying the service runs Monday to Saturday, while the body of the same page and ATM's timetable both say every day. Italy's national tourism portal and Como's urban trade district site still print a 22:30 finish. ATM operates the line, so its every-day, 06:00-to-midnight timetable is the one to trust.

The Como station is at Piazza Alcide De Gasperi 4, which ATM describes as a stone's throw from the lake. It is on the same stretch of lakefront as the boat pier on Piazza Cavour and the Como Nord Lago railway station.

From Milan, trains from Milano Cadorna run to Como Nord Lago, the lakefront station, and trains from Milano Centrale run to Como San Giovanni, which is uphill above the old town. The regional fare is $6.23 (€5.40) either way. For the funicular, Como Nord Lago puts you on the right side of town. The Milan to Como page compares both lines.

If you arrive by boat, the Navigazione landing stage on Piazza Cavour is on the same stretch of lakefront. The Como ferry page has the fares and the piers, and getting around Como covers everything else on foot and by bus.

• Lower station: Piazza Alcide De Gasperi 4, 22100 Como
• Nearest train: Como Nord Lago, trains from Milano Cadorna
• Nearest boat pier: Piazza Cavour
• Funicular office phone: 031 303608
• ATM infoline: 02 48.607.607, daily 07:30-19:30

Two cars share the line and leave the top and the bottom stations at the same moment, which is why the departures from each end match. The ride takes 7 minutes.

There are intermediate stops, used on request. ATM names the one at Carescione, and the Comune di Brunate names both Como Alta and Carescione. Most visitors ride straight through from the lake to the village. Wikidata gives the line a length of 1.084 km, a figure the operator does not print on the pages we read.

Its history is short on official pages. Como's urban trade district site says the line was inaugurated in 1894, and Italy's national tourism portal says it replaced the old mule track between the two towns.

Bikes, Dogs, Pushchairs And Wheelchairs

The fare sheet covers what you can bring. A bicycle, a pet, a pushchair or a parcel up to 50x30x25 cm needs its own $4.15 (€3.60) ticket, or you can buy one way with a bicycle for $8.42 (€7.30). Dogs must wear a muzzle, and guide dogs travel free.

A carer travelling with a disabled passenger rides free on showing a document that confirms the need for assistance. The operator publishes no step-free access statement for the stations, so wheelchair users should call the funicular office on 031 303608 before setting out.

For $8.54 (€7.40) return, yes, for almost everyone who has a couple of hours in Como. It is the quickest way to see the city and the southern end of the lake from above, it runs late into the night, and you never wait more than 15 minutes. Italy's national tourism portal says the view from Brunate reaches, on clear days, as far as Monte Rosa, the Apennines and the Milan skyline, which is why the village is called the balcony over the Alps.

The choice worth thinking about is one way or return. A return costs exactly two singles, so there is no discount for committing. Buy a single if you might walk down or stay for dinner and are unsure of the time, and buy the second single at the top when you know.

The tour bundles are a different decision. The boat tour with a funicular ticket at $72.23 is a lake cruise with the ride included, and the funicular share of it is worth $8.54 (€7.40) at the station. The small-group walk at $66.49 is four hours with a guide. Book either because you want the boat or the guide, never to skip a queue for a line that runs every 15 minutes.

Our sums for two adults, using the station fares and the listed tour prices. The difference is what the boat or the guide costs you.

The upper station puts you in Brunate, a separate comune on the ridge, not a district of Como. The first reason to come is the view from the terraces and lanes around the station. The second is the Faro Voltiano, the 29-metre lighthouse built in 1927 for the centenary of Alessandro Volta's death. Italy's national tourism portal puts it less than half an hour's walk from the centre of Brunate, with 143 steps to its balconies. It has been closed since 2024 for repairs, with no reopening date published, so you see it from outside.

Brunate's own infopoint, next to the municipal library, opens daily from 10:00 to 16:00 from May to September and at weekends and holidays the rest of the year. The village, the views, parking and the walk down are all covered on the Brunate page, and the lighthouse on Faro Voltiano.

• The last departure is at midnight every day of the week, from both ends at once, so an evening meal in Brunate does not strand you (ATM timetable).
• Between 07:00 and 09:00 the cars leave every 12 minutes, the only time of day the gap is shorter than 15 minutes (ATM timetable).
• A dog, a pushchair or a bicycle needs its own $4.15 (€3.60) ticket, and dogs must be muzzled (funicolarecomo.it fare sheet).
• Regional Io Viaggio tickets and passes are valid on the funicular, so a Lombardy travel pass already covers the ride (ATM funicular page).
• There are request stops on the way up, which ATM names as Carescione and the Comune di Brunate names as Como Alta and Carescione (ATM and Comune di Brunate).

The funicular fits at either end of a Como day. It runs from 06:00, so an early ride gets the view before the day fills up, and it runs until midnight, so the evening lights over the city are the other good slot. The middle of the day belongs to the town below: the cathedral, which opens its paid areas from 10:30 on weekdays, and a boat from Piazza Cavour.

A simple order that works: old town and cathedral in the morning, a boat or the lakefront after lunch, the funicular up in the late afternoon, the views and a walk around Brunate, then the ride down after dark. For the rest of the sights to build around it, see things to do in Como.