Bars in Como: Aperitivo, Evenings and the Theatre

The Custom

As commonly practised across Italy, aperitivo is a drink before dinner served with something small to eat. It is not a discount hour: you pay the price on the list and any snacks come with the drink. That is a description of the custom, not a rule any Como source publishes.

Prices for individual drinks in Como are not published on any official page this guide could check, so no typical figure is given here. What is published is the general Italian rule on menu pricing from Altroconsumo: prices must be displayed clearly, and if a cover charge or coperto applies it must appear on the menu or price list. If it does not, you can contest it. That rule is national, not Como specific.

Order at the table or at the counter depending on the place. Sitting at an outdoor table on a square costs more than standing at the bar in many Italian bars, but no Como-wide price rule exists, each venue sets its own.

Where the Word Meets the Theatre

The Teatro Sociale leans into the custom with its guided visit, which is called 'Libiamo ne' lieti calici', the drinking song from La Traviata. The visit costs $9.23 (€8) per person and ends with an optional aperitivo at the theatre's own Ristorante In Teatro for $5.77 (€5). It is the one aperitivo in the city with a printed official price, because it is sold by the theatre itself.

Piazza Cavour

The Comune describes Piazza Cavour as the heart of the city. It is pedestrian, with flowerbeds, trees and benches facing the lake, plus the green dragon drinking fountain with fresh water. Bus stops, the Navigazione piers and Como Lago station are all close by, which makes it the natural meeting point for an evening.

The boat tour with Prosecco starts from Viale Geno 12, further along the same lakefront.

Piazza Duomo and Piazza Verdi

Piazza Duomo is the cathedral square, with the Broletto beside it. Piazza Verdi is the theatre square, and on performance nights the box office there opens 90 minutes before the show, so an aperitivo near the Duomo and a curtain at the Teatro Sociale fit in one evening (our routing).

The Lakefront and the Old Town

The lakefront promenade runs from the centre towards Villa Olmo and makes an easy evening walk. The old town inside the medieval walls is a grid of lanes and small squares, including Piazza San Fedele, and much of it is closed to ordinary traffic.

Why No Bar Names Here

This guide names no individual bars. No official or citable source, from the Comune, the province or a published guide, lists the bars of Como in a way that could be verified, and this site does not invent venues. What the official sources do document is where the evening happens, what it costs to get around and what is on.

For cocktails and aperitivo specifically, pick a square, look for the tables, and judge by the crowd. Readers asking for a cocktail bars list or a rooftop bar Como list should know the same applies: no citable list covers them, so none is printed here.

The Theatre

The theatre was inaugurated in 1813, on construction begun in 1811 to designs by Giuseppe Cusi. Its hall has five orders of seats: three orders hold 72 privately owned boxes plus the royal box, and the top two are galleries. After the bombing of 1943 the Teatro Sociale hosted the activities of Milan's Teatro alla Scala, which earned it the nickname 'Piccola Scala'. It has been managed by AsLiCo since 2002 and belongs to the OperaLombardia circuit. It opens more than 300 days a year.

The box office is at Piazza Verdi 1, and on performance nights it opens 90 minutes before the show and stays open until 15 minutes after the start, for that show only. Phone +39 031 270170, available Tuesday to Friday 14:30-16:00.

Box office hours are the practical detail most visitors need, so they are set out in full below. All times come from the theatre's own ticket information page.

The Guided Visit

On scheduled days the theatre runs a 45-minute guided visit in Italian and English. No booking is needed, you turn up at the box office from 10:30 until places run out. It costs $9.23 (€8) per person, $17.31 (€15) per couple, $5.77 (€5) from the third ticket and for under-18s.

The optional aperitivo afterwards at the Ristorante In Teatro costs $5.77 (€5). Tour dates are listed on the theatre's page when scheduled.

The Arena

Since 2013 the theatre has had its own summer venue, the Arena, used for shows, concerts and events in the warm months. It seats up to 1,500 people and holds 3,000 standing. It is the home of the Festival Como Città della Musica, whose 2026 edition, the 19th, was titled 'La luce langue'.

The Arena of the Teatro Sociale carries the theatre's summer shows and concerts, with up to 1,500 seated or 3,000 standing, and hosts the Festival Como Città della Musica.

The Comune runs its own umbrella programme, 'Como… che spettacolo! Estate 2026', covering June to September with culture, sport, music and gathering events across the city, including the lakeside. The details live on the Comune's events portal oggiacomo.it and its social pages, which is also where individual event times and any entry fees are published. No general admission rule exists for the programme, each event sets its own.

The practical pattern for a summer evening in Como is simple. Check oggiacomo.it for the day and book anything with a fixed start, such as a boat with Prosecco.

The Capodanno Experience at the Teatro Sociale pairs the Balletto di Siena in The Nutcracker with a gala dinner served on the stage itself. It runs on 31 December from 17:30 and costs $207.70 (€180) per person. Booking closes at 13:00 on 29 December, and places are limited.

The Christmas season in the city is covered in the Como Christmas guide, including what has and has not been announced for the next edition.

The Funicular to Brunate

The Como-Brunate funicular runs daily from 06:00 to 24:00, with the last departure at midnight, every 15 minutes through the day and evening after the morning peaks. The ride takes 7 minutes. A one-way ticket costs $4.27 (€3.70) and a return $8.54 (€7.40).

For an evening up the hill, ride up before sunset and plan your return well before the midnight departure (our advice). Details in the Brunate funicular guide and the Brunate page.

Trains, Buses and Boats

No official page for the last trains to Milan, the last ASF buses or the last boats was found in the sources behind this guide, so those times are not stated here. Check them directly on the operators' sites before a late night. The Milan to Como page covers the rail options into the evening, and getting around Como covers buses, boats and the funicular together.

Taxis

Como publishes no taxi tariff in the sources checked, so no night fare can be quoted. Our advice: if you are staying outside walking distance, ask where you ate to call a car and confirm the fare before you set off. The getting around guide collects what is published.

First, no Como ordinance on bar closing hours, takeaway glass or alcohol after a set hour was found on the Comune's website. That is a finding about what is published, not proof that no rule exists, so follow any sign or instruction a bar gives you.

Second, on takeaway glasses: the same absence applies. Nothing published by the Comune governs whether a bar may serve a drink in a plastic or takeaway cup after a certain hour, so this varies venue by venue.

What is published is the traffic rule. The Comune's ZTL covers the whole walled city all year, watched by gate cameras, and inside it Piazza Cavour, Piazza Duomo and Via Vittorio Emanuele II are pedestrian areas. Do not plan to drive into the old town for dinner, and check the parking guide before driving in for the evening.