Where to Stay in Como: Five Areas Compared

The tax is charged per person per night, not per room, and only for a maximum of 4 consecutive nights. Night five and beyond is free of tax. You pay it to the accommodation operator, who issues a receipt.

Minors up to fourteen years of age are exempt. Other exemptions include Como residents, bus drivers and guides assisting organised groups, civil servants and police on duty, one assistant per patient in a municipal health facility or Sant'Anna Hospital, disabled dependants with certification plus one companion, non-resident University of Como students aged 26 or under, volunteers at major public events, people in rehabilitation after hospitalisation, and free nights. The exemption needs a declaration handed to the manager.

The tax has been charged since 2013 and the revenue funds tourism services, events, public spaces and green areas. Worked examples, our own arithmetic: two adults in a 4-star hotel for 3 nights pay 2 x 3 x $5.77 (€5) = $34.60 (€30). For 6 nights the 4-night cap still applies, so 2 x 4 x $5.77 (€5) = $46.10 (€40).

Two adults in a B&B for 4 nights pay 2 x 4 x $3.46 (€3) = $27.70 (€24).

Per Trenord, trains from Milano Cadorna run to Como Lago, the lakefront station, minutes from the ferry piers. The journey covers 46 km in about 60 minutes with roughly 34 services a day, and the fare is $6.23 (€5.40) under the Lombardy regional tariff. Trains from Milano Centrale run to Como San Giovanni, uphill from the centre.

That journey covers 47 km in about 40 minutes with about 17 trains a day, first departure 06:43 and last 21:43, at the same $6.23 (€5.40) fare. The practical rule is simple: sleep near the station you arrive at and leave from. Dragging a suitcase downhill from San Giovanni to a lakefront hotel is a poor start to a holiday, and conversely a Cadorna arrival puts you on the water already.

Timetables and tickets are on Milan to Como by train and Como San Giovanni station.

The Città Murata puts the cathedral at the centre and the lake at one end. The ferry pier sits on Piazza Cavour at the water's edge, so day boats to the mid-lake towns need no planning beyond a timetable glance. The main tourist information office is on the same square at Piazza Cavour 17, phone +39 031 269712.

Como Cathedral is the anchor sight, and its weekday tourist visits open mid-morning, so a room inside the walls lets you be at the door when it opens rather than on a train. The full visiting hours are on the Como Cathedral page. The two-hour guided city walk starts from Piazza Cavour 5, and the boat and Brunate funicular tour meets at Molo Sant'Agostino a few steps from the same square.

More sights around the base are on things to do in Como.

• Sleep inside the walls so evenings need no transport
• Time a cathedral visit to the morning hours on weekdays
• Start with the guided city walk from Piazza Cavour
• Book the boat and funicular combination to sample the lake and Brunate in one afternoon
• Pick up a paper map and answers at the IAT desk at Piazza Cavour 17

Brunate

The Como-Brunate funicular is the link, run by ATM with its lower station at Piazza Alcide De Gasperi 4 on the Como side. It runs every day until the last departure at midnight, and the ride takes 7 minutes with optional request stops at Como Alta and Carescione. The last car at midnight is the effective curfew for anyone sleeping up top who wants a late evening in town.

As a base it trades that constraint for the view over the lake. Fares are from the funicular's own fare sheet, and the ride is covered in full on the Brunate funicular page.

Cernobbio

Cernobbio sits one ferry band from Como. The Navigazione Lago di Como tariff sets Como to Cernobbio, band 1, at $3.46 (€3) one way from the landing stage on Piazza Cavour, so a dinner in either direction is cheap and quick in daylight. Evening services thin out, so check the current timetable on the operator's site before planning a late return, because this page does not print it.

Piers and fares are on the Como ferry page. The town's food draw is Materia on Via Trieste 1/B, holding one MICHELIN star in the 2026 selection, a Creative kitchen at the top price band, and the restaurant recently moved to that address. Cernobbio is a separate comune with its own tourist tax and administration, so the Como city figures in the tax table do not apply.

The Michelin entries of both towns are on Como restaurants.

Trains cover the Milan corridor in both directions. The funicular covers the hill. Boats from the Piazza Cavour pier cover Cernobbio and the mid-lake towns, with band 1 to Cernobbio at $3.46 (€3).

The walled town, the station area and the lakefront all connect on foot. Where to stay in Como without a car therefore comes down to taste rather than necessity. Choose the Città Murata for zero-transport evenings, the lakefront for flat shore walks, San Giovanni for rail convenience, and Brunate or Cernobbio if you accept a cable car or a boat as your daily ride.

Drivers face different constraints. Central Como sits inside a ZTL, the limited traffic zone, and the ZTL operating hours and parking tariff figures could not be verified for this page, so drivers should read getting around Como before choosing a base. One car-free certainty: the park of Villa Olmo is free to enter and regularly open, though the villa building itself is currently closed for restoration work and access is only partially accessible for reduced mobility.

• Città Murata, station area and lakefront all work entirely on foot
• Brunate runs on the funicular, 06:00 to midnight
• Cernobbio runs on the ferry, band 1, $3.46 (€3) from the pier
• Milan trips need no car, see Milan to Como by train
• Drivers should check ZTL hours and parking on getting around Como