Day trip from Milan to Como: the plan for one day

Is a day trip from Milan to Como worth it?

Yes, if you want an easy day. No other lake town is this simple to reach from Milan: one direct regional train, no ferry to time and no reservation, and you step out within walking distance of the old town. The fare is a regional one, so the trip itself costs little, and trains run all day, so a missed connection is an hour's wait, not a lost evening.

What Como gives you that Milan does not is the water and the setting: a compact walled old town with a Romanesque basilica, a cathedral next to its medieval town hall, a neoclassical villa in a lakeside park and the temple built for Alessandro Volta, the city's own scientist. What it does not give you is the picture of pastel villages above the water. Those lie further up the lake, around Bellagio and Varenna, and combining them with Como city turns an easy day into a long rush between ferries.

The travel time hardly counts against you: under an hour each way leaves most of the day for walking. The real investment is on foot, because the tour covers about 9.4 km between Porta Torre, Villa Olmo and the funicular station.

Who this day trip suits

• First-time visitors to Milan who want one day of lake and mountains without planning ferries
• Travellers on a budget, since a regional train ticket and a picnic keep the day cheap
• Anyone interested in churches and history, from Romanesque Sant'Abbondio to Volta's museum
• Good walkers who like a long day on foot along the lakefront
• Off-season visitors, because Como city keeps more open in winter than the small villages

Go to Como if you want an easy, cheap day by the lake with a real city to explore; if you are after the famous villages and villa gardens, plan a separate day around Varenna and the ferries instead.

Other day trips from Milan

• Brescia1 h 6 minPick Brescia if you would rather swap the lakefront for Roman history: the Capitolium, the Roman forum and the Santa Giulia Museum make it a day of ruins and museums instead of a long walk by the water.
• Bergamo48 minChoose Bergamo if the old town matters more to you than the water: the upper town inside the Venetian Walls, with Piazza Vecchia and the Cappella Colleoni, is more compact than Como's long lakeside walk.
• Turin1 h 2 minGo to Turin if you want a big-city museum day instead of a walk by the lake: the Egyptian Museum and the Royal Palace fill a day indoors.

Milan to Como day trip itinerary: from the morning train to dinner in Milan

Day plan for: Tue–Sun

Take a morning train from Milano Centrale at around a quarter to nine, start the tour at Porta Torre soon after arrival and let the lunch break after Volta's temple split the walk into two halves.

1. Morning08:43 – 09:23

   Take the direct Trenord train at around a quarter to nine from Milano Centrale; it arrives at Como S.Giovanni shortly before half past nine. Walk down into the old town to Porta Torre and aim to be there around a quarter to ten.

   This train avoids the earliest rush and still gives you a full day on the ground; the spare time on arrival covers the walk down, a coffee and the ticket for the way back.

2. Tour09:45 – 12:45

   At Porta Torre you open the tour in the browser and the AI Tour Guide greets you. It tells you why the tower was built, then leads you to the Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, out along the long stretch to Villa Olmo, back along the Passeggiata Lino Gelpi and on to the Tempio Voltiano, asking what you want to hear more about as you walk.

   The longest walking leg of the morning, from Sant'Abbondio to Villa Olmo, is easiest while you are fresh, and the villa and Volta's temple are both open by the time you reach them.

   1. 1Porta Torre
   2. 2Basilica di Sant'Abbondio
   3. 3Villa Olmo
   4. 4Passeggiata Lino Gelpi
   5. 5Tempio Voltiano

   Start the Como tour

3. Lunch12:45 – 13:45

   Stop for lunch after the Tempio Voltiano and before the Broletto. Look for lake fish on the menu: fried perch fillets with butter and sage, lavarello, or missoltino, the sun dried agone.

   By then you have walked the whole western half of the tour along the lake, and the Broletto and the cathedral wait just a short walk away in the old town once you have eaten.

4. Afternoon13:45 – 17:45

   The guide picks up the story at the Broletto, then leads you into Como Cathedral and on to Piazza del Popolo, before the last long leg to the Como-Brunate Funicular, where the tour ends with the ride up to Brunate on the hill above and back down. If museums are your thing, the Como Civic Art Gallery is an optional detour after the cathedral; it uses the spare time the plan leaves, roughly 45 minutes.

   The cathedral's ticketed transept, sacristies and balconies are open in the early afternoon, and the funicular keeps running long after you leave, so the long final walk and the ride up fit at the end of the day, where you can shorten them if needed.

   1. 6Broletto
   2. 7Como Cathedral
   3. 8Piazza del Popolo
   4. 9Como-Brunate Funicular
5. Return17:45 – 19:17

   Leave the funicular station by about a quarter to six at the latest and walk back to Como S.Giovanni. Take the Trenord train at around half past six, which arrives at Milano Centrale at around a quarter past seven.

   The walk back uphill to the station plus a buffer for buying and validating your ticket fits comfortably, and you are in Milan in time for dinner.

Arrival to return departure: 9 h 13 min. Time for your visit: about 8 h.

Arrival 09:23, tour start 09:45: 20 min to walk to the start, 2 min spare.

Realistically you get about eight hours in Como; if you arrive late, cut the end of the tour, the long walk from Piazza del Popolo to the funicular station and the ride up to Brunate, not the stops before it.

Como walking tour in one day: from Porta Torre to the funicular

Opening hours as of 22 October 2026.

1. 
   1Stop 1

   Porta Torre

   Built in 1192 to defend the main entrance to the city, this 40 metre tower gate is where Como's walled town begins.

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Porta Torre on Google Maps ↗

2. 
   2Stop 2

   Basilica di Sant'Abbondio

   An 11th-century Romanesque basilica outside the old walls, one of the oldest and calmest churches in the city.

   Hours

   Daily: 08:00–18:30

   Price

   Free

   Website

   diocesidicomo.it ↗

   Location

   Basilica di Sant'Abbondio on Google Maps ↗

3. 
   3Stop 3

   Villa Olmo

   A neoclassical villa designed by the architect Simone Cantoni, set in a public park at the far end of the lakefront walk.

   Hours

   Mon: closed
   Tue–Sun: 10:00–18:00

   Price

   Free

   Website

   villaolmocomo.it ↗

   Location

   Villa Olmo on Google Maps ↗

4. 
   4Stop 4

   Passeggiata Lino Gelpi

   The lakeside promenade that carries you from Villa Olmo back towards the centre along the water.

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Passeggiata Lino Gelpi on Google Maps ↗

5. 
   5Stop 5

   Tempio Voltiano

   A museum in the form of a temple, dedicated to Alessandro Volta, the Como born scientist who invented the electric battery.

   Hours

   Mon: closed
   Tue–Sun: 10:00–18:00

   Website

   comune.como.it ↗

   Price

   €6

   Location

   Tempio Voltiano on Google Maps ↗

6. 
   6Stop 6

   Broletto

   Como's most important medieval civic building, standing right beside the cathedral façade.

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Broletto on Google Maps ↗

7. 
   7Stop 7

   Como Cathedral

   The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, seat of the diocese, where a ticket opens the transept, sacristies and balconies.

   Hours

   Mon–Fri: 10:30–17:30
   Sat: 10:45–16:30
   Sun: 11:00–11:45, 13:00–16:30

   Website

   cattedraledicomo.it ↗

   Price

   €6

   Location

   Como Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

8. 
   8Stop 8

   Piazza del Popolo

   A city square on the edge of the old town and the starting point of the tour's long final leg.

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Piazza del Popolo on Google Maps ↗

9. 
   9Stop 9

   Como-Brunate Funicular

   The funicular railway linking Como with the village of Brunate on the hill above, and the ride up that closes the tour.

   Hours

   Daily: 06:00–24:00

   Website

   atm.it ↗

   Price

   Round trip: €7.40

   Location

   Como-Brunate Funicular on Google Maps ↗

Getting back from Como to Milan