What’s the Strategy for Making the Most of one day by bike in Bellagio?

By Alex Stein, Shop Assistant and Bike Guide

You’ve only got one day on the bike here at the center of Lake Como. From Bellagio you have access to the mountains above the town, and also to Menaggio and Varenna via the ferry system. You want to make the most of your day. What do you do?

First, consider joining in on one of our Daily Tours. We have a top-notch staff that knows all of the local highlight spots. They’ll take you to the most beautiful vistas, share with you local history and lore, navigate without worry, and answer all of your questions. If you prefer a private experience, you can select your own course from our list of Custom Tours. Forbes Travel described our shop, “Bike It! Bellagio offers another insider biking experience on a much different scale, providing a great one-day experience for visitors to Italy’s most famous lake town.” See what else  Forbes says about our guided tours.

For those who want to self-navigate, there are a lot of ways to maximize the day. Find the group that describes you, and we have a recommendation (or 2) for you.

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We want to have a good time on the e-bikes and see great vistas

For families looking to stay off of the roads as much as possible, Pedalata a Porlezza is our top recommendation. Plan to get to the shop early because you’ll need to take the ferry across to Menaggio to start your ride.  Our GPS will navigate you along the bike path and secondary roads past pastoral lands, small lakes, campgrounds, and all surrounded by the high Pre-Alp mountains. Finish your out trip at Lake Lugano with views of Switzerland for lunch and then return the same way or take a climb into the local high villages on secondary roads. Remember that you must be back at the shop by 6:00pm, so just keep an eye on the return ferry schedule.


If you prefer to stay on our side of the lake (Bellagio), we have a short, medium and long option. No need to worry about ferries. Just take off from our shop and there are beautiful views the whole way, and many restaurants with views for excellent lunch stops:

• Ghisallo Family e-xperience or our Family Treasure Hunt is perfect with kids and most easily navigated using a shop GPS. Request a ride up to the first secondary road for a modest 20euro fee to avoid the first 4km of car road.  (short – 20km &800m of elevation)
• Onno & Ghisallino is worth visiting if you want to get to the famous Ghisallo Bike museum. The route can be navigated either by shop GPS or using your phone. (medium – 34km and 700m elevation)
• Ghisallo & Sormano offers fabulous views, but you’ll need to work for it. There is a fair amount of climbing in this. The e-bike can help, but you’ll need to work too. This route can be navigated either by shop GPS or using your phone. (long – 50km, 1300m elevation)

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We are casual road cyclists
Take advantage of our amazing fleet of road bikes and hit the open road on one of our Easy or Medium routes. Just pay attention to the elevation gain when you’re choosing. That, more than the distance, can be the determining factor in how your day goes. Some of our favorites;

• Onno & Ghisallino to visit the historic Madonna del Ghisallo cycle museum and chapel. The hills on this route are substantial, so plan to take breaks to enjoy the view and see the towns you’ll pass through. Fill up water at the fountain dedicated to cyclists.
• The North Face is a big day with two ferry rides, but you’ll get to see so much of our local towns, mountains, and terrain on the flattest possible course. We recommend riding it clockwise from Cadenabbia/Menaggio around the north to Varenna on the east coast of the lake. 

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We are hard core road cyclists
There is no shortage of hardcore rides. Come to the shop and tell our staff what you’re hoping for and we can guide you. But…

• It doesn’t get much more historic and challenging than Ghisallo & Muro di Sormano. The Madonna del Ghisallo climb is on the Giro di Lombardia every year. The Muro is a monument of cycling. I like to call it the Disney World of cycling…1.8km, 367meters of elevation gain – average 18% and peaks out at 25% grade. Make sure to tell us how it went.
• See the best of our Lake, and of Lake Lugano on our Border Crossing route. Featuring a 1000 meter climb on the quiet Schignano road, and then a highly technical descent down to Lugano, this ride is not for the faint of heart.

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The trails are calling me
If you prefer to get on the backroads and hit the trails, we can offer you track to navigate our local trails through our GPS rentals. All of our track is ranked easy, medium and hard.

• My favorite destination ride is Rifugio Martina. The easy route is largely secondary roads, while medium and hard routes are mostly trail. Note that hard really means hard – highly technical track. Make a reservation at the Rifugio before heading up there, and you’ll eat lunch with a fabulous view.
• For a loop, Onno & Ghisalinno Trail Mix will give you lakeside, and high mountain views and offers various levels of difficulty (we have different versions of the route).