Lake Como Beaches: Where to Swim, Best Lidos and Free Beaches

Lake Como has beaches, but not many like the ones you'd picture. Most of the shoreline is pebble, rock or harbour wall, much of it belongs to private villas, and real sand is rare. What the lake does have is clean, deep water, a run of well-kept lidos and beach clubs, and free pebble beaches that locals use all summer.

This guide sorts them into beach clubs and lidos (paid, with sunbeds and food), free public beaches, and the sandier, windier north of the lake. Several things changed in 2026, including the end of lake swimming at Como's best-known lido, so it's worth checking before you go. Prices are from the 2026 season unless stated.

The Quick List

The Lake Como directory has Google ratings, photos and reviews for each of the main beaches and lidos.

Beach Clubs and Lidos

A lido on Lake Como is a managed swimming area: sunbeds, umbrellas, showers, a bar, often a restaurant and sometimes a pool. Most book online, and the best ones fill on summer weekends. Prices range from a few euros at a municipal lido to several hundred at Menaggio's beach club.

Victoria Beach, Menaggio

Victoria Beach ★ 3.9 is the most polished beach club on the lake. The Grand Hotel Victoria bought Menaggio's old municipal lido at auction in 2022 and reopened it in July 2024 with a sand beach, three pools (including a lake-view infinity pool), a restaurant, bars and cabanas. It is a short walk from the Menaggio ferry stop.

It is also the most expensive. In August 2026 the cheapest umbrella with two sunbeds cost around EUR 95 including the booking fee, and the top packages with a gazebo and parking were close to EUR 390. For a free swim in Menaggio, Spiaggia Lerai, a pebble and grass beach with a kiosk and canoe hire, is a short walk north of the centre.

Lido di Bellagio

Lido di Bellagio ★ 4.2 sits between Bellagio village and the gardens of Villa Melzi, on a sand beach facing the western shore. It works by package rather than entry ticket: in 2026 a Box (two sunbeds, a sunshade and two towels) cost EUR 50 and a Gazebo for two cost EUR 200. Book online.

The bistrot serves from 11am to 6pm, and the official site says swimming is at your own risk, so don't count on a lifeguard. The season runs from mid-May to September. On Tuesday and Saturday nights it turns into a club with DJ sets (over-20s only), so it suits couples better than young families.

Lido di Lenno

Lido di Lenno ★ 4.2 is on the Golfo di Venere, right beside the headland of Villa del Balbianello. Since May 2025 it has been run by Giulietta al Lago as a beach club on fine sand and lawn, with a restaurant and food ordered to your sunbed through an app.

Booking is online only, by 7am on the day. The operator doesn't publish prices, and 2025 reports put packages at EUR 45 to 75 including lunch, so check before you go. It is the best place to combine a swim with a visit to Balbianello: see the villa in the morning and spend the afternoon here.

Lido di Cernobbio

For a pool day near Villa d'Este, Lido di Cernobbio ★ 4.1 has an Olympic-size pool, a children's pool, a solarium and a restaurant, all facing the lake beside the Cernobbio ferry stop. There is no beach.

It publishes the clearest prices on the lake. In 2026, entry with a sunbed cost EUR 20 on weekdays and EUR 30 at weekends, and a gazebo for two cost EUR 70 or EUR 110. Book online (a small, non-refundable fee) and arrive by 11:30am. Swim caps are required in the pool.

Lido di Bellano

Lido di Bellano ★ 3.9 is the most complete lido on the eastern shore: a sand beach, pools, a restaurant with a wood-fired pizza oven, and an adults-only solarium with jacuzzis for over-16s. Booking is online only. The latest published prices, from 2024, were EUR 9 to 11 for adult entry plus EUR 5 each for a sunbed or umbrella. Bellano has a train station on the Lecco to Sondrio line, so you can come from Milan without a car.

Lido di Varenna

Lido di Varenna ★ 3.9, also called Olivedo Lido, is just north of Varenna's centre near the ferry stop. It has sunbeds, a bar, a bistrot, a restaurant and summer jazz evenings, on a rocky shore with a small pier for jumping in. Prices aren't published; visitors report a small entry fee plus around EUR 7 for each sunbed or umbrella. Most of Varenna's waterfront is rock or harbour wall, so this is the easiest place to swim if you're staying there.

Lido di Villa Olmo, Como

Villa Olmo, in Como city, was for decades the default swim for anyone staying in town. In May 2026 the buoys marking its lake swimming area were removed because the lido had no permit for that stretch of water, and lake swimming stopped. Water quality was not the problem; it is rated excellent. For the rest of 2026 it operated as a pool complex, and the comune is choosing a new operator for 2027. Check its status before you plan a lake swim there.

Free Beaches

Most of Lake Como's public beaches are free. They have few or no facilities: bring water, shade, a towel and water shoes, because almost every one is pebble. Arrive before 11am on summer weekends.

San Giovanni Beach, Bellagio

San Giovanni Beach ★ 4.1 is Bellagio's free public beach, next to Villa Melzi and a walk south of the ferry stop. It is pebbles with a small lawn, a kiosk, and diving platforms in the lake. If you're staying in Bellagio, it is the obvious free alternative to the Lido di Bellagio a few minutes away.

For a quieter dip on the other side of the promontory, the fishing hamlet of Pescallo is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the centre. It is more of a swimming spot than a beach, and the base for kayak and paddleboard trips.

Riva Bianca, Lierna

Riva Bianca ★ 4.4 is the most photogenic free beach on the eastern shore: smooth white pebbles, clear water and lawns behind, in the Castello hamlet of Lierna. There is a kiosk nearby, and some reviewers mention sunbeds for hire, but don't count on one. Parking fills early, so take the train: Lierna station is about 10 minutes' walk away.

Riva di Gittana, Perledo

Just north of Varenna, Riva di Gittana is a small free beach of sand and stones with sun all day and views across to Bellagio. It is quieter than Varenna's waterfront and was approved for bathing in 2026.

Abbadia Lariana

On the eastern shore of the Lecco branch, Abbadia Lariana has a long, west-facing waterfront with afternoon sun and sunsets over the lake. The main beach, in Parco Ulisse Guzzi, is about 300 metres of pale pebbles with shallow water, an olive grove, lawns, showers and a bar. The beach is free, but the park charged non-residents EUR 4 in 2024, with free entry on weekdays after 4:30pm and weekends after 5pm. The town has its own train station on the Lecco to Sondrio line. Parts of the park are being redeveloped, with work due to finish for summer 2027.

Onno Beach

Onno Beach ★ 4.4 is a free pebble beach on the Bellagio side of the Lecco branch, about 8 to 9 km south of Bellagio on the road to Lecco. There are no facilities: no sunbeds, no kiosk and limited parking. The lakebed drops quickly, so it suits confident swimmers more than small children. It is popular with locals on weekends and quiet on weekdays.

The North of the Lake

The upper lake, around Sorico, Domaso and Colico, has the sandiest beaches on Lake Como and the most reliable wind. The Breva blows from the south most summer afternoons, typically at 15 to 18 knots, which makes this the lake's windsurfing and kitesurfing centre. Swim in the morning, when the water is calmer.

Sorico Beach ★ 4.4, at the northern tip near the Pian di Spagna nature reserve, is one of the largest sand beaches on the lake. It is free, with paid parking nearby. Domaso has a long, shallow waterfront of grass, pebbles and some sand, with windsurf schools. Colico has seven beaches, including the bay below the Abbazia di Piona, though one area, Inganna, was closed to bathing for all of 2026.

Hotel Pools and Beach Clubs

Some of the most famous places to swim on Lake Como belong to hotels and are reserved for guests. Villa d'Este's floating pool in Cernobbio is part of its members' Sporting Club. Grand Hotel Tremezzo's floating pool and T Beach, and the pools at Il Sereno, the Mandarin Oriental and Passalacqua, are for hotel guests. None of them sells day passes to the public, so if swimming matters to you, it's a reason to book the hotel. The where to stay on Lake Como guide covers them, including Villa d'Este ★ 4.7 and Grand Hotel Tremezzo ★ 4.7.

Is It Safe to Swim in Lake Como?

Yes, at the official bathing spots. The water is tested roughly monthly from spring to September by the regional health authorities, ATS Insubria on the Como side and ATS Brianza on the Lecco side, and results are published on the Italian Ministry of Health's Portale Acque. In 2026, 25 sites on the Lecco side were approved for bathing, and Como-side spots including Villa Olmo, Menaggio, Moltrasio and Nesso were rated excellent in spring.

A few areas are off-limits. In 2026, bathing was banned all season at Colico Inganna, Pescate and Rogeno. Swimming is not allowed in Como city centre, near the Tempio Voltiano. Temporary bans sometimes follow heavy rain, so check the Portale Acque if a storm has just passed.

Practical safety points:

• Boats and ferries: Stay inside buoyed swimming areas. Diving is banned on ferry routes, in ports and near landing piers, and motorboats are only supposed to travel slowly within 50 metres of the shore.
• Cold water: The surface warms up in summer, but the water below is much colder. Swim along the shore rather than far out.
• Steep drops: Many beaches shelve quickly into deep water.
• Storms: Summer thunderstorms build fast over the mountains. Get out of the water when the sky darkens.
• Swimmer's itch: The health authorities recommend showering after swimming and not swallowing lake water.
• Emergencies: The Coast Guard number is 1530.

At Nesso, the bridge over the gorge has become a viral jumping spot. In summer 2026 the comune banned diving and jumping from the bridges and walls there, with fines of up to EUR 500, and the area was overcrowded. Visit it as a sight rather than a place to swim.

When to Swim

The swimming season runs from mid-June to mid-September. Surface temperatures are around 20°C in June and September and in the low to mid 20s in July and August, and they can be higher in a heatwave. The lake is very deep, so the water below the surface stays cold all summer. Afternoons are warmer than mornings, and the southern part of the lake warms up earlier than the north. For month-by-month conditions, see the best time to visit Lake Como.

Practical Tips

Wear water shoes. Almost every beach is pebble or rock, and the stones are slippery when wet.

Book lidos ahead. Victoria Beach, Lido di Lenno, Lido di Bellano and Lido di Cernobbio all book online, and summer weekends sell out.

Respect private shoreline. Long stretches belong to villas and hotels. Stick to marked public beaches and lidos.

Use the train for the eastern shore. Abbadia Lariana, Lierna, Varenna and Bellano all have stations on the Lecco to Sondrio line, and parking at the free beaches fills early.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Lake Como have beaches?

Yes, but most are pebble rather than sand, and many of the best swimming spots are paid lidos or beach clubs. Free public beaches include San Giovanni in Bellagio, Riva Bianca in Lierna and Onno.

Are there sandy beaches on Lake Como?

A few. Sorico, at the northern tip, has the most natural sand. Lido di Bellagio, Lido di Lenno, Victoria Beach and Lido di Bellano are paid lidos with sand beaches, and Riva di Gittana is part sand.

How deep is Lake Como?

About 410 metres at its deepest point, between Argegno and Nesso. It is the deepest lake in Italy and one of the deepest in Europe.

Are there sharks in Lake Como?

No. It is a freshwater lake with around 34 species of fish, such as perch, pike and the local agone, and none is dangerous to swimmers.

Are Lake Como's beaches free?

Public beaches are free. Lidos charge, from a few euros for entry at municipal lidos to EUR 50 for two sunbeds at the Lido di Bellagio and about EUR 95 or more at Victoria Beach in high season.