Lake Como - advice needed

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Planning to treat my 29 year old daughter to a few days away in May or June. She works very hard, but doesn't earn much, so I'd like to treat her to a few days in the Italian Lakes (I've never been there before) She's not big on sight-seeing, but would enjoy chilling in a nice hotel with beautiful views, walking along the lake shore, strolling around a pretty Italian town, eating and drinking in lovely places. Como or Bellagio? Or somewhere else? And any hotel recommendations? I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

Lake Como is lovely. We stayed in Varenna which is connected by boat and train to other places on the lake so it made a good base for our stay. It also has plenty of restaurants and opportunities to swim in the lake or hire a boat.

I went to lake Como this summer it's over crowded I spent one day in Lugano which is Switzerland but basically Italy just like Como but less people!

Como is the largest town but the more scenic area and famous villas are further up the lake. Try Menaggio, Tremezzo, Belaggio and Varenna.

I had a fabulous few days at Hotel du Lac in Menaggio. Como is an easy bus ride away & there are regular ferries to Bellaggio & Varenna.

Garda on Lake Garda also fits your brief

Lake Como is lovely. I thought Varenna was the very prettiest town, followed by Bellagio. Menaggio is also quite nice. I stayed in Lenno but it was a bit too quiet.

Como itself is a city at the bottom end of the lake, I'd avoid that, and stick with the scenic central area above.

If not Lake Como, then Riva del Garda is very nice.

My favourite thing to do in Como was the funicular railway, with incredible views from the village at the top.

I got there for the first train of the day & there were no queues - loads of people waiting when I came back down though.

In the evenings in Menaggio, I usually sat either at one of the outdoor cafes by the lake with a glass of wine or with my feet in the water enjoying a gelato.

www.explorelakecomo.com/go/brunate-funicular

I stayed in Lecco. It wasn't as ridiculously picturesque as the other villages but it did have actual locals who lived there and was quite affordable. We took the local ferry service across to one set of beautiful villages and a train up to another. They were gorgeous but so crowded - we were glad to get back to Lecco after enjoying the beauty. This was the walk back to the station from one place we visited.

We stayed in Hotel Villa Marie in Tremezzo which was very handy for the ferry to Bellagio and the Villa Balbienello where they filmed James Bond and Star Wars. Nice pool over looking the lake. DD really liked Varenna on a recent visit.

I found out very quickly that if I wanted to get out on the lake the ferry boats were cheaper and quieter than the tourist ones, which were bulging to the brim with tour groups.

I've stayed in the Porlezza/Menaggio area several times and loved it. Porlezza is on Lake Lugano and there's a ferry that dips in and out of Switzerland via an enclave. Menaggio and Como are slightly less touristified as towns than Bellagio. The whole area is beautiful.

If you like modern history, this is the area through which Mussolini tried to escape when he realised the game was up. There is a plaque outside a villa in the town of Dongo where he was executed by partisans, before his body was taken to Milan and hung upside-down in public (not from a lamp-post, as the legend has it).

Thanks so much to everyone who's replied. Some useful suggestions!

Como and go up to switzerland for a day. Its only 40 minutes on the train to switzerland.

Como is v pretty

We arrived at Lake Como by train on a rainy day from Milan and stayed in Varenna which was charming (October).We loved the feel of Lake Como and the area.Bellagio is pretty but tourists , mostly North American, seem to arrive there by the ferryload so quite crowded even in October.The Villa Balbionella was gorgeous.We liked Villa Carlotta .Oh yes the gorge in Bellano was lovely too !
On the last day we did kill a few hours in Lecco on the way back to Milan and quite liked it too. It was quieter and not touristy. Had lovely pizza and tiramisu there at Ferdinand’s.
For the first timer, suggest that you stick with midlake Bellagio, Varenna etc.Keep in mind Como city is quite time taking to get to from the triangle of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna.
I would quite happily go back to Lake Como😊

I loved doing a train trip from com to switzerland . It's not far and the views are stunning