Classic runabout
Riva Aquarama
Kept in original condition by its second owner and skippered by the same man for eleven years.
1968 Six guests SkipperedOn request
Boats Menaggio
On the waterat Menaggio.
How Menaggio works from the water: arriving, tying up, and what it takes to keep a boat on this stretch of the lake.
Lake Como Province of Como
Arriving at Menaggio by water
For a boat owner the position is close to ideal: you are at the point where the three branches meet, so the whole of the centre, the run north towards Colico and both southern arms are within reasonable reach. Berthing in the town is finite and moves privately, and anything attached to a house should be treated as part of the value of that house.
For the village itself, its character, its property market and how to get there, read our guide to Menaggio.
01The fleet
Our boats work the whole lake. Any of them can collect from Menaggio, and most of the useful days on the water start somewhere other than where the boat sleeps.
Lake launch
Ernesto Riva Launch
Built at Laglio by a yard that has been making boats on this lake since 1771. Quiet, slow and correct.
Eight guests SkipperedOn request
Day boat
Colombo Super Indios
The most useful boat on the lake: fast enough for Como to Bellagio before lunch, small enough for any mooring.
Six guests Skippered or self-driveOn request
Motor yacht
Sanlorenzo SD90
Positioned on the lake for the season. Taken for a day, a week, or for an occasion.
Twelve guests Crew of fourOn request
Editorial note: this page is held out of search until it carries more of its own material. Held back from the index until it has: 181/250 words of unique copy.
Boats in Menaggio: questions
Menaggio or Bellagio?
Bellagio has the address and the position; Menaggio has the view of it, a working town around you, more available property and a road out to Switzerland.
They are ten minutes apart by ferry and completely different propositions. Bellagio is a village of stepped lanes where buying takes patience and parking is a permanent negotiation. Menaggio is a town with cars, shops, a lido and a piazza, where you look at the promontory rather than stand on it. Buyers who want the postcard tend to end up in Bellagio; buyers who want to live somewhere tend to end up here.
Can you get to Menaggio by train?
Not directly, since there is no railway on the western shore. The usual route is the train to Varenna-Esino-Perledo and the ferry across, which lands in the centre of Menaggio.
This works better than it sounds. Unlike most western-shore villages, Menaggio's ferry quay is the town centre, so an arrival by rail and boat drops you at the piazza rather than at a landing stage some distance from anywhere.
What is Menaggio like in winter?
It stays open. The population is largely resident, the shops and the piazza keep working, and the car ferry runs all year on a reduced timetable.
The ferry timetable thins noticeably between November and March, and some of the seasonal restaurants close, but the town does not shut in the way that smaller villages on this shore do. If you intend to use a house outside the summer, this is one of the more sensible places on the lake to own one.
What are the running costs of owning a house in Menaggio?
The predictable items are municipal property tax, utilities, insurance, garden and house management, and any mooring or condominium charge, but the figures are property-specific and we do not publish estimates.
Two things drive the number more than anything else here. The first is whether the house is on the terrace with a garden, where grounds maintenance is the largest recurring line, or an apartment on the promenade, where the condominium charge substitutes for it. The second is whether you are non-resident, which changes the property tax treatment. Take advice on the specific property rather than working from a rule of thumb.
Written by The Como Private Desk
This page is editorial information based on our own work on the lake, not a valuation or a survey. Prices and availability move; treat any figure as an indication and take professional advice before committing.
Sources
- Navigazione Lago di Como, Car ferry routes and the reduced winter timetable. Check both before quoting any crossing time.
- Comune di Menaggio, Population, lido and promenade arrangements, and planning constraint on the terrace above the town.
Elsewhere in Menaggio
Nearby villages
Guides
Boats across the lake