Lake Como Events

The lake’s calendar is anchored by two things: a summer of water-borne saints’ festivals, and Como’s own civic occasions.

The Sagra di San Giovanni, late June

The lake’s best-known festival, held on and around Isola Comacina. Boats gather, the water is lit with floating lights, and there are fireworks over the island — commemorating its destruction in 1169. It runs across a weekend and the surrounding villages fill.

The Palio del Baradello, Como, September

A historical festival marking Barbarossa’s 1159 recognition of Como, with the city’s districts competing in costume and a procession through the centre. It is a local occasion with an audience rather than a show.

Sant’Abbondio, 31 August

Como’s patron saint, marked at the Romanesque basilica that carries his name — the quieter of the city’s two big dates and the more purely religious.

The season, and the gardens

The practical calendar is the villa opening season, which broadly runs March to October and closes hard afterwards, and the ferry timetable, which follows it. Spring flowering — azaleas and rhododendrons at Villa Carlotta — is a fixed point worth planning for.

Rooms are tightest from May to September and around the San Giovanni weekend.