In summer, we did a 10 day road trip through parts of Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France. Our itinerary was: Berlin – Weimar – Heidelburg – Freiburg – Lucerne – Lake Como – La Spezia – Cinque Terre – Bussana Vecchia – Monaco – Éze – Gorges du Verdon – Moustiers-Ste-Marie – Valensole – Chamonix – Tübingen – Swäbisch Hall – Berlin.

After leaving Lucerne, we drove across Switzerland and through the mountains to the region o Lombardy in the north of Italy, coming to our overnight stop for Day 3: the charming town of Torno. Torno is situated right next to Lake Como, a beautiful lake in the foothills of the alps, surrounded by towns with villas and churches. It was one of the places that had made a big impression on me during a trip to Italy in 2005, and I was excited to show it to my husband.

Driving through Switzerland

A sudden change of scenery as we entered Italy

As soon as we arrived in Torno we were filled with that excited holiday feeling, as now the scenery and feeling was quite different to that back in Germany or even Switzerland. The air was warm, the buildings were quaint, the water lapped at the shore of the small harbour of Torno as we sat and watched the ferry boats coming by.

There were hills to walk up and down as we looked for our hotel (when you live in Berlin it really stands out when a town is hilly, as Berlin is totally flat). It was quite a challenge finding parking but we found some just before a tunnel leading to the town and then walked back through the tunnel to get to the village.

Our hotel turned out to be a beautiful two-roomed apartment with a shared balcony to relax on, and the check-in was at the bar on the other side of the building, where there was also a restaurant and the tables where breakfast would be served (i should mention that in Italy a bar is not some dark place serving alcoholic drinks, but rather a place where you can also get coffee, snacks and other refreshments at the counter). Probably my favourite accommodation on the whole trip.The locals clearly loved the restaurant too, as the place was full of people eating delicious-smelling pizzas. Unfortunately there was no space for us, so we went to another restaurant nearby. After dinner we sat on the balcony of the apartment, enjoying the warm air, the views and the stars.

Our friend enjoying the balcony

The next morning we took a ferry ride to Como. It’s a very scenic ride, as you can see the villas on the shores as you ride past.

On my last trip we stopped in Bellagio, so this time we decided to explore Como, which was also nearer by. We walked around for the town a bit, admiring the cathedral and other buildings, and grabbed a gelato before heading back to the ferry.

Our end goal for the day was to reach La Spezia, our base for our visit to Cinque Terre in the Liguria region. We were all sorry to leave beautiful Torno, but new adventures lay ahead. Here are a few more photos of Lake Como.