Things to do
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Como Cathedral
Begun in 1396 and finished more than three centuries later, so it runs from Gothic at the front to a Rococo dome by Juvarra at the back. Statues of the two Plinys, both born in Como, sit either side of the main door.
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Funicolare Como-Brunate
A funicular running since 1894 from the lakefront up to the village of Brunate, climbing about five hundred metres in seven minutes. The terrace at the top looks down the whole southwestern arm. Cars leave every half hour through the day and the last one back is early.
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Villa Olmo
A neoclassical villa on the western shore, used for exhibitions, with a formal garden that stays open free along the water. The lakefront walk out to it from the centre takes about twenty minutes. Opening of the house depends on whether an exhibition is running, though the garden stays accessible.
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Basilica di Sant'Abbondio
An eleventh-century Romanesque basilica outside the walls, with five aisles and two bell towers. The apse holds a fourteenth-century fresco cycle of the life of Christ that is among the best in Lombardy. It is about fifteen minutes on foot from the lakefront.
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Tempio Voltiano
A domed rotunda on the waterfront holding Alessandro Volta's own instruments, built in 1927 for the centenary of his death. The batteries and electrostatic machines on display are the originals. It is a single room and takes about twenty minutes, with the lakefront promenade running past the door.
