Funicolare Como-Brunate

Travel up the cable railroad for a nice view of the city and lake
Only 5.50 euro for road trip and trips are every 15 minutes throughout the day. (Except for very early morning and sometime after 8pm when trips slow to every 30 min until closing)

We got bored of Milan after a day so we took a train out to Como, which turned out to be a wonderful idea. Funicolare Como-​Brunate was our favorite thing to do in Como. For about 5 EUR, the funiculare takes you up and back down the mountain to/​from Brunate, a cute small village. The views up there were spectacular. Once at the top we decided to walk to the lighthouse & ‘waterfall’; both were disappointing but the views along the way were incredible so that made it worth it. The hike to either one of these attractions are pretty steep so make sure you have on comfortable shoes.

This is the funicular that takes you up to the charming and quaint Brunate. It costs 5 euros each way and leaves every 30 minutes. My travel buddy told me there was a specific café she wanted us to go to once we arrived, but we discovered it was closed.
Still, we were so glad to have made the trek up because the views of the lake were beautiful. Take a walk around the village, check out the church, and do a little perusing through the items for sale in the shops.

The funiculare provided wonderful views of the lake and the surrounding areas. There’s a hiking path visible from the funiculare that looked like it might be an enjoyable adventure (going down, not up though). Once ontop the mountain, strolling around the quaint Brunate was an absolute joy. If your aspirations are to go to the higher parts of the town, it might be useful to wear sneakers as my boots disagreed with my decision to hike up the steep inclines.

Sit in the front of the car (lowest level) for the best views of the lake and town of Como. If you are going for the views I would recommend going on a clear day! However, if you are going to explore Brunate I would recommend wearing a decent pair of shoes, as you will need to be doing a bit of walking.
The ride itself is around 10 minutes or less. I saw an even mix of both tourists and residents riding the funicular while I was there.
€ 5.30 for a round trip ticket — leaves every half hour from 6am-10:30pm, although the hours may be a little longer on Saturdays. The schedule is posted right on the ticket office window. Man at the office does speak a little English but I would recommend at least knowing a few phrases in Italian (ie: «andata e ritorno» = «round trip»).

While at Lake Como, we took the funiculare up the mountain — reasonable at about 5Euro each for the round trip. The views just keep getting better as the railway car rises. Once in Brunate, we walked all around the village, had lunch and a glass of wine at the café right near the station. The tiny church in Brunate was so beautiful — the workmanship was incredible. We spent several hours relaxing here, enjoying the afternoon breezes and the laid-​back atmosphere. Definitely a must see when in Lake Como.

This inclined railway (funicular) takes you from the Lakefront Como to Brunate (which is a complete village at the top of the low-​lying mountain) in just a few minutes for only 6E! What a bargain… we should have spent more time in Brunate, checking out the shops and restaurants, but a fantastic view, even though it was a bit hazy the afternoon we were there!

Get your hiking shoes on and let’s go all aboard! What better way to shake off arrival day jet lag then to hike up a mountain? Way better than shopping and no need to use the 40 year old gym equipment found in my hotel… at least not today.
Five euro/​person will buy you a round trip ticket up and down the funicular. While there are a number of things to see in Brunate including villas built into hillsides, a waterfall, and a few churches — the main attraction is a lighthouse and tallest standing point of the mountain.
There are two ways to the lighthouse and both are due *up*. One way is to take the bus departing just outside the funicular. The second is to hoof it, which we did; I in wedges and honey in sneaks. It’s about 2 kilometers, so a hare over a mile, and it will take you every last minute (and then some) that the signs indicate — about 35 minutes. Not sure if we’re idots for following the signs as they lead on a rocky path sans switchbacks. The actual road, paved with ease, seems like your best bet albeit longer with the winding up the mountainside.
Then 142 more steps to the top of the lighthouse and task done.

On our visit to Italy, we decided to go to Lake Como and then do Milan the next day. In Como there’s a small area for shopping and such, but what we heard about was the funicolare! It’s super cute. A little train that goes up the side of a mountain to Brunate. For a round trip cost of 5.10 Euros it’s well worth it for the experience. It unfortunately so windy and cold the day we went so when we got to Brunate, it was just unbearable. The tram runs every 30 min so you can wait up to 29 min if you JUST missed the run, which was in our case both times. Either way, the views from the top at Brunate was beautiful. It was almost sun set so we got gorgeous photos. Get good walking shoes if you want to explore Brunate more than we did.