Como Travel Guide
Como Hotels: How to Choose by Area, Stars and Tax
Como hotels come in every category Lombardy recognises, from one-star alberghi to five-star hotels, plus tourist-hotel residences, B&Bs and holiday apartments. This guide names no individual properties, because it holds no rate reading and no inspection of its own. What it gives you instead is the set of decisions that actually shape a stay. Which part of the city fits your plan, from the walled old town to the western lakefront. What your chosen star category adds at checkout in tourist tax, charged per person per night and capped after four. Which of the two train stations to arrive at, and how the ZTL traffic zone treats hotel guests who drive. The final section lists the checks to run before you pay, beginning with the CIN code that every legal listing must display. For the area-by-area detail behind these choices, see where to stay in Como, and for the wider trip frame, start at the independent Como guide.
Quick answer Four things that decide which Como hotel to book
Como hotels are best chosen by area first, since the walled centre, the station hill, the western lakefront and the Brunate hillside suit different trips. The city tourist tax is charged per person per night by star category, on top of the room rate. Every legal listing must show a CIN code, and check-in requires an in-person ID check.
Key takeaways
- Compare neighbourhoods in the areas table on the where-to-stay page before you compare prices.
- Budget the tourist tax by star using the table below, two adults in a 4-star hotel pay $46.10 (€40) over four nights.
- Travelling on a budget, see budget hotel options in Como and consider a 1 or 2-star albergo at the lowest tax band.
- Once booked, warm up with the guided city walk, which starts at Piazza Cavour 5 by the ferry pier.
Como Hotels by Star Category
Como hotels by star category, with the city tourist tax each category adds per person per night. The figures come from the Comune di Como tariff sheet, capped at 4 nights, under-14s exempt.
| Category | Tax per person per night | Two adults, 3 nights | Two adults, 7 nights | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-star hotel | $5.77 (€5) | $34.60 (€30) | $46.10 (€40) capped at 4 nights | Tax not in the room rate, paid at the property |
| 4-star hotel | $5.77 (€5) | $34.60 (€30) | $46.10 (€40) capped at 4 nights | Same band as 5-star, so the extra star costs you nothing in tax |
| 3-star hotel | $4.61 (€4) | $27.70 (€24) | $36.90 (€32) capped at 4 nights | One euro a night less per person than 4-star |
| 1-2 star hotel | $3.46 (€3) | $20.80 (€18) | $27.70 (€24) capped at 4 nights | Lowest hotel band, same as B&Bs and apartments |
| Residenza turistico-alberghiera (RTA) | $5.77 (€5) at 4 stars, $4.61 (€4) at 3 stars, $3.46 (€3) at 2 stars | $34.60 (€30) at 4 stars | $46.10 (€40) at 4 stars, capped at 4 nights | Taxed by its own star rating, not as an apartment |
Sums assume two adults, so a 7-night stay is billed as 4 nights. The accommodation collects the tax and issues a receipt. The Comune page does not say whether booking platforms collect it, so expect to pay at the property. Source: the official tariff sheet. Figures current for in Q3 2026.
Which Part of Como for Which Hotel Stay
Five areas cover practically every Como hotel search. Each suits a different kind of trip, and each links to a live room search so you can see what actually exists there.
Città Murata, the Walled Old Town
This is the postcard Como: the cathedral, the medieval walls and the ferry pier on Piazza Cavour all sit inside these blocks. A hotel here puts the boat for Bellagio and the cathedral on foot. The catch is traffic. The whole area is inside the ZTL, so driving guests must have the hotel register their plate before arrival.
Around Como San Giovanni Station
The streets climbing from Como San Giovanni suit anyone arriving on the Milano Centrale line who wants to drop bags and go. Trains to Milan take about 40 minutes, which makes this the practical base for a trip that mixes lake days with a Milan visit. The trade-off is geography: the station sits uphill from the lake, so you trade a slope for the fare gate.
Lakefront and Borgo Vico
West of the centre along the shore, Borgo Vico runs along the flat shore towards Villa Olmo, whose park is free to enter. You walk level streets to the old town instead of climbing, which matters with luggage or a pushchair. The restaurant Kitchen at Via per Cernobbio 41/a, holder of a MICHELIN Star in 2026, sits along this western shore as a dinner reason in itself.
Brunate
Brunate is the hilltop village above the city, reached by a funicular that runs 06:00-24:00 with the 7-minute ride costing $4.27 (€3.70) one way. A room here trades lake-level convenience for the view. The last funicular leaves at midnight, so a dinner in town has to end in time for it. Brunate is its own comune, so the Como city tax figures on this page do not apply there.
Cernobbio
Cernobbio is a separate town down the lake, not part of Como city. It has its own tourist tax rules, not stated here, and it holds villa gardens on its shore. The boat from Como is band 1 at $3.46 (€3), so you can eat and stroll in Como easily, or the reverse. Choose it for a smaller town, choose Como city for both train lines and the ferry hub.
Match the Hotel to Your Train
Como has two stations serving two different Milan lines, and they sit in different parts of town. Booking a hotel near the wrong one adds a bus ride or a hill to every arrival and departure, so match the station to the line you will actually use. Both lines cost the same regional fare of $6.23 (€5.40) from Milan.
The table compares the two Milan lines by arrival station, fare and the hotel area that fits each one. If you continue to Switzerland, Como San Giovanni is also the line towards Chiasso, while Como Lago is the lakefront station.
| Train from | Arrives at | Fare | Hotel area that fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milano Centrale, about 40 minutes | Como San Giovanni, uphill from the lake | $6.23 (€5.40) | Streets around Como San Giovanni station, or the old town a short walk away |
| Milano Cadorna, about 60 minutes | Como Lago, on the lakefront by the ferry piers | $6.23 (€5.40) | Lakefront and old town, steps from Piazza Cavour |
Sources: Trenord Milano Centrale line and Trenord Milano Cadorna line. Full arrival detail on Como San Giovanni station.
Arriving by Car at a Como Hotel
The ZTL covers the entire walled historic centre, the piazza Roma and piazza Verdi district, and piazza Volta with via Grassi and via Garibaldi. It is enforced all year by camera gates. A permit category exists specifically for hotel guests, called clienti strutture alberghiere, and requests run online only with SPID or CIE identity credentials. So the one rule to remember is simple.
The Plate Rule
Before you drive to a hotel inside the walls, ask the hotel how it registers your plate. Do this by email at booking, not at the barrier. If the hotel has not registered you, the cameras will record an unauthorised entry. The comune's own pages do not publish a self-service procedure for guest plates, so the hotel's handling is the reliable route. Requests that guests make themselves go through the official online ZTL channel with SPID or CIE.
The camera gates sit at via Cinque Giornate, via Diaz, via Carducci, via Indipendenza, via Rodari, via Grassi and via Cairoli. If your route to the hotel passes any of these without registration, you are recorded.
If the hotel cannot register you, use the Autosilo via Auguadri near the courthouse and walk in. CSU places it in the historic centre by the courthouse. It takes vehicles up to 2 metres tall, with automatic pay machines so you can retrieve the car at any hour.
| Stay | Day rate 06:30-20:30 | Night rate 20:30-06:30 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | $1.73 (€1.50) | $1.73 (€1.50) |
| 2 hours | $4.04 (€3.50) | $4.04 (€3.50) |
| 5 hours | $10.96 (€9.50) | $5.77 (€5) |
Sources: Comune di Como ZTL page and the CSU tariff sheet for Autosilo via Auguadri. Full options on Como parking.
Five Checks Before You Book a Como Hotel
Italy tightened the rules on accommodation in recent years, and Como adds its own tourist tax and traffic zone. These five checks take minutes and prevent the most common bad surprises at check-in and checkout.
Each check below is a rule or a fact from an official source, with what to do about it.
- 1. Look for the CIN code. Every hotel and rental in Italy must display a national identification code in the listing, by law, with sanctions in force. Operating without one brings fines from 800 to 8,000 euro, failing to display it from 500 to 5,000 euro. If the listing has no CIN, book elsewhere.
- 2. Budget the tourist tax separately. The tax is charged per person per night on top of the room rate, capped at 4 consecutive nights, with under-14s exempt. The accommodation collects it and must give you a receipt. The Comune does not state whether booking platforms collect it, so bring the amount for your star category in cash or card at the desk.
- 3. Plan for an in-person ID check. Consiglio di Stato ruling n. 9101/2025 reinstated the requirement that accommodation identify guests in person, on top of sending ID data to the police within 24 hours of arrival. Bring the same document you booked with, and expect no pure key-box self check-in.
- 4. Check which station your arrival uses. Como San Giovanni takes the Milano Centrale line and sits uphill, Como Lago takes the Milano Cadorna line and sits on the lakefront. Pick the hotel area that matches, or accept the transfer.
- 5. If you drive, settle the ZTL question first. Email the hotel about plate registration before the trip, and if the answer is vague, plan to park at Autosilo via Auguadri and walk. Never drive through a gate hoping it will sort itself out.
What This Guide Does Not Rank, and Why
An honest limit of this page: it names no hotels and prints no nightly rates, because it holds no rate reading and no inspection of its own.
Three things are missing from the official record, and they shape what this page can tell you.
No hotel count exists here. The Lombardy regional open-data set of accommodation structures was not accessible for this research, so we cannot state how many hotels Como has or how many beds. The Comune publishes no official list of hotels by star either.
No rates are quoted. Room prices move by date, platform and cancellation terms, and reading them once would tell you little. Instead, use the search links in the areas section above, which show live availability for the neighbourhood you chose.
Reviews are your inspection. For any shortlisted property, read the most recent reviews first and sort by low score to see what goes wrong, then check that the CIN code appears in the listing.
Tours That Start Near Como's Central Hotels
The guided walk meets at Piazza Cavour 5, the boat and funicular tour at Molo Sant'Agostino, and the golf cart tour at Via Fratelli Cairoli 21, all in the centre. Each adds structure to a first visit once the hotel is settled.
from $43.56
Como: Guided City Tour
A two-hour guided walk through Como's historic centre, taking in the Cathedral, the Social Theatre and the medieval walls from the outside. Entrance tickets to any monument are not included.
Check Availability
from $72.23
Lake Como Boat Tour with Brunate Funicular and Scenic Views
A one-hour shared boat tour out of Como with a Prosecco, bundled with a priority-access Brunate funicular ticket and free time to explore the hilltop village on your own.
Check Availability
from $46.33
The Iconic Como City Tour • 2-Hour Golf Cart Experience
A two-hour tour of Como and Cernobbio in an open electric golf cart with a driver and a seven-language audio guide, stopping for photos at Villa d'Este and Villa Erba.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own. dollar figures are the listed prices — the platform bills in your account's currency.
Como Hotel Areas on the Map
Pin the reference points before you shortlist: the ferry pier, both stations, the funicular, the western park and the car park outside the walls.
Coordinates from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap Nominatim.
Next Steps After Choosing a Hotel
Once the area and category are settled, these pages carry the decision forward.
Where to Stay in Como
The full neighbourhood breakdown behind this page, with the areas table that compares every district side by side.
Como Apartments
Holiday rentals are taxed at $3.46 (€3) per person per night, the lowest band for self-catering, and this page covers how apartment stays differ from hotels.
Cheap Hotels in Como
Budget stays mostly fall in the 1-2 star band at $3.46 (€3) tax, plus hostels at $2.31 (€2), and this page lists the practical ways to pay less.
Como Hotels: Questions
Which area of Como is best for a hotel?
For a first stay, the walled Città Murata wins, because the cathedral and the ferry pier on Piazza Cavour sit inside it. The lakefront and Borgo Vico strip to the west is flat, with Villa Olmo at its end. The area around Como San Giovanni station suits early train departures on the Milan line. Brunate trades convenience for views, reached by a 7-minute funicular. Compare them all in the where-to-stay areas table.
How much tourist tax do Como hotels charge?
The tax runs per person per night, capped at 4 consecutive nights, with under-14s exempt. Hotels pay by star: 5-star and 4-star $5.77 (€5), 3-star $4.61 (€4), 1-2 star $3.46 (€3). B&Bs, affittacamere, apartments and holiday rentals pay $3.46 (€3), hostels, campsites and agriturismi $2.31 (€2). The accommodation collects it and issues a receipt. Full sums for stays of 3 and 7 nights sit in the star category table, from the official tariff sheet.
Can I drive to a hotel inside Como's old town?
Yes, but only if the hotel registers your plate first. The whole walled centre lies inside the ZTL, monitored all year by camera gates at via Cinque Giornate, via Diaz, via Carducci, via Indipendenza, via Rodari, via Grassi and via Cairoli. Hotel guests are a separate permit category, clienti strutture alberghiere, and requests run online only with SPID or CIE. Email the hotel about registration before you set off, or park at the Autosilo via Auguadri and walk.
Is the tourist tax included in the room price in Como?
Not stated by the Comune, which describes the accommodation manager collecting the tax directly from guests at the property and issuing a receipt. Its page does not say whether booking platforms collect it on the manager's behalf, so the safe assumption is that you pay it at the desk, on top of the room rate, for each adult and each of the first 4 nights. See the tariff table for the amount by category and check Como costs for what else to budget.
Do Como hotels ask for ID at check-in?
Yes, and the requirement is firm. Accommodation managers must send guest identity data to the police through the Alloggiati Web system within 24 hours of arrival, and Consiglio di Stato ruling n. 9101/2025 reinstated the Interior Ministry circular requiring in-person identification of guests, verifying the person against the document. Key-box-only self check-in with no live identity check is excluded. Bring the same ID you booked with, for every guest in the room.
Is it better to book a hotel in Como city or in the next town down the lake?
They are different comuni, so the rules differ too. Cernobbio sets its own tourist tax, not stated here, and it suits travellers who want a smaller lakeside town. Como city gives you both train lines to Milan, the ferry hub at Piazza Cavour and evening life inside the walls. The public boat links them, with Como-Cernobbio in band 1 at $3.46 (€3). Read Cernobbio and where to stay before deciding.
Which Como hotels are near the train station?
The streets around Como San Giovanni station are the base for trains on the Milano Centrale line, about 40 minutes from Milan at $6.23 (€5.40). The station sits uphill from the lake, so a room there trades a slope for departure convenience. Como Lago station, the terminal of the Milano Cadorna line at the same fare, sits on the lakefront beside the ferry piers, where the old-town and lakefront hotels are the practical choice. This guide names no individual properties. See Como San Giovanni station.
Staying in Como, on Film
Three videos that show the choice this page is about: a room in the city centre, the areas and transport, and a hotel outside the walls.
Nel Cuore di Como | Como, Italy | Hotel Review 🌟
A hotel review from the centre of Como, what a room inside the city looks like.
Video: Hotel Hunter ItalyLake Como Hotels | Areas to Stay + Transportation
The areas to stay around the lake and how transport links them, the same trade-off as the areas section.
Video: the tour guy🏨 Lake Como Where to Stay: Sheraton Lake Como Hotel Review (Is It Worth It?)🇮🇹
A hotel on the edge of Como reviewed, for comparing a base outside the old town.
Video: Passport NomadsVideos load from YouTube only when you press play.
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