Spreadsheeting: How Much I Spent in Lake Como, Italy

As part of the three-part “How Much I Spent in Italy,” this one focuses on how much I spent spending a week in Lecco, on the shores of Lake Como. One thing that kept these costs lower than they might have been is that I threw my back out and didn’t get out of bed for two days – that certainly kept the “activities” costs down!

In all, in 7 days in Lake Como, I spent $672.05.

How did that work out?

Airfare: $0
I took the train in from Avignon. They have TGV high-speed train that goes from Paris to Milan, with only a few stops. I loved this train ride! Going through the French and Italian mountains was just gorgeous!

Visa: $0.00
Italy has a free visa on arrival for US citizens. Still Schengen Zone. And EU for the win – on the train into Italy I didn’t even have to get my passport out!

Accommodations: $429.21
I found a great deal on a studio apartment on AirBnB that was about a 2-minute walk from the Lake, and was centrally located in the town square! It was a wonderful place. And one note – because I spent 7 nights there, I got an additional discount. Worth checking into if you’re searching for an AirBnB!

Activities: $17.40
Like I said above, this was kept lower by not wanting to be vertical! This includes admission to the Milan Duomo (just for the church, not the roof or any additions), and the two Villas I visited in Varenna and Bellagio.

Transportation: $125.64
This includes the train in from France, and trains and ferries while I was in Lecco. This was another place where just being in the place was a lot of the entertainment, so I spent a bit more on transportation and comparatively less on activities.

Food: $99.80
A significant portion of this (which will remain undisclosed) was gelato. Every. Single. Day. And some days twice. It was just so good! Other than the gelato, I spent my time in Lecco cooking. It was so nice to be able to get groceries and cook for myself after so long of essentially having to eat out!

Ultimately, it came out to an average of about $96.01 per day. As with so many of the places I went in Europe, Lake Como was never on the initial list of places I was going. But I’m SO glad I had the time to go. I can’t wait to go back!