# Lake Como: 145 km2 of water, 410 m at the bottom

> Lake Como is 410 m deep, ahead of Maggiore at 370 and Garda at 350, over 145 km2 and 170 km of shore. With its 2026 boat seasons and the fares on the web.

URL: https://myitalia.it/nature/lago-di-como
Last updated: 2026-09-11

Lake Como is the deepest of the large prealpine lakes at 410 meters, ahead of Maggiore at 370 and Garda at 350, on a surface of 145 square kilometers.

## 410 meters, on one institutional comparison

The 410 meters come from the 2004 report of the Lombardy lakes observatory, which gives Como 410, Maggiore 370, Garda 350 and Iseo 251 from the same source, so the four figures can be compared.

That's a claim about the prealpine lakes, not about every lake in Italy or Europe. The wider claim circulates a lot, and it hasn't been checked against a source this site trusts.

Garda's own factsheet puts that lake at 346 meters rather than 350, so even this short table has a lake with two depths.

## A narrow lake with a long shore

Lake Como has 170 kilometers of shoreline for 145 square kilometers of water, a mean depth of 155 meters and a surface that sits at 198 meters above sea level on average.

Its shoreline development index is 3.98, which is limnology's way of saying the coast folds back on itself: nearly four times the perimeter of a round lake with the same area.

That shape is why the boats matter here. Villages that face each other across the water can be a long way apart by road.

## The boats run on two 2026 timetables

In 2026 the Lake Como boats run on a spring timetable from March 23 to May 31, extended to June 30, and a summer one from July 1 to October 4.

The car ferry linking Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Varenna and Menaggio keeps separate timetables for weekdays and public holidays, and it's the only direct link between Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio. The scheduled boat from Como to Colico takes much longer.

Hydrofoils and catamarans run as a fast service with a supplement and a booking. The two published 2026 timetables stop at October 4, and what runs after that date isn't in the facts here.

## The only fares published in plain text

The public operator publishes three Lake Como fares as web pages, all circular tickets in force from April 1, 2026: Como to Urio €10.40, Como to Nesso €16.70 and Lecco to Onno €11.00.

Children pay €5.80, €9.30 and €5.60 on the same three routes. A circular ticket lets you stop along the way, and it ends when you land back at the pier where you bought it.

The full fare table exists only in a PDF that couldn't be read, so single tickets and day passes for Como aren't quoted. Prices are in euros.

## A UNESCO site above the water

Ossuccio, above Lake Como, holds one of the nine Sacri Monti inscribed by UNESCO in 2003, one of only two in Lombardy; the other seven are in Piedmont.

The Sacri Monti are counted once as a single serial property shared between the two regions. See [Lake Garda or Lake Como](/compare/lake-garda-vs-lake-como), [Lake Maggiore](/nature/lago-maggiore) and [Lombardy](/regions/lombardia).

## FAQ

### How deep is Lake Como?

410 meters at its deepest and 155 meters on average, over 145 square kilometers of water. On the same institutional comparison Maggiore reaches 370 meters, Garda 350 and Iseo 251, which makes Como the deepest of the big prealpine lakes.

### Is Lake Como bigger than Lake Garda?

No. Garda covers 369.98 square kilometers against 145 for Como, well over twice the surface, but Como is the deeper lake: 410 meters against the 346 on Garda's own factsheet.

### When do the Lake Como boats run in 2026?

On two timetables: March 23 to May 31, extended to June 30, then July 1 to October 4. The car ferry between Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Varenna and Menaggio has separate timetables for weekdays and public holidays.

### How much is a boat ticket on Lake Como?

Only three fares are published as web pages: circular tickets from April 1, 2026 at €10.40 for Como to Urio, €16.70 for Como to Nesso and €11.00 for Lecco to Onno. The rest sit in a PDF we couldn't read, so check at the pier.

### Is Lake Como the deepest lake in Europe?

That claim isn't verified here. What the institutional data supports is narrower: Como, at 410 meters, is the deepest of the large prealpine lakes, ahead of Maggiore at 370, Garda at 350 and Iseo at 251.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Lago di Como ha una superficie di 145 km2, una profondita' massima di 410 m e la quota media dello specchio d'acqua a 198 m s.l.m. | [Osservatorio dei Laghi Lombardi - Regione Lombardia, Fondazione Lombardia per l Ambiente, ARPA Lombardia, CNR-IRSA](https://fondazionefla.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Qualita-acque-lacustri-in-Lombardia.pdf) | medium | 2030-12-31 |
| Tra i grandi laghi prealpini il Lago di Como e' il piu' profondo con 410 m, davanti al Maggiore (370 m) e al Garda (350 m). | [Osservatorio dei Laghi Lombardi - Regione Lombardia, Fondazione Lombardia per l Ambiente, ARPA Lombardia, CNR-IRSA](https://fondazionefla.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Qualita-acque-lacustri-in-Lombardia.pdf) | medium | 2030-12-31 |
| Il Lago di Garda ha una superficie di 369,98 chilometri quadrati, una profondita' massima di 346 metri e una profondita' media di 133,30 metri, con lo specchio d'acqua a 65 metri sul livello del mare; contiene circa 49 chilometri cubi d'acqua, e' lungo 51,6 chilometri e largo al massimo 17,2, con 158,4 chilometri di perimetro e un bacino imbrifero di 2.260 chilometri quadrati. | [Comunita' del Garda (ente associativo dei comuni e delle province rivierasche, Salo')](https://www.comunitadelgarda.it/il-lago/geomorfologia/165-55.html); [Osservatorio dei Laghi Lombardi - Regione Lombardia, Fondazione Lombardia per l Ambiente, ARPA Lombardia, CNR-IRSA](https://fondazionefla.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Qualita-acque-lacustri-in-Lombardia.pdf) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| Sul lago di Como il servizio ha due orari nel 2026, dal 23 marzo al 31 maggio esteso fino al 30 giugno e dal 1 luglio al 4 ottobre, e il traghetto Bellagio-Cadenabbia-Varenna-Menaggio ha quadri orari distinti per giorni feriali e festivi. | [Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi](https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/biglietti-e-orari-lago-di-como/) | medium | 2027-04-30 |
| Sul lago di Como, con le tariffe speciali in vigore dal 1 aprile 2026, il biglietto circolare che consente le fermate intermedie e il rientro allo scalo di partenza costa 10,40 euro per Como-Urio, 16,70 euro per Como-Nesso e 11,00 euro per Lecco-Onno, con tariffa ragazzi rispettivamente 5,80, 9,30 e 5,60 euro. | [Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi](https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/biglietti-e-orari-lago-di-como/tariffe-lago-di-como/) | medium | 2027-04-30 |
| Due dei nove Sacri Monti iscritti UNESCO nel 2003 si trovano in Lombardia: Ossuccio, sopra il lago di Como, e Varese; gli altri sette sono in Piemonte. | [Ministero della Cultura - Ufficio UNESCO](https://unesco.cultura.gov.it/projects/sacri-monti-del-piemonte-e-della-lomnbardia/) | medium | 2099-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/nature.lago-di-como.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Zairon. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vista_sul_Bellagio_%26_Lago_di_Como_4.jpg

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