Discover the most spectacular views of Lake Como: San Martino hiking trail

There are tons of hiking trails winding through the mountains around Lake Como. Most of them offer breathtaking views of the surrounding area. As soon as you gain some elevation, the landscape leaves you breathless... although, maybe the climb helps too! 🙂

However, if you're on a road trip through Italy,

• You might not be prepared for serious mountaineering. After all, in Italy, the most typical thing to do is visit charming towns and cultural capitals like Rome, Florence, or Venice.
• Plus, you probably don't have enough time for a long trek around Lake Como.
• Or maybe you're simply not in the kind of physical shape needed for a serious trek.

So,

are you going to miss out on seeing this wonder from a bird's-eye view?

Pssst, pssst... I'm going to let you in on a secret...

What if I told you that enjoying one of the most stunning landscapes in Lake Como is within anyone's reach?

Do you want to experience firsthand panoramic views like the ones in these photos? Well, you're in luck. Today I'm going to tell you how to do it:

Hiking to San Martino Church.

Route Overview

• Distance: 4 km round trip
• Difficulty: easy. The way up is a steady, fairly steep climb. The trail is wide and easy to hike if you're wearing proper footwear. If you're not in top shape, just make more stops along the way. No problem! That way you'll enjoy the scenery even more.
• Trail time: In our case, photo stops included, it took 1 hour to go up and 45 minutes to come down.

Starting Point

The trailhead is located in the small village of Griante.

The easiest ways to get there are:

• By boat, from Bellagio or Varenna. The dock is located in Cadenabbia, the lakeside hamlet of Griante. From there, you'll need to walk about 15 minutes to the church of San Rocco in Griante, where the hiking trail begins.
• By car. You can park in the free parking lot next to San Rocco church. A great way to access this area by car is entering the town via Via Indipendenza.

If you get lost, ask for Chiesa San Rocco, keeping in mind that chiesa is pronounced “kiesa”.

Once you're next to it, you'll spot clear signs for San Martino. What's more, you'll also make out the church itself perched like a tiny white dot on the promontory. So you can't miss it.

Either way, I've marked the route on the map you'll find at the bottom of this page to help guide you.

The Route

Even if it looks like the church is way too high up, don't get discouraged! The trail zigzags, making the climb much more manageable than it seems.

• The start is a paved, well-marked path through the village.
• After crossing a road open to traffic, the unpaved trail begins.
• This part, heading uphill, is quite wide and sheltered by the shade of the trees.
• After reaching the first viewpoint, the trail starts to narrow a bit, but it remains easy to walk.
• As you gain altitude, the views get more and more spectacular.
• If at any point you hit a fork in the path and aren't sure whether to go left or right, don't hesitate: your destination is... uphill!, as tough as that might sound... Keep going, you're almost there!
• When you reach San Martino Church, the scenery will be your reward.

San Martino Church

When we visited, the church was locked tight, so we couldn't see the inside.

However, the views more than made up for the effort.

From up there, you could see all the branches of the lake; little towns like Varenna and Bellagio reflecting in the water; snow-capped peaks all around us; sunbeams breaking through the clouds...

You really had to be there to understand it.

It was breathtaking.

Around the church, there are several picnic tables and benches facing the viewpoint. I recommend bringing enough water and food to hang out and enjoy the spot for a while. It's totally worth it!

A sandwich with fresh tomato and “prosciutto crudo”, some nuts, and a few tangerines for dessert cost very little at a local supermarket. The view, however, is priceless.

Have you been to this viewpoint? Do you know of another short, easy hiking route to discover a different perspective of Lake Como? Share it in the comments!

Useful links

• Boat transportation on Lake Como.
• Cesare Cantù Apartment, in the town of Como.
• Flights to Italy: Trabber, eDreams, Momondo, and Vueling.
• 5% discount on your IATI travel insurance.

And if you're planning to travel to this part of Italy, don't miss the route through the most charming villages on the shores of Lake Como and other nearby gems like Lake Garda.

And if you're up for exploring the rest, or part, of the boot, you might be interested in all the practical info I share in the articles dedicated to Tuscany, Umbria, the Amalfi Coast, or iconic cities like Rome, Florence, and Venice.

Map