Best Glamping Spots Near Como for a Night Under the Stars

You don't need to fly to Scandinavia to sleep under canvas with a glass of wine in hand. Within roughly an hour of the lake, some of the best glamping spots near Como have quietly appeared, mixing proper beds, hot showers, and actual views into the kind of night that makes you forget your inbox exists. I drove out of town on a Tuesday with a duffel bag, a headlamp, and low expectations, and came back with a short list of places I'd happily send my own friends to.

1. Light Glamping, Magreglio (South Slope of Corni di Canzo)

You pull off the SP44 and follow a gravel road that climbs into chestnut woods above Magreglio, and within ten minutes the lake sound has been replaced by the kind of silence that makes city ears ring. Light Glamping runs a small cluster of platform tents set on stilts among beech trees, each with a wood-burning stove and a mattress that feels suspiciously hotel-grade. My dome had a skylight panel I could roll back at midnight, and I lay there counting satellites while the stove ticked itself down. The owners, who also run an agriturismo restaurant two hundred meters down the hill, leave a thermos of milk on your porch at seven sharp and a paper bag of still-warm focaccia at eight.

The site sits at roughly 750 meters, which means even on August nights the air cools enough to justify the down comforter. Mornings here belong to the Pian del Tivano plateau above you, where cyclists loop from Sormano and stop at the Miralago chalet for espresso. Ask the owners about the mule track to the hermitage of San Pietro al Monte, a 45-minute walk that ends at an 11th-century Benedictine church with original frescoes and a view most hikers never bother with.

Local Insider Tip: "Skip the lowest-numbered tent if you want quiet in June, request number 4 or 5. The first three sit near the path to the parking and you'll hear gravel crunch every time someone leaves at dawn."

Book the Tuesday or Wednesday slot in early September if you can swing it. Weekends from late June to mid August go first to Milan weekenders.

2. Cascina Gallina, Faggeto Lario

I had a friend in Como who insisted I try Cascina Gallina before I wrote anything down, and she was right. Drive fifteen minutes north along the Via Regina from the city center, then climb into the hills above the hamlet of Molina, and you'll find a stone farmhouse with three wooden cabins and a single canvas bell tent pitched on the orchard terrace. The owners, Lara and Matteo, used to run a restaurant in Cernobbio, and the food they now serve to guests is the reason most people book a second night. Order the misto d'antipasti (chicken liver pâté, pickled vegetables, homemade focaccia) and whatever pasta they've written on the chalkboard that day, then ask for a glass of Rosso della Domasino from the nearby cooperative.

The bell tent is small but solid: a real iron bed frame, a wool blanket that smells like cedar, and a private compost toilet a few steps down the path. Hot showers are shared, in a converted outbuilding with three stalls, and they pump out unlimited hot water, which matters more than you'd think after a day on the lake. From the orchard you can see the central lake, the funicular to Brunate's lights, and on clear days the snow line of Monte Rosa drifting above the haze.

Local Insider Tip: "Walk down to Molina village for bread at Panetteria Bianchi before they close at 12:30, then cut back up the Via ai Monti path instead of the road. The route takes fifteen minutes longer and you pass three ruined stone bread ovens hidden in the woods."

The Saturday-night dinner is communal, a long table under the chestnut trees, and worth planning your whole trip around. Come Thursday or Sunday if you prefer privacy; weekdays feel almost monastic.

3. Ca' del Lago, Piani d'Erna (Above Lecco)

If your idea of luxury camping Como starts with the word "altitude," head for Ca' del Lago. The drive from Como city takes about 40 minutes via the SS36 toward Lecco, then up a winding road that ends at the Piani d'Erna cable car station (the cable car itself is currently being rebuilt, so check before you go). Up top, the proprietors have set up six geodesic dome tents on a meadow with a direct sightline across to the Grigne and, on a really clear morning, all the way down the lake to Como itself. Each dome is heated, has a private wooden deck, and a small wood-fired hot tub that takes about two hours to bring up to temperature, so plan your soak around dusk.

This is not a place for people who need nightlife. There is no Wi-Fi, the cell signal is weak, and the nearest proper restaurant is the Ristorante Pian d'Erna, which is a ten-minute walk downhill. Order the pizzoccheri if the season is right (autumn), or the lake fish in salt if it's summer, and ask for the house grappa, which the owner distills himself from pears grown on the property.

Local Insider Tip: "Bring a flashlight with a red-light mode. The path from the domes to the hot tubs is gravel, and you will trip at least once if you walk it in white light after dark. Also ask for dome 3, it has the clearest view of the pre-dawn glow over the Grigne."

Families with older kids do well here. The meadow is open enough for a ball to be kicked around, and the silence is the educational kind.

4. Treehouse Stay at La Fuga, Civenna

There is a small B&B above Bellagio called La Fuga, and tucked into its terraced garden is one of the most photographed treehouse stay Como options in the area. I went on a hunch from a friend who said "stay two nights, do nothing," and I mostly obeyed. The treehouse itself is a square wooden cabin bolted between two chestnut trunks, twelve feet off the ground, with a single queen bed, a reading lamp, and a balcony just big enough for two chairs and a bottle of Franciacorta. The owners have built a private bathroom into the adjacent tree, accessible by a wooden walkway, and the shower has serious pressure.

Breakfast arrives in a basket hoisted up on a pulley system, which is the kind of small theatre that makes the morning feel like a holiday. Local honey, bread from the bakery in Civenna, yogurt, fruit, and a thermos of coffee strong enough to fix anything. The property also has two ground-level rooms if climbing a ladder is a deal-breaker, but I'd argue the ladder is part of the point.

Local Insider Tip: "Ask Marco, the owner, about the unmarked path that leads from the back of the property down to a tiny chapel called San Rocco. The walk is twenty minutes, mostly downhill through beech woods, and the chapel key is kept at a house with a green door halfway down. Knock and ask."

The Civenna plateau is good walking country, with trails leading up to the Alpe del Viceré and down to the lake at Vassena. If you have a car, drive the seven minutes to the start of the sentiero del viandante for a half-day hike along the old Roman mule road.

5. Glamping Il Sole, Colma di Sormano

Driving the road from Civenna up toward the Pian del Tivano, you crest at the Colma di Sormano, a saddle with a bar, a war memorial, and on clear days one of the most violent views in Lombardy. Glamping Il Sole sits just below the pass on a south-facing terrace, with four insulated wooden tents on stilts, each kitted out like a tiny studio apartment. I stayed in the one called Stelvio (they're all named after Italian passes), and the bed was so firm I almost complained, until I slept nine hours straight.

What makes this place worth the drive is the sky. There is essentially no light pollution at 1,130 meters, and on a moonless night the Milky Way sits right above the tent. The owners lend each guest a small Dobsonian telescope, and they will, if asked nicely, point out Saturn's rings, the Andromeda galaxy, and a few of the brighter Messier objects.

Local Insider Tip: "If you arrive in late afternoon, drive ten minutes past the property to the Miralago viewpoint at Crezza. The bar there does an excellent Negroni sbagliato, but the real reason to go is to watch the light hit Lake Como from the west. Most visitors never see this angle because they only approach the lake from below."

The on-site restaurant is modest but reliable. Order the polenta with braised beef if it's on the menu, and don't skip dessert: their chestnut cake is made from chestnuts gathered on the property in October.

6. AgriGlamping La Pinetina, Grandola ed Uniti

Just twenty minutes from the city, above the small wine village of Grandola, sits a working farm that has carved out a small corner for glamping. La Pinetina pitches two traditional Berber-style canvas tents on a flat above a stand of Scots pines, and the rest of the farm runs as it always has: chickens, a vineyard, and an old stone cantina producing a sharp, drinkable red called Inferno (named for the steep slope, not the drink). I spent an afternoon helping the owner, Massimo, prune his vines in return for a case of the previous year's rosé, which we drank at sunset watching the swallows dive over the meadow.

The tents themselves are surprisingly luxurious: cotton sheets, lanterns, a wood-burning stove, and an outdoor claw-foot bath tub filled from a hand pump. Yes, you have to pump your own bathwater, but there is something deeply restorative about doing so while looking at the lake below. The shared bathroom is a converted stable with two rainfall showers and enough hot water for any length of shower you can defend morally.

Local Insider Tip: "Book the Saturday-night supper in the cantina (it's not advertised on the website, only on the chalkboard outside the farm shop). Massimo cooks for up to eight guests and his brasato al Barolo is one of the three best I've eaten in Lombardy. Bring cash; he doesn't take cards."

If you're here in early October, ask about the grape harvest. Guests are welcome to participate, and the lunch that follows is the kind of long, slow meal that makes Italian life feel briefly possible.

7. Bell Tent Como, Valsolda

Across the lake, on the eastern shore, sits a sleepy valley called Valsolda, which has the rare honour of having been described by the poet Antonio Fogazzaro in his novel "Piccolo Mondo Antico." Bell Tent Como runs a small cluster of three safari-style bell tents on the slopes above the village of San Mamete, with views down to the lake and across to the mountains of the Intelvi valley. Each tent is fitted with a proper double bed, a vintage Persian rug, and a small stove. The owners, a young couple named Sara and Pietro, also run a yoga studio in the village and offer sunrise sessions to glamping guests.

San Mamete itself is a ten-minute walk downhill and worth exploring: there's a tiny harbor, a stone bridge, and a bakery that has been making the same pane di San Mamete for four generations. Buy a loaf still warm from the oven, walk down to the harbor, and eat it on the wall watching the ferry cross from Figino. Even if you do nothing else, this hour will be the best of your trip.

Local Insider Tip: "Ask Sara about the unmarked path that climbs from the tent site up to the chapel of Santa Maria di Puria. The walk is forty minutes, mostly through chestnut woods, and the chapel has a fresco cycle from the 14th century that almost nobody visits anymore. Bring a torch for the descent."

There's no restaurant on site, but Pietro will bring you a basket dinner for an extra charge if you ask in advance: local salami, lake fish crudo, a bottle of Domasino white. It's the best €45 you'll spend in Valsolda.

8. Lago di Piano Glamping Tents, Centrovalle

Twenty-five minutes north of the city, tucked between the hills above the village of Laino and the small nature reserve of Lago di Piano, sits a glamping setup that I only learned about from a friend who works in environmental education. The tents belong to a small cooperative that manages the wetland reserve, and the income from guests goes directly back into habitat work for the local bitterns and kingfishers. Four dome tent Como options sit on floating platforms at the edge of a reed bed, and the experience is half-camping, half-watching wildlife you didn't know existed in northern Italy.

The dome tents are sturdy, geodesic, and surprisingly well heated. They have proper beds, solar lanterns, and a small deck that lets you sit right above the water. There is no hot water at the platform site, but a five-minute walk brings you to the reserve's education center, where there's a small spa with a wood-fired sauna and a cold plunge tub. Book both as a package, especially in early autumn when the reed bed turns the color of burnt copper.

Local Insider Tip: "Book the 6 a.m. birdwatching walk with the reserve's warden, Marco. He has been monitoring the bitterns here for twenty years and knows their calls by heart. You'll see herons, marsh harriers, and if you're extremely lucky, an otter. Wear boots you don't mind getting muddy."

Bring your own food; the closest proper restaurant is the Osteria del Castello in Castiglione, ten minutes away by car. Ask for a table on the terrace in late afternoon; the light is unreal.

9. Ai Campi Wellness & Glamping, Arosio (Brianza Foothills)

Ai Campi sits in a quiet agricultural pocket south of the city, between Arosio and the start of the Lambro valley. The owners have converted a hectare of old orchard into a small glamping resort with seven permanent tents, a small pool, and a wellness building with a Turkish bath and two outdoor hot tubs. This is the place to send friends who like the word "wellness" and the idea of a proper bed. The dome tent Como experience here leans toward hotel standards: Egyptian cotton sheets, blackout curtains, underfloor heating, and a small fridge stocked with local cheeses and cured meats.

Daytime at Ai Campi drifts. Mornings are for the pool and the long breakfast on the terrace (freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade granola, local butter, and a very good omelette). Afternoons belong to the Turkish bath. Evenings are for the hot tubs, which stay open until eleven and have a strict no-phones policy. The owners run a small farm shop on site selling their own honey, olive oil from a cousin in Liguria, and a surprisingly drinkable red made by a neighbor in Lambrugo.

Local Insider Tip: "If you go in late spring, ask the owner about the wild asparagus foraging walk. They take a small group out into the fields behind the property and you fill a bag in about an hour. What you pick becomes part of dinner that night."

This is also the only spot on my list with reliable Wi-Fi at every tent, which matters if you're trying to mix work and weekend. It's a 25-minute drive from the city, but it feels much further once you're in the hot tub.

10. L'Essenza Glamping, Schignano

Schignano is a small stone village in the Intelvi valley, twenty minutes north of Argegno, and it's famous locally for one thing: the Carnival of Schignano, a pre-Lenten festival that locals have been throwing for centuries. Off-season, the village is calm and almost empty, which is why L'Essenza works so well as a glamping base. The owners have put three luxury camping Como tents on a flat above the village church, with a shared kitchen pavilion, a wood-fired pizza oven, and the kind of view toward the lake that you usually only get from a €600-a-night hotel room.

Each tent is named after a local tradition: there's the Mascherpa (the local soft cheese), the Büsöcca (the dried meat used in winter soups), and the Baloss (the bonfire lit at Carnival). The interiors are simple but considered: a king bed, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, and a small reading lamp. Outside, each tent has its own fire pit, a pair of Adirondack chairs, and a stack of dry wood. The owners, who live in the village, leave you alone unless you ring the brass bell by the kitchen, which summons homemade pasta, bread, and a glass of wine for €20 a head.

Local Insider Tip: "If you're here in October, ask about the castagnata (chestnut festival) in nearby Castiglione d'Intelvi. The village square becomes a giant open-air kitchen, and for €10 you get a plate of roasted chestnuts, polenta, local cheese, and a glass of red. It runs the second Sunday of the month and most tourists have never heard of it."

If you have a car, the drive from Schignano down to the lake at Argegno is one of the prettiest in the region. Take it slow; the switchbacks are blind.

When to Go and What to Know

Late May through early June, then again from mid September to mid October, is the sweet spot. The lake is warm enough to swim in June, the chestnut woods are full in October, and the crowds thin out the moment the Italian school calendar flips in early September. July and August are beautiful but loud, especially at the more accessible sites like La Pinetina and Ai Campi; book well in advance for these months and accept that you will not have the place to yourself.

Pack layers. Even in August, the temperature can drop ten degrees between sunset and 3 a.m. at any site above 500 meters. A good headlamp, a power bank, and closed-toe shoes for gravel paths are non-negotiable. Most sites provide bedding and towels, but only two on this list (Ca' del Lago and Ai Campi) provide toiletries, so bring your own.

Cash still matters. Several of these properties are family-run and prefer or require cash for the final balance. Plan for €40 to €80 per person per night as a typical range, with dinner extras at the upper end.

Driving is by far the easiest way to reach all of these sites. Public transport will get you to within 2 to 6 kilometers of most of them, but the last stretch is either a long uphill walk or an unreliable taxi. If you're coming without a car, Light Glamping, Bell Tent Como, and L'Essenza will pick you up by prior arrangement; the others you'll need to negotiate with a local NCC driver.

Finally, lower your expectations about phone signal. Most of these properties are deliberately off-grid, and at two of them (Ca' del Lago and Il Sole) you will have no service at all. Tell your family, your editor, or whoever else might worry, that you will be back the day after you said you would.

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