The Royal Road
The ancient road that connected Como to Bellagio along the eastern shore of the Lario River.
Intended for families given its accessibility, the Queen Road is a 35-km-long bicycle and pedestrian route that offers incredible views of the Lake! With a positive elevation gain of 387 m and a maximum elevation of 645 asl, this route will allow you to immerse yourself in the silence of the lush nature and discover ancient villages, mule tracks and pavements.
Since the early 1900s, this road was the only route that connected all the small towns on the Larian side of the Triangle. Every day shepherds, wayfarers and merchants traveled it, but once the Larian carriageway was finished, the beautiful Strada Regia was abandoned, rendering the original departure from Como useless. This is precisely why, today, the route starts from Brunate. If you travel this ancient route, you will discover many historical relics: stone bridges, dry stone walls, votive shrines and inns! If this route initially runs through cool woods, along paved and mule tracks, the second part, full of gorges and slopes is definitely more challenging. The origin of this beautiful path is at Brunate camp, from which you will start following the "Strada Regina" sign, which will guide you along the entire route. During the descent you will admire breathtaking landscapes and be amazed by the enchantment of nature. You will then arrive in Capovico di Blevio, cross the village to reach Torno, where you can visit two historic churches: that of Santa Tecla and that of San Giovanni.
You will then climb the steps of Via Tridi towards Molina, the hamlet of Faggeto Lario, and then continue on to Lemna and Palanzo, where you can make a brief stop and visit the church of Sant'Ambrogio and the ancient wine press dating back to 1572. Once you get off at Pognana Lario, you will enjoy an extraordinary 180-degree view of the Lake before arriving at Nesso, where you will have the opportunity to visit the gorge. You will then continue along the half-steep path from the Church of Santa Maria di Nesso to Lezzeno. You will then reach the locality of Casate and follow the scenic descent that will end at the provincial road, from where a further stretch of almost 2 km halfway up the hill will start, from which you will enjoy enchanting views of the Lake and of Villa Balbianello in Lenno.
After a final steep climb to the Devil's Bridge valley gorge you will finish the trail.