The Best Vintage Shopping in Lake Como: My Favourite Antique Shops, Thrift Stores & Markets, and How I Styled My Finds
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
There are plenty of articles online listing vintage shops around Lake Como.
This isn't one of them.
If you know my writing by now, you'll know that everything I share comes from personal experience. These are the places I genuinely return to, and where I've found many of the pieces that have helped furnish both our Lake Como home and our guest apartment on the shores of the lake.
Every chair, painting and little decorative object has a story. This is where many of those stories began.
As an interior designer, I've spent decades sourcing antiques and vintage finds, long before they became quite so fashionable. I've learnt that the best pieces aren't always the most expensive or the most obvious. They're the ones that tell a story, add warmth, and make a home feel as though it has evolved over time.
Throughout this guide, I'll share my favourite places to shop in and around Lake Como, with a few worthwhile stops in Milan. More importantly, I'll show you what actually came home with me from each stop and how those pieces now live in either our Lake Como home or our guest apartment. My hope is that it inspires you to discover a few treasures of your own.
So grab a coffee, perhaps start making room in your suitcase, and let's go vintage shopping.
I rarely arrive in Milan without making time for Tra Noi e Voi. In fact, it's become something of a tradition and is often my very first vintage stop before continuing on to Lake Como.
Even when I've reached my comfortable limit of goodies in our homes, I never leave without fresh inspiration. There is something incredibly satisfying about wandering through shelves of Italian kitchenware, lighting, mirrors, decorative objects and beautifully worn furniture, never quite knowing what you'll discover next.
Why I Never Miss This Shop
While there's something for everyone here, I think its greatest strength lies in the artwork and picture frames. Some of the very best pieces aren't displayed prominently. You'll find yourself squatting on the floor flipping through stacks tucked beneath tables, or looking high above your head to notice paintings resting on top of cabinets and hanging along the walls.
The furniture room at the back is another favourite. It's packed from floor to ceiling, so don't be afraid to move things carefully or look beyond the dust. The best finds usually ask you to work a little harder for them.
Designer's tip: Bring a tape measure and keep the dimensions of key spaces in your phone. The pieces you weren't expecting to find are often the ones you'll fall in love with.
What Came Home With Me
I love juxtaposing different eras, and two finds from this shop illustrate my styling perfectly. A vintage Pretzel Chair replica sits beneath an antique oil painting we found there on another visit, affectionately nicknamed The Scholar. Every time I walk into the room, they remind me exactly why I love buying old things with stories to tell.
Seconda Vita, Como
Being only a hop, skip and a jump from our apartment, this is almost always one of my first stops after arriving in Como. I never quite know what I'll find, but I always hope it's that one substantial furniture piece I've been searching for.
Located just a short walk from the ferry terminal, this modest-sized shop has rewarded me with several memorable furniture finds over the years.
Why I Never Miss This Shop
Take your time here. Wander through every adjoining room with the expectation of discovering something wonderful. Personally, I've often found the artwork to be a little overpriced, although there's occasionally room for negotiation.
For me, this is a furniture shop first and foremost. If I leave carrying something substantial, there's a good chance it came from here.
What Came Home With Me
One of my happiest discoveries was this beautifully aged 1960s Danish loveseat by Børge Mogensen, which now sits proudly in our guest apartment.
Being tucked into the attic, the sloping ceilings naturally reduce the usable floor space, making a loveseat a far more comfortable fit than a full-sized sofa. It allows the room to breathe while still providing generous seating, proving that choosing the right scale is often just as important as choosing the right piece.
The low-slung glass coffee table, balanced on its oversized marble sphere base, came home with me on another visit. I love how its sculptural postmodern lines play against the softer warmth of the Danish loveseat.
A reminder that the most interesting interiors rarely come from a single period.
Around a fifteen-minute walk away you'll find Mercatopoli Como.
This shop and I seem to have a slightly unpredictable relationship. I've arrived a few times to find the doors firmly shut, but I still keep going back because, when it's open, it's always worth the visit.
Why I Never Miss This Shop
This shop shines when it comes to smaller decorative pieces. There are also plenty of clothes, handbags and accessories, but it's the homeware that always captures my attention.
Just this week I found a charming little watercolour painting that I'm still deciding where to hang.
What Came Home With Me
One purchase that has already found its place is a vintage light shade that now hangs in the kitchen of our guest apartment.
Only a few minutes away is one of my more recent discoveries.
If you're searching for iconic furniture, particularly chairs, or something wonderfully eclectic and unexpected, this is well worth visiting.
This is probably the place on my list where you'll need the deepest pockets, but it's also where you're likely to find those iconic pieces that collectors quietly dream about. I'll continue popping in every time I'm nearby to see what treasures have arrived since my last visit.
It's time to leave Como Central and head a little further afield.
This delightfully eclectic shop recently changed ownership and, to my surprise and delight, is now run by Enrico, a seasoned antiques dealer from whom we've bought several beautiful pieces over the years.
Why I Never Miss This Shop
If you only take one piece of advice from this article, let it be this: slow down in this shop.
What I love most is its sheer diversity. Furniture sits alongside artwork, copper and brass kitchenware, rugs casually layered across the floor, old keepsake boxes and countless decorative pieces. It's the sort of place where, just as you think you've seen everything, something else catches your eye. It's also one of the fairest-priced shops I visit, making the thrill of uncovering something special even sweeter.
Knowing Enrico's eye for quality, I can only imagine this little shop will continue to be one of my favourite honey holes.
What Came Home With Me
I've never left empty-handed, but my favourite purchase remains an antique oil painting I've affectionately nicknamed The Medicine Man. It's one of those pieces that quietly anchors a room without demanding attention.
If warehouse-style treasure hunting is more your thing, you'll enjoy Mercatopoli Villa Guardia.
Why I Never Miss This Shop
Every visit feels like starting from scratch because the stock changes so often. That's part of the fun.
What has surprised me most is the value I've found among their mid-century modern furniture. Whether it's because they don't specialise in that period, I can't say for certain, but I've found some exceptionally good buys there over the years.
What Came Home With Me
Among my own finds are a beautiful mid-century glass-topped side table, a vintage bar trolley and the sweetest bedside table.
A Vintage Markets Worth Planning Around
Sometimes it's not the shops that shape your itinerary, but the markets.
Held on the last Sunday of every month, this famous market stretches along the Naviglio Grande and is every bit as wonderful as people say.
I challenge anyone to walk its length and leave empty-handed.
What Came Home With Me
One of my biggest finds here was a vintage two-seat cinema chair. It wasn't without drama. We soon discovered active woodworm. Thankfully we caught it early, and our trusted local furniture makers were able to thoroughly fumigate it.
Some discoveries aren't places at all. They're the pieces that somehow find you.
A few years ago, while wandering through an antiques market in Como, I spotted a small Italian ceramic tiger cub. We seemed to choose each other instantly. Naturally, he came for coffee with me, and before long he was coming home too.
Today, "Cub", as I've affectionately named him, still makes me smile every time I see him in our Lake Como home. Some markets come and go, but the memories, and the pieces that capture them, have a way of lasting.
A Few Final Thoughts
There are countless antique dealers, vintage shops and markets throughout this beautiful part of Italy, and I'm still discovering new favourites with every visit.
What I love most is that every piece carries a story. Long after it's found its place at home, it still reminds me of the market, the shop or the quiet street where I first discovered it. Those memories become part of the object itself, and that's something no new purchase can ever offer.
A Little Side Note
You may notice I haven't included the artisan market in Piazza San Fedele or Milan's Fiera di Sinigaglia market.
I've visited both and, while everyone enjoys different things, they simply haven't inspired me in the same way as the places I've shared above. Given the choice, I'd much rather spend my time exploring these shops, boating across Lake Como, or wandering through one of the lake's extraordinary historic villas.
Continue Exploring Right Here
If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy:
The Heart of Italian Design: Elevating a Kitchen on Lake Como, Italy (2 minute read)
More design stories, decorating projects and travel inspiration can be found throughout my Journal.
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Location: Lake Como, Lombardy, Italy (with selected recommendations in Milan)
Best for: Vintage shopping, antique furniture, thrift stores, interior styling inspiration, European home décor, Lake Como travel
Highlights: Vintage shops, antique dealers, Mercatini, monthly antique markets, hidden gems, collectible furniture, decorative objects
Design notes: European antiques, vintage furniture, layered interiors, Italian craftsmanship, antique oil paintings, Danish mid-century furniture, collected homes, timeless interiors
Style: Collected, layered interiors with a focus on antiques, vintage pieces and timeless European design.
Photography by: Lyn Cowie and Ricky Monti unless otherwise noted.
