VacationSelector
Tempio Voltiano on the lakeshore, Como
ComoTempio Voltiano on the lakeshore
Kek Lok Si temple on the hillside, Penang
PenangKek Lok Si temple on the hillside

Photos: Como by Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Penang by Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Como or Penang?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Como for

  • day trips
  • nature and the outdoors
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Como’s own page.

Choose Penang for

  • prices
  • food and drink
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Penang’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Como 36, Penang 44: Penang leads by 8 points.
Food & drink. Como 45, Penang 86: Penang leads by 41 points.
Culture & sights. Como 52, Penang 70: Penang leads by 18 points.
Nightlife. Como 22, Penang 40: Penang leads by 18 points.
Nature & outdoors. Como 82, Penang 55: Como leads by 27 points.
Day trips. Como 87, Penang 42: Como leads by 45 points.
Good for families. Como 47, Penang 52: Penang leads by 5 points.
Getting around. Como 66, Penang 40: Como leads by 26 points.
Shopping & style. Como and Penang are level on 42.
Affordability. Como 30, Penang 78: Penang leads by 48 points.
Live music & performing arts. Como 34, Penang 30: Como leads by 4 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Como 44, Penang 42: Como leads by 2 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Como and Penang.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Como
49match

Wins on day trips and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Penang
Best match
52match

Wins on prices and food and drink with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Como in July

27 °Cdaytime high
18 °Cnight-time low
158 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
No seasea
15 hdaylight a day

Penang in July

32 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
189 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
30 °Csea
12 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
ComoPenang

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Como: 1991-2020 normals, Lugano (23 km from centre). Penang: 1991-2020 normals, Penang / Bayan Lepas (14.5 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureComoPenang
Official languageItalianMalay
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
SocketsCFL230 V, 50 HzG240 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightLeft
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+8
Emergency number112999
Elevation201 m4 m
Main airportMilan Malpensa International Airport (MXP)34 km from centre208 non-stop destinationsPenang International Airport (PEN)14 km from centre32 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year13 days-

By the numbers

MeasureComoPenang
City population83,184794,313
People per km²2,242-
Museums within 10 km119
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km81
Swim season, months above 21 °C-12 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Como or Penang somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.