Italian Lakes · Italy
Lake Como
A pre-alpine lake of villa gardens and quiet glamour, an hour from Milan and a world away.
- Suggested stay
- from 3 · 4 ideal · up to 6 nights
- Currency
- EUR
- Language
- Italian
- Best season
- Late April to June, and September to early October
Lake Como is the lake the rest aspire to. A narrow inverted-Y of deep water held between steep wooded hills, it has drawn villa-builders since Roman times, and the shoreline still reads as a procession of gardens, balustrades and cypress.
What makes it singular is the proximity of grandeur and ease. The grand hotels are genuinely grand, the gardens are some of the finest in Europe, and yet a morning can pass with nothing more demanding than a boat, a swim and a long lunch of lake fish. Milan and its maisons sit an hour south, close enough for an afternoon and far enough to forget.
Come in late spring or early autumn, when the gardens are at their best and the day-trip crowds at Bellagio have thinned. Move by water wherever you can.
Ideal for
honeymoon · anniversary · a slow summer week
Where to stay
The Houses
Passalacqua
18th-century villa · Moltrasio
A restored 18th-century villa above Moltrasio with terraced gardens running down to the water. Twenty-four rooms across three buildings, run with the warmth of a private house rather than a hotel.
Why Named the world's best hotel in successive years, and it earns it. The most personal grand stay on the lake.
Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como
Mandarin Oriental · Lakefront resort · Blevio
A cluster of restored villas on the quieter Blevio shore, with the lake's best spa and a floating pool set out over the water.
Why The strongest wellness offering on Como, and the most resort-like of the grand houses.
Dining: L'Aria, lakeside fine dining
Visit hotel →Villa d'Este
Historic grand hotel · Cernobbio
A 16th-century cardinal's villa turned legendary grand hotel, with formal gardens, a famous floating pool and a guest book that runs through a century of European society.
Why The grande dame of the lake. Stay for the sense of occasion and the gardens at dusk.
Grand Hotel Tremezzo
Art Nouveau palace · Tremezzo
An Art Nouveau palace facing the Bellagio promontory, with a pool floating on the lake itself and gardens climbing the hillside behind.
Why The classic Como postcard, and the best position for the Bellagio view.
Dining: La Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi
Visit hotel →Where to dine
The Tables
Mistral
1 Michelin starContemporary Italian · fine dining
Molecular-leaning tasting menus at Grand Hotel Tremezzo, with a terrace over the water.
L'Aria
Italian · fine dining
Mandarin Oriental's lakeside room, the best sunset table on the Blevio shore.
Trattoria del Glicine
Lombard trattoria · trattoria
For an unstudied lunch of lake fish and risotto, the antidote to the grand hotels.
What to do
Experiences
Private classic-boat tour
private chartercharter
A mahogany Venetian motorboat with a skipper, tracing the villa shoreline from Como to Bellagio.
Why The only way to read the lake the way it was built to be seen, from the water.
Villa del Balbianello, private visit
by appointmentprivate tour
The terraced FAI villa at Lenno, familiar from film, opened for a private guided walk of the loggia and gardens.
Why The most cinematic garden on the lake, best seen before the day visitors arrive.
Seaplane flight from Como
privateexperience
A scenic flight from the Aero Club Como, the world's oldest seaplane school, lifting off the water in the centre of town.
Why Ten minutes that reframe the whole lake and the Alps beyond it.
Shopping
The Maisons
Quadrilatero della Moda, Milan
Milan's golden rectangle around Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga, roughly an hour from the lake by car or helicopter.
Como silk houses
Como has woven silk for Europe's couture houses for generations; a handful of ateliers still sell directly.
By appointment
Private silk-atelier visits in Como
Arrival & departure
Coming & Going
Airports
Closest major airport, about 1 hour by car
About 1 hour; main long-haul gateway
Small Swiss airport to the north, near the lake's top
Private terminals
- Linate Prime, dedicated private terminal at LIN
- Milano Prime, general-aviation terminal at MXP
Meet & greet · gate escort
- VIP meet-and-assist at Linate and Malpensa, gate to car
Private transfers
- Helicopter, Milan to lakeside helipads, about 15 to 20 minutes
- Chauffeur transfer, about 1 hour
- Private boat transfer along the lake to your hotel jetty
Private aviation
- SEA Prime FBO at Linate Prime
- Milano Prime FBO at Malpensa
Immigration fast-track
Fast-track immigration available at both Milan airports through VIP assistance
Curator’s notes — pending verification
- Confirm Mistral's current Michelin star before publishing
- Confirm Passalacqua's current global ranking before publishing