Lake Como villa holidays,
your questions answered

Milan Malpensa (MXP) is the best airport for Lake Como and the one most flights from the US use. It is about an hour by car to Como and the southern villages such as Cernobbio, Laglio, Blevio and Torno, and closer to an hour and a half to Tremezzo or Bellagio. Milan Linate (LIN) is about 1 hour 10 minutes from Como, and Bergamo (BGY) is handy for Varenna and the eastern shore. Lugano airport, in Switzerland, is about 45 minutes from Como.

A private car from Malpensa to the southern end of the lake starts at around €200 each way, and from central Milan at around €220. A van for a family of five or six from a villa on the upper lake to central Milan was about €430 last season. A group of nine needs two vans. We book all of these through our concierge.

The town of Como is about 50 km (30 miles) north of Milan: roughly an hour by car, or 40 minutes to an hour by train from Milano Centrale or Milano Cadorna. Direct trains from Milano Centrale reach Varenna, on the eastern shore, in about an hour. Plenty of our guests go into Milan for a night at La Scala and come back by car after the performance; a late-night return for six is around €530.

Take the high-speed train to Milan and change there. Rome to Milan takes about 3 hours, Florence to Milan about 2 hours, and Venice to Milan about 2 hours 30 minutes. Allow another hour from Milano Centrale to the lake by local train or private transfer.

Most villas check in between 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturday and check out by 10 a.m. the following Saturday. Call the villa manager when you leave the airport so they can meet you at the gate; they walk you through the house, the pool and the dock. Earlier check-in is sometimes possible if the villa was empty the night before, and arriving after 7 p.m. usually needs the owner's approval and a late-arrival fee of about €100.

Lake Como is in Italy, in the region of Lombardy. The Swiss border is close, though: Como town is about 5 km from Chiasso, and Lugano is around 30 minutes by car, so bring your passport if you plan a day in Switzerland.

Both are a long way. The Dolomites are about 4 hours by car. The Amalfi Coast is at the other end of Italy: fly Milan to Naples (about 1 hour 20 minutes) or take the high-speed train to Naples (about 5 hours), then allow 75 minutes to the coast. We often plan a week on the lake followed by a week on the Amalfi Coast.

No, and we don't recommend driving yourself. The lake road is narrow and slow (expect 30 to 40 km an hour), the villages have limited traffic zones, and parking is scarce in summer. Most guests take a private transfer from the airport, then use ferries, water taxis and drivers. The exception is a villa high in the hills, such as Villa Peduzzi in Pigra, where a car or a driver on call makes life easier.

Public ferries and faster hydrofoils run by Navigazione Laghi link almost every village on the lake. Boats are most frequent in the central triangle of Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia, where a car ferry also crosses in 15 to 20 minutes. Buy tickets at the pier or online, and check the timetable: the full schedule runs from spring to autumn, with fewer boats in winter. The large ferries are wheelchair accessible; the hydrofoils and some small piers are not.

Last season a private water taxi for three hours, with stops in Menaggio and Varenna, cost about €1,800 for a group of seven. A full day with a private English-speaking guide, seven hours of water taxi and garden tickets was about €3,900 for nine. Shorter hops are cheaper: a water-taxi transfer from a villa in Laglio to Bellagio and back is a popular way to spend a day. The boats are open-top wooden Venetian taxis with a captain, and they collect you from your villa's dock or the nearest pier.

Yes. Italian rules let you drive a small motorboat of up to 40 horsepower without a boating licence, and rental companies in Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio hire them by the hour or the day. For a full day on the water, most of our guests prefer a captained boat, because private boats cannot tie up wherever they like and the busy piers are tricky to dock at.

Small folding strollers, yes, but most water taxis take only two. Bring a compact one, and plan on a baby carrier for Villa del Balbianello and the stepped lanes of Bellagio and Varenna.

Choose a villa within walking distance of a ferry stop and a village. Villa Traversi in Laglio, Villa Camilla in San Siro and Casa Meridiana in Pianello del Lario all let you walk to the water and to dinner, and Villa Traversi has its own dock for water-taxi pickups.

It depends on the night you want. For a big occasion: the Michelin-starred Il Sereno Al Lago in Torno, Materia in Cernobbio and Kitchen in Como, or La Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, where the dish to order is the saffron risotto with gold leaf. For a long lunch by the water: La Punta in Bellagio, Al Veluu above Tremezzo and Locanda La Tirlindana in Sala Comacina. For the real lake food: La Fagurida above Tremezzo, Crotto del Misto outside Menaggio and Crotto di Pino in Varenna. Our full list is in the Italian lakes restaurant guide.

La Punta, a 15-minute flat walk from the center along the shore, is the one our guests talk about: a terrace over the water, freshwater fish and pasta, and a garden where children can run around. It only takes reservations by phone, so let us call ahead for you. Alle Darsene di Loppia, in the hamlet of Loppia just south of town, is a quieter dinner with seasonal Mediterranean cooking, Bilacus is a good choice for seafood and pasta, and the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni has two restaurants: Mistral for a special night and La Goletta by the pool for something relaxed.

In Como town, Kitchen is the Michelin-starred table, Feel Como is chef Federico Beretta's small restaurant cooking wild produce, game and lake fish, La Tana dei Pescatori is a romantic seafood spot near the old center, and L'Antica Trattoria grills meat over a wood fire in front of you. In Cernobbio, book Gatto Nero for a candlelit dinner on its terrace above the lake, Materia for tasting menus, Trattoria del Glicine for a simple regional dinner, or one of the Villa d'Este restaurants, such as La Veranda, for a famous lakefront lunch.

Above Tremezzo, Al Veluu cooks Lake Como dishes in copper pans, with a terrace looking over the lake, and La Fagurida has served grilled meats, rabbit, lake fish and polenta in an old stone farmhouse since 1974. The Grand Hotel Tremezzo has La Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi and L'Escale, a casual wine bar with more than 1,300 Italian bottles. In Menaggio, Lago at the Grand Hotel Victoria has a big lake-view veranda (smart casual; groups may be asked to prepay €50 a person), Trattoria Risorgimento is the local favorite, and Crotto del Misto, just outside town, is rustic cooking in a stone grotto.

La Vista at the Albergo Milano has the view in its name, with tables inside and out looking over the lake and mountains. Crotto di Pino is traditional food in a historic grotto with a terrace, Vecchia Varenna is a casual family-run spot for pizza and fish a short walk from the lake, and Al Prato near the main square is good for lunch or dinner.

La Punta in Bellagio has a garden for children to play in while you finish lunch. Al Vecchio Bacucco in Ossuccio is family-run, 200 meters from the lake, with a terrace looking at Isola Comacina. On the upper lake, La Baia in Dongo does wood-fired pizza with outdoor tables by the water, and Vecchia Varenna is an easy pizza night in Varenna. Book an early table: Italian restaurants rarely start dinner before 7.

Lake fish and mountain food. Look for risotto with perch (risotto al pesce persico), lavarello (whitefish), carpione (lake fish marinated in vinegar), missoltini (sun-dried shad) and, from the Valtellina valley just north of the lake, pizzoccheri (buckwheat pasta with cabbage, potatoes and cheese), bresaola and taroz. The local red wines come from the Valtellina terraces. Order polenta wherever it is offered.

In summer, yes. June to August is peak season, and the lake-view tables in Bellagio, Tremezzo and Varenna fill weeks ahead, especially on weekends. Some of the best places, like La Punta in Bellagio, only take bookings by phone, and some hotel restaurants ask groups to prepay. Send us your list before you travel and our concierge books the tables, along with the boats and drivers to get you there and back.

Yes, and it is often the best dinner of the week. A local chef cooking a four-course Lake Como dinner at the villa was about €120 a person last season, with something simple for children at no extra cost. A typical menu: taroz and bresaola to start, Valtellina pizzoccheri or Parmesan risotto with perch, wine-braised pork ribs with polenta, and Dervio apple pie. Everyone at the table has the same menu (you choose one dish per course), and the chef adjusts for allergies. Some villas use only their own in-house cooks, so ask us before booking an outside chef.

Yes, at most villas. A full breakfast laid out on the terrace (pastries and homemade cake, fruit, yogurt, cold cuts and cheese, eggs cooked to order, coffee and juice) was about €30 a person last season, with children free. You can also have the kitchen stocked before you arrive: you pay a small service fee plus the cost of the groceries, so the fridge is full when you walk in.

Arrive by boat if you can. From the car parks in Lenno it is a 25 to 30-minute walk along a wooded path, which is hard with small children. The gardens are the highlight (about €15 to enter), and the villa's rooms can only be seen on a guided tour. Villa del Balbianello is usually closed on Mondays and Wednesdays, and in June tickets sell out weeks ahead, so book online as soon as your dates are set. A private boat that waits for you while you visit runs around €850. It is where scenes from Star Wars: Episode II and Casino Royale were filmed.

Villa Carlotta in Tremezzina, a botanical garden of about 70,000 square meters that is at its best in April and May for the azaleas and rhododendrons. Villa Melzi in Bellagio, with English-style lawns and a Japanese pond, an easy walk from the ferry. Villa Monastero in Varenna, with a garden path running about two kilometers along the water. On days Balbianello is closed, boat tours visit Villa Carlotta instead.

Its grand villas and gardens (Villa del Balbianello, Villa Carlotta, Villa Melzi, Villa d'Este), its Alpine scenery, Como's silk industry and famous residents such as George Clooney, whose villa is in Laglio. The food is Lombard and Alpine rather than Mediterranean: think risotto with lake perch and polenta, not pizza and limoncello.

Yes, and most visitors never hear about it. Near the Piona peninsula on the upper lake, small family wineries such as Cantine Angelinetta host private tastings among the vines: about two hours, four wines and a honey grappa, with salami, local cheese and honey from their own bees, led by the owner. Last season this was about €600 for a private group, plus about €390 for a round-trip van from the villa. For a full day, the terraced vineyards of the Valtellina valley are about an hour north.

The Greenway del Lago di Como is an easy, mostly flat 10 km path between Colonno and Griante on the western shore, past villages and villa gardens. The Sentiero del Viandante follows old mule tracks along the eastern shore toward Varenna. With a guide, the Linera hike above Moltrasio takes about three hours at a moderate pace. Our favorite late-afternoon outing is an e-bike tour through the olive groves behind Tremezzina, finishing with an aperitivo overlooking the lake.

Milan, an hour away, for the Duomo, the Galleria, Leonardo's Last Supper (book tickets months ahead) and an evening at La Scala. Lugano in Switzerland, about 30 minutes from Como, plus the FoxTown designer outlets at Mendrisio. Bergamo's walled upper town, about 1 hour 15 minutes by car. Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands, about 90 minutes. For a long but spectacular day, take the Bernina Express from Tirano over the Alps to St. Moritz.

Yes. Children love the ferries, the boat days and the lidos. The Lido di Menaggio has pools and a beach, the Jungle Raider Park above Bellagio has zip lines and rope courses, and the Museo della Barca Lariana in Pianello del Lario is full of old wooden boats. The Como-Brunate funicular is a short, steep ride with a big view at the top. Many lakefront gardens drop straight into deep water, so with young children ask us which villas have fenced pools or gated water access. Casa Meridiana and Villa Angelica are two of our family favorites.

Golf at the Menaggio and Cadenabbia club (18 holes, founded in 1907) or at Villa d'Este Golf Club in Montorfano. Sailing and kitesurfing at the windy northern end around Colico and Domaso, and kayaks and paddleboards in Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio; some villas, such as Villa Traversi, have kayaks of their own. The Orrido di Bellano, a waterfall gorge with walkways, is dramatic but not ideal with toddlers. Silk shopping in Como, a Como food tour, or a night cruise to dinner in Moltrasio round out a week.

Our Lake Como villas run from €11,200 a week for four bedrooms at Villa Oliveto in Vassena to €71,000 a week for the Villa Maria Taglioni Estate, which sleeps 28. Six-bedroom lake-view villas such as Casa Meridiana (€13,250), Villa Angelica (€24,875) and Villa Cleo (€28,375) sit in between. These are "from" rates; tell us your dates for exact prices.

Read the inclusions carefully. Typically included: Wi-Fi, linens with a weekly change, a few hours of housekeeping twice a week, and pool and garden care. Typically extra, and paid locally in euros: electricity, air conditioning and pool heating by meter reading, a final cleaning fee, a refundable damage or utilities deposit, the local tourist tax (about €1.50 to €6 per person per night, for up to ten nights), extra housekeeping (around €25 an hour) and any chef or concierge services. A heated pool needs about 24 hours' notice to warm up. We list every extra for your villa before you book.

Yes, it is one of the most expensive places to visit in Italy, especially the famous lakeside hotels in July and August. For a group, a villa usually works out cheaper per person: Villa Angelica sleeps 12 from €24,875 a week, which is about €300 per person per night, with a pool and the lake view included.

For a first visit, the central lake (Bellagio, Tremezzo, Menaggio and Varenna) puts the most ferry routes on your doorstep. The southern shores around Cernobbio, Laglio, Blevio and Torno are quieter and closer to Milan's airports. The upper lake around Pianello del Lario is more local and better value. Our villas are in Tremezzo, San Siro, Laglio, Cernobbio, Blevio, Torno, Pianello del Lario, Vassena and Pigra; see all Lake Como villas.

Yes. Villa Gala near Como sleeps 26 and the Villa Maria Taglioni Estate in Blevio sleeps 28, and both host weddings. For family reunions of up to 16, look at Villa Camilla, Villa Splendora and Villa Peduzzi. Owners approve every event, and most villas do not allow parties without written permission, so tell us early if a wedding is the plan.

Yes. Our concierge can have flowers and a cake, a cheese and Prosecco basket, an aperitivo kit or a few bottles of good Italian wine waiting at the villa, with your card. Order about four weeks before arrival. For the dinner itself, a private chef at the villa or a water taxi to a lakefront restaurant makes the night.

May, June and September. You get warm swimming weather, long evenings and the gardens at their best. June is also the busiest month for villas and boat tours, so book early. April is lovely for the azaleas at Villa Carlotta, and October is quiet, with many villas open through the third week.

Yes. The lake is clean enough to swim from the lidos (public beach clubs) and from many villa docks, and the water is warmest in July and August, around 22 to 24°C (72 to 75°F). In May and late September it is cold. The lake is very deep, so it gets cold fast below the surface, and boats pass close to shore, so stay near a lido or your villa's dock rather than swimming out into open water.

Partly. Many hotels, restaurants and the famous garden villas close from November until March, and the ferries run a reduced timetable. Como town stays lively all year, Milan is an hour away, and several of our villas stay open through the winter.

October, yes. The days are still mild, the villages are quiet and most restaurants are open until late in the month. November is very quiet and often rainy: good for a fire-lit week with day trips to Milan, less good for boat days.

Three days is enough to see Bellagio, Varenna and one of the garden villas. A week, the usual Saturday-to-Saturday villa stay, leaves time for a boat day, a day in Milan or Switzerland, a wine tasting and slow afternoons at the pool.

Yes. Crime is low and the villages are safe at night; keep the usual eye on bags at busy ferry piers in summer. The main safety point is the water itself: swim near the shore, not in open water where boats pass. Tap water is safe to drink.