Why Lake Como's Grand Villa Hotels Still Set the Standard

Lake Como, ringed by the foothills of the Alps roughly an hour north of Milan, has drawn wealthy visitors since Roman times, when Pliny the Younger built villas on its shores. What sets the lake apart today is how many of those later villas, built by Lombard nobility from the 16th to the 19th centuries, still stand and now operate as hotels rather than private residences, giving visitors a way to stay inside that history rather than simply view it from a passing ferry.

Cernobbio's fortress turned hotel

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio on the lake's western shore, began as a cardinal's summer residence in 1568 before passing through a series of noble and royal owners, including Caroline of Brunswick, and opened as a hotel in 1873. Its formal Italian gardens and the floating pool built out over the lake in the 1960s remain among the most photographed features on Como.

Tremezzo's Belle Époque view

Grand Hotel Tremezzo opened in 1910 directly across the water from Bellagio, and was designed from the outset to give every principal room a view of Bellagio's promontory and the mountains behind it, an orientation that still defines the property's identity as one of the lake's most photographed hotel facades.

Bellagio, the point where the lake splits

Bellagio sits at the fork where Como's three branches divide, and its own grand villa hotel, Villa Serbelloni, occupies a promontory that has held a residence since the Roman era; the current building dates largely to the 19th century. Bellagio's steep, arcaded lanes and lakeside promenade remain the most walkable base for exploring the surrounding villages by ferry.

Gardens open to day visitors

Several of the lake's grand villas keep their gardens open to non-guests for a ticketed visit, among them Villa Balbianello on the Lenno peninsula, with terraced gardens reachable only by boat or a short walk, and Villa Melzi in Bellagio, laid out in the early 19th century in the then-fashionable English landscape style.

Traveller tips

• Milan's Malpensa and Linate airports are both around an hour's drive or a train-and-taxi combination from the lake.
• A shared or private ferry is the most practical way to move between towns on opposite shores; road journeys around the lake take considerably longer.
• May, June and September generally offer the most reliable weather, avoiding both the heaviest summer crowds and winter closures at some villa gardens.
• Several villa gardens, including Balbianello, restrict visiting hours and group sizes, so checking and booking ahead is worthwhile in peak season.