Lake Como

1. ~9:00a●Lakeside breakfast

   Coffee and pastry on a terrace over the water, the mountains dropping straight into the lake across the way.

2. ~10:00a✦Cross to Bellagio by boat

   The lake's hub at the fork of its three arms — arrive by water, the only proper way, past grand villas lining the shore.

3. ~11:00a→Bellagio's stepped lanes & Villa Melzi

   The steep cobbled salite of silk and craft shops, and the romantic lakeside gardens of Villa Melzi with their statues and azaleas.

4. ~1:30p●A lakeside lunch

   Risotto with lake perch (risotto con filetti di pesce persico), the local specialty, and a glass of Lombard white on a waterfront terrace.

5. ~3:30p✦The villa gardens by boat

   A private boat to Villa del Balbianello (the cypress-draped peninsula of film fame) and Villa Carlotta's botanical terraces — Como's grand gardens are best strung together by water.

6. 8:00p✦A Michelin lakeside table (Mistral / La Veranda)Anchor table

   Dinner at the Tremezzo's Michelin-starred La Terrazza Gualtiero Marchesi or the Mandarin's, lakefront and refined. The marquee meal; book ahead.

Como is a lake of villas and gardens best seen from the water — a private boat is the signature Como experience. Bellagio is the romantic heart; go midweek if you can, weekends draw crowds.

1. ~9:30a◆Como town & the Duomo

   The lake's main town — the marble Gothic-Renaissance cathedral, the medieval lanes, and the lakefront promenade with its Liberty-style villas.

2. ~11:00a✦Funicular to Brunate

   The cliff railway up to the village balcony of Brunate for the panorama over the whole lake and, on a clear day, the Alps and Milan.

3. ~1:00p●Lunch in town

   Pizzoccheri (buckwheat pasta with cabbage and cheese) or lake fish, with a Valtellina red from the nearby mountains.

4. ~3:00p◇Como silk

   Como has woven the world's finest silk for centuries — a scarf or tie from a historic silk house, the city's great craft and souvenir.

5. ~5:00p✦An aperitivo cruise

   A sunset boat with a spritz as the light turns gold on the villas and the mountains, the lake at its most cinematic.

6. ~8:00p●Dinner lakeside

   A waterfront trattoria for missoltini (the lake's sun-dried fish) or a simple risotto, the water lapping below.

Como town anchors the southern lake and is easy to reach from Milan. Como silk is the keepsake to seek out — buy from an established house for the real thing.

1. ~9:30a◆Villa del Balbianello

   The most beautiful villa on the lake — a loggia-topped peninsula of manicured terraces (a Star Wars and Bond location), reached by boat or a short lakeside walk.

2. ~11:30a✦Laglio & the celebrity shore

   A cruise past the Clooney villa at Laglio and the grand houses of the western shore — the lake's glamorous reputation made visible.

3. ~1:00p●Lakefront lunch in Lenno

   A long lunch in a quiet village square — lake fish, fresh pasta, and a carafe of local white under the plane trees.

4. ~3:00p✦A vintage Riva boat ride

   The ultimate Como indulgence — out on the water in a classic mahogany Riva motorboat, wind in your hair, dolce-vita style.

5. ~6:00p✦Spa & garden evening

   Back to the villa-hotel for the spa and a garden aperitivo as the sun drops behind the mountains.

6. ~8:00p●An elegant dinner

   A refined lakeside dinner — risotto, lake fish, and a Franciacorta sparkling to toast the day.

Balbianello is the lake's showpiece garden-villa — book ahead and arrive by boat. A classic Riva ride is the quintessential Como splurge, pure mid-century Italian glamour.