Villas, gardens and mountains on a glassy lake
Lake Como sits in a steep, forested valley at the foot of the Alps, its shores lined with aristocratic villas and their terraced gardens. Bellagio, on the point where the lake's three arms meet, is the classic base, with Varenna and Menaggio a short ferry ride across. Visit the gardens of Villa del Balbianello and Villa Carlotta, take the funicular up to Brunate for views, and spend unhurried afternoons eating lake fish on a terrace by the water.