Lake Como
Five very different houses on one lake — and how to choose between them
The Destination
Como is a small lake with an unusually deep bench. Within about forty minutes of water you have a hotel that has been running since 1873, an art-nouveau grande dame with a swimming pool built out on the lake itself, and an 18th-century villa that reopened in 2022 and was named the best hotel in the world the following year. Very few destinations of this size can field five properties at this level.
That density is also the reason people get the trip slightly wrong. The hotels sit close together on a map and much further apart in character, and the shore roads are slower than anyone expects. The real choice is rarely about stars or price. It is whether you want frescoes or walnut and glass, a hundred and fifty rooms or twenty-four, the busy western shore or the quiet eastern one.
What follows is how we actually brief clients on it: who each house suits, where they sit on the lake, when to come, and how to move around once you are here. We book all five at the same nightly rate as the hotel's own website, with preferred-partner benefits added on top.
Where to Stay
Villa d'Este
Cernobbio, western shore — 15 minutes from Como town
The definitive Lake Como grande dame — a 16th-century cardinal's villa, a hotel since 1873, with 25 acres of Renaissance gardens and the famous pool floating on the lake itself
Grand Hotel Tremezzo
Tremezzina, western shore — facing Bellagio
The art-nouveau grande dame facing Bellagio across the water, with a pool that floats on the lake
Passalacqua
Moltrasio, western shore — on the hillside above the water
The 18th-century villa where Bellini wrote Norma, reopened in 2022 as a 24-suite house and named the world's best hotel in its first year
Il Sereno Lago di Como
Torno, eastern shore — a short run north of Como town
Patricia Urquiola's all-suite house at Torno — the contemporary answer to Como's frescoed villas
Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como
Blevio, eastern shore — the quiet side
A restored 19th-century villa estate at Blevio on Lake Como, with a floating pool on the lake
Reading the Lake
Como is shaped like an upside-down Y. Como town sits at the bottom of the western leg, Lecco at the bottom of the eastern one, and the two branches meet at Bellagio before the lake runs north toward the mountains. Almost everything a first-time visitor wants is clustered around that fork.
The western shore, running from Cernobbio up through Moltrasio to Tremezzina, is the famous one — the great villas, the botanical gardens, most of the hotels on this page. It is also where the summer traffic is. The eastern shore around Torno and Blevio is greener and quieter, with fewer day-trippers and a shorter run back into Como town.
Bellagio, on the promontory at the fork, is the postcard village and worth an afternoon, though it is busy in season. Varenna faces it across the water and is the easiest arrival point by train. Between Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio the ferries run constantly, which is why the central lake is the most practical base if you want to be out on the water every day.
When to Go
The season runs roughly April to October, and the bookends matter more here than almost anywhere else in Italy: most of the lake's grand hotels close for winter and reopen between late March and mid-April, and several shut again through October and November. Send us your dates before you settle on a hotel and we will confirm what is open when you land.
Within the season, April and May are for the gardens, which are the real reason to come early. July and August are hot, glamorous and crowded, with the villa visits and the good restaurant tables gone weeks ahead. September into early October is our own preference — the water is still warm, the light is better, and the lake gets quietly handed back to the people who live on it.
Getting There & Around
Milan is the gateway. Malpensa and Linate both work, and a private car to the western shore takes around an hour depending on traffic and where you are staying. By rail, Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino is about an hour and puts you on the eastern shore right beside the ferry pier — the nicer approach if you are heading for Bellagio or the central lake.
Once you are here, take the boat. The shore roads are narrow, and in July a twenty-minute drive on the map can take an hour. The hotels we work with run their own launches, and the public ferries between Como, Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio go often enough that you can plan a day around them. There is also a simpler argument for the water: the villas along this lake were built to be approached from it, and they still look best that way. We arrange the private boat and keep the car for the airport legs.
What the Days Look Like
The two garden villas are the fixed points. Villa del Balbianello sits on its own wooded promontory at Lenno, reached most enjoyably by boat, and is the one people recognise from the films shot there. Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo is the botanical one, at its best in spring when the azaleas and rhododendrons are out. Both reward an early slot before the day boats arrive.
Beyond that, Como rewards doing less than you planned. A morning on the water, lunch somewhere with a terrace, an afternoon in the hotel garden. If you want more structure we can add a private boat with a skipper for the day, a guided walk through the villages above the shore, or a run over to Milan for the Duomo and the Last Supper, which needs booking well in advance.
Frequently Asked
Which is the best hotel on Lake Como?
Ask instead which one you would be happiest in, because these five are not competing for the same guest. Villa d'Este is the full grande-dame experience and the only one where the building itself is the occasion — 152 rooms, formal evenings, the famous pool floating on the lake. Grand Hotel Tremezzo is the one to pick if you want to be out on the water daily and somewhere lively when you come back in. Passalacqua is the smallest and hardest to book, and the one guests describe afterwards as staying in someone's house rather than a hotel. Il Sereno is for anyone who would find the antiques oppressive. Mandarin Oriental, the newest of the five, has the most ground — eight hectares of gardens at Blevio — and sits furthest from the day-trippers.
Should I stay on the western or eastern shore?
The western shore between Como and Tremezzina is where most of the famous hotels and villas sit, and where you want to be for a first visit — it puts Villa del Balbianello, Villa Carlotta and the Bellagio crossing within easy reach. The eastern shore around Torno and Blevio is quieter and greener, with fewer day-trippers and a shorter run back to Como town. Neither is wrong; the eastern side simply trades a little convenience for a lot of calm.
Do you need a car on Lake Como?
No, and on the western shore in high season a car is closer to a liability than an asset. The lakeside road is a single lane in each direction through the villages, parking at the villas is limited, and the drive between two hotels that look adjacent on the map can take three times what you estimated. Almost everything worth reaching is on the water. Keep a driver for the airport run, use the hotel launch and the public ferries for everything else, and hire a car only if you plan to head up into the mountains or across to the other lakes.
How do you get to Lake Como?
Milan is the gateway. Malpensa and Linate both work, and a private transfer to the western shore takes roughly an hour depending on traffic and where you are staying. By rail, Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino is about an hour and drops you on the eastern shore beside the ferry pier, which is the most pleasant approach if you are heading for Bellagio or the central lake. We book the transfer or the train and hand you over to the hotel's boat at the other end.
When is the best time to go to Lake Como?
April to October, with a caveat worth checking before you commit: most of the lake's grand hotels close for winter and reopen somewhere between late March and mid-April, and several close again through October and November. Inside those bookends, the gardens are at their best in April and May, July and August are hot and busy, and September into early October gives you warm water and far fewer people.
How many nights do you need on Lake Como?
Three is the sweet spot, and it slots neatly into a wider Italian route — most often Venice and Florence, or Milan on either side. Two nights works if the lake is a pause rather than the point, but you will spend one of them travelling. Beyond four, unless you are settling in properly, people tend to start wanting a change of scene.
Is it worth booking Lake Como through a travel advisor?
You pay the same nightly rate as booking direct, and we add preferred-partner benefits — breakfast, upgrades when available, and property credits. On Como the bigger value is the judgement around it: matching the house to the traveller, checking the seasonal closures before you fall for a hotel that shuts the week you arrive, putting you on the water instead of the road, and holding the restaurant tables and villa slots that go weeks ahead in high season.
Plan Your Journey
Stay on Lake Como with Via Privata
Same nightly rate as booking direct, with complimentary breakfast, upgrades when available and property credits added to every stay — plus the boat, the transfers and the tables that book out early.
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