The villas of Lake Como worth visiting

Lake Como is good golfing country, but between rounds it pays to leave the bag in the car: along its shores stand some of the most celebrated residences in Italy, and almost all of them can be seen in a few hours. Here are five villas that could hardly differ more: a botanical garden, a house museum, a Romantic park, a residence turned into a hotel.

Opening hours and prices are those published by the villas for the 2026 season: for 2027 it is best to check them before travelling.

Villa del Balbianello: the loggia on the tip of Lavedo

From the tip of the wooded Lavedo peninsula, in Tremezzina, the villa looks out over the lake from the height of its Loggia Durini, commissioned in the late eighteenth century by the Milanese cardinal Angelo Maria Durini. Before him, from the thirteenth century, a Franciscan convent stood here. In 1974 it was bought by the explorer and businessman Guido Monzino, the first Italian to reach the summit of Everest, who on his death left it to the FAI in 1988.

Inside is the Museum of Expeditions, with the sledge used on the 1971 North Pole expedition and, according to the FAI, the largest collection of Inuit ivories outside Greenland. Outside is the garden, known for its daring pruning, such as the holm oak trained into an "umbrella".

Getting there. Cars are not allowed: you park in Lenno and continue on foot (one kilometre uphill, about 25 minutes) or by water taxi from the Lido di Lenno, a paid service not run by the FAI. Booking is compulsory. According to the FAI, in October 2026 the garden-only ticket costs €15 and the ticket with a guided tour of the interiors (50 minutes, groups of at most 16 people) €25. In November 2026 the villa is open from 10 am to 5 pm.

Villa Carlotta: Canova, Hayez and the spring bloom

In Tremezzo, Villa Carlotta is both a museum and a botanical garden, on a single ticket. The collection dates from the early nineteenth century, when Giovanni Battista Sommariva acquired works by the leading artists of the day, among them Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorvaldsen; Francesco Hayez's painting "The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet", from 1823, has also stayed in Tremezzo. The name is that of Princess Carlotta, who received the villa as a gift in the mid-nineteenth century on her marriage to George II of Saxe-Meiningen: her apartments can be seen on the second floor.

The garden has two citrus tunnels, a collection of rhododendrons that bloom between mid-March and mid-April, and camellias, which open the season.

2026 information. From 20 March to 18 October the villa is open from 10 am to 7 pm (last ticket at 6 pm); from 19 October to 8 November from 10 am to 6 pm. The full-price ticket costs €17.50, the reduced ticket for students aged 6 to 18 €7. The boat from Como takes about 45 minutes, and the "Tremezzo - Villa Carlotta" stop is 400 metres from the entrance.

Villa Melzi d'Eril: a Romantic park in Bellagio

The gardens of Villa Melzi in Bellagio were created between 1808 and 1810 for Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Duke of Lodi and vice-president of Napoleon's Italian Republic. The villa highlights botanical paths, viewpoints over the lake, camellias, a chapel and a small museum.

In 2026 the gardens are open every day: from 10 am to 7 pm (last entry 6.30 pm) until 11 October, from 10 am to 6.30 pm from 12 to 24 October, from 10 am to 5 pm from 25 October until the seasonal closure, with closure on 1 November. No booking is needed; admission costs €10 (€14 for two days or more, free up to age 11).

Villa Monastero in Varenna: eight centuries and two kilometres of garden

On the eastern shore, Villa Monastero grew out of the transformation of a Cistercian convent for women founded in the late twelfth century. Its owners included the Mornico family, Carolina Maumari (a niece of Alessandro Manzoni's first wife), the German Walter Kees and finally the Milanese De Marchi family, who donated it to the State in 1939.

The house museum, opened in 2003, has 14 rooms with original decoration and furniture. The botanical garden stretches for nearly two kilometres along the lake, from Varenna to Fiumelatte, and according to the villa holds more than 900 species and receives about 100,000 visitors a year. The villa also houses a conference centre: in 1954 the Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi lectured there, and every year the Italian Physical Society holds its courses there. Opening hours and tickets should be requested from the villa.

Villa d'Este in Cernobbio: the villa you can live in

The last is the only one in which you can sleep. Built in 1568 for Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, Villa d'Este has been a hotel since 1873 and has 151 rooms in a ten-hectare park, between the Cardinal's building and the Queen's pavilion. On the estate, according to the hotel, there are also four private villas, rented separately.

It is also the villa most closely tied to golf: in 2024 the hotel bought back its club at Montorfano, and the 2026 golf package ran from 21 March to 21 November with a minimum of two nights.

Which golf courses are nearby

Menaggio, on the same western shore as Tremezzo, is among the most historic courses on the Lario: according to the club it was the second oldest in Italy. To play, an exact handicap of 54 and a booking on Chronogolf are required.

How to plan the day

The practical advice is to choose one villa per day and book tickets where required: at Balbianello booking is compulsory. For getting around, Villa Carlotta recommends the boat, which avoids the traffic, while the FAI warns that in Lenno parking can be difficult at weekends and in summer.