Villa Balbianello projects out onto the lake with majestic splendour, from the jetty you take steps up to exquisitely manicured terraced gardens, it is an easy 15 minute stroll from Villa Porta Felice. Villa Carlotta has Como’s most renowned botanical garden with a glorious spring flowering of azalias and rhodedenrums.

Arm chair culture tour

Relax with refreshments during this engaging private lecture on the History and Secrets of Lake Como. Revealing Roman artistocratic retreats, the nearby location of Mussolini’s death when shot by partisans in Giulino di Mezzegra and the inspiration for Churchill’s artistic spirit, he relished the tranquillity of Lake Como after the war.