What a pleasant surprise. Lake Como certainly exceeded our expectations, even though we had some inclement weather during the first few days of our stay. The lake and surrounding towns are tranquil and beautiful with some amazing villas and estates.
We stayed in Bellagio, a delightful town on Lake Como
In the middle of this picture is the Hotel du Lac where we stayed. A very well positioned three star hotel opposite the ferry departure point.
Our room on the top floor had a great view of the lake
Lake Como is the third largest lake in Italy after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres deep it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe and the bottom of the lake is more than 200 metres below sea level.
It is close to the Swiss border. Here you can see the Swiss Alps in the background.
The lake has a natural beauty either in fine weather or....
Overcast skies and low lying clouds
As eerie rays of sunshine filter through onto the water
The lake is shaped like an upturned letter "Y". The northern branch begins in the town of Colico (where we had lunch one day), while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the southern ends. Bellagio sits at the intersection of the three branches of the lake.
Al fresco dining in Como. Just love how the Italians greet each other and have lengthy animated discussions. Como is a thriving town with wonderful shopping and interesting streets. Lake Como is fed by the Adda River near Calico and exits at Lecco. This makes the Como branch the dead end, and so Como is occassionally subjected to flooding.
Lake Como is a popular retreat for wealthy people including celebrities such as George Clooney, Madonna, Gianni Versace, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Branson. It is also known for amazing lake side villas. Here is a selection of some below.....
Three Villas were well worth noting.
The first is Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo, accross the lake from Bellaggio.
It was built for a Milanese merchant in 1690 and occupies over 70,000 square metres of gardens, fountains and sculptures.
In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named.
The next wonderful villa is Villa del Balbianello, famous for its beautiful terraced gardens.
It lies on a promotory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina.
It was built in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery.
It was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and now houses a museum devoted to his work.
The grounds are just amazing and its position on the lake exceptional
The third villa is the Villa d'Este at Cernobbio. It was built in 1568 by Cardinal Gallio. In 1816-17 it was home to Carolin of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales.
Later in the 19th century it was turned into a hotel and today remains one of the pre-eminent hotels of Europe. It is known for attracting celebrity guests
Here is one "celebrity guest" who needed to ask, "which way to Villa d'Este, per favore"
While we were at Villa d'Este we did sight one celebrity guest who was kind enough to let us take a picture of her. How lucky were we?
The towns around Lake Como are linked by a very efficient ferry service which runs regularly on schedule. Most activity appears to be in the central area of the lake. Another favourite town well worth visiting in the central area is Varenna which is behind Bellaggio on the Lecco arm of the lake.
Varenna
And finally the mandatory tourists. You can't escape them. Here are a few doing normal tourist things, like having a gin and tonic late afternoon for apperitivo as it was so molto relaxing.
So dear family and friends that's Lake Como....bella tranquilla
Our next report will be on Peidmonte in the far north west of Italia
Amore a baci a tutti
Carolyna e Alan
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