Italian Holiday Pt. 3 - Lago di Como

After our slight misadventure on Lake Orta, we made the drive over to Lake Como, skirting Milan and Como itself, and instead heading straight for Menaggio. Located in the centro lago region, Menaggio forms one-third of Lake Como's golden trio: Bellagio, Menaggio, and Varenna. We were relieved to find that the Hotel Bellavista was exactly what it promised to be: great location, nice room, pretty balcony, lovely pool, breathtaking lake views. Our holiday was back on track!

Menaggio


Our room!


Hotel Bellavista - Menaggio


As on Lake Maggiore, we dedicated one day to touring villas and gardens. First stop was Varenna, which we thought was perhaps the prettiest of the three towns, albeit the smallest. We also visited the incredibly beautiful gardens of the Villa Monastero.

Varenna


In the garden - Villa Monastero


Grounds of the Villa Monastero with the Villa Cipresi in the background


The second port of call was Bellagio. It was very beautiful and quite chic. We walked quite a bit on the peninsula, and toured the gardens at the Villa Melzi. The Villa Melzi was a wee bit boring to be honest, but we entertained ourselves by imitating statues.

Bellagio


Entertaining ourselves at the Villa Melzi




As if all that was not enough, we made one last stop at the Villa Carlotta. This one was cool as you could tour both the house and the gardens.

In the garden - Villa Carlotta




Another day, we drove the crazy, tiny road up out of Menaggio to Lake Lugano and beyond into Switzerland. We took the cog railway to the top of Monte Generoso. The Swiss-Italian border crawls up the mountain, and at the top there is an incredible 360° view that encompasses a wide swath of the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps, including the famous Matterhorn and Jungfrau peaks among others.

Monte Generoso




Not given towards vacations that are all go-go, we also spent plenty of time by the pool getting some much needed sun, relaxing around town, and generally soaking up the beauty of the surroundings.







Lago di Como is dramatic, beautiful, crowded, historic. It's true that we did not spy George Clooney anywhere, and the Villas D'Este and Balbianello had to move to our list for a future return visit. But, this stay was lovely and relaxing, and a perfect cap to our Italian holiday.

There are a ton of beautiful photos from this leg of our trip.

Click Here - Lago di Como Photo Album