Bellagio

Bellagio stands on the point where Lake Como splits into its two southern arms, which is why it has the view it does. Stepped lanes climb from the waterfront between shuttered houses to the church at the top.

Overview

The position made it a Roman retreat and then a nineteenth-century resort, and two great villa gardens survive from that time: Villa Melzi on the shore, with its Japanese garden and a Napoleonic neoclassical house, and Villa Serbelloni above the town, open only by guided tour. The town itself is small and can be walked in an hour; the crowds arrive with the ferries and leave with them.

Highlights

Stay after five, when the day boats have gone and the lanes belong to the town again. Villa Melzi’s garden is the better of the two for a short visit, and runs along the water for a kilometre. The ferry to Varenna takes fifteen minutes and gives the classic view back at the promontory.

Overview

Highlights

Location