Lake Como – Design meets legacy on Italy’s most glamorous lake

Lake Como is Italy’s elegant icon – a deep-blue wishbone of water carved by Ice Age glaciers and framed by forested mountains, cascading gardens, and villas of cinematic calibre. For centuries, its evocative beauty has pulled in everyone from Roman emperors and silk barons to poets, musicians and today’s design-savvy travellers.

Anchored in Lombardy in northern Italy – just an hour from Milan – Lake Como’s legacy is rich with aristocratic leisure, creative inspiration, and the glossy ease of lakeside living. Julius Caesar gave it its first town (Como), 14th-century dukes turned its hills into a silk empire, and Romantic poets like Byron and Shelley turned to its waters for muse-like quiet.

Today, Lake Como fuses past and present with considered grace. Stately villas – Villa Balbianello, Villa Melzi, Villa Monastero – still stud the emerald shore, each framed by classical Italian gardens, cascading roses, and marble statues. But a new rhythm flows through the lake now – boutique hotels, design-forward villas and a culture of creative calm that celebrates beauty without the fuss.

Towns like Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio, and Tremezzo radiate old-school charm with cobbled streets, pastel facades, and lakefront promenades. Others, like Lezzeno and Cernobbio, fly under the radar – perfect for those chasing authenticity and low-key cool. From any port, you can glide across the water by vintage Riva boat, dock at hidden trattorias, or step into world-famous gardens perfumed by citrus and wisteria.

Adventure lives in the hills, too. Ancient mule trails like the Greenway del Lago di Como and the Sentiero del Viandante offer panoramic hiking between villages, villas and unspoiled viewpoints. Whether you’re sipping espresso in Como or watching the sun slide behind the Alps from a rooftop terrace, Lake Como moves with a cinematic slowness that’s impossible to rush.

THE AFICIONADOS’ TAKE

Lake Como is no longer just about old-money glamour. Today, it's where curated design meets majestic nature – where silk threads of heritage entwine with sleek architecture and laid-back creativity. Come for the views, stay for the feeling.