11 of the best · Lake Como, Italy
The FAI’s Villa del Balbianello, the Villa Carlotta and its Canovas, the gardens of Villa Melzi, the Villa Monastero, the Castello di Vezio, Como’s cathedral, the Brunate funicular and the Sacro Monte of Ossuccio.
Our 11 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
Browse by type
Three of our favourites from this list, vetted by people who know and love Lake Como.
On its own peninsula
The FAI’s villa on a wooded peninsula at Lenno: 18th-century French furniture, Beauvais tapestries and the explorer Guido Monzino’s collections.
Canova, Hayez, Thorvaldsen
The villa of the Clerici marquises at Tremezzo: masterpieces by Canova, Hayez and Thorvaldsen in a botanical garden on the lake.
Laid out 1808–1810
The lakeside gardens of Villa Melzi d’Eril at Bellagio, with a museum and a chapel by the little port of Loppia.
In-depth stories behind the list.
The back story
The FAI’s Villa del Balbianello, the Villa Carlotta and its Canovas, the gardens of Villa Melzi and Villa Monastero, Como’s cathedral and the funicular to Brunate: how to read the lake.
Villas, gardens and a castle.
Above Varenna
The castle on the promontory above Varenna: its tower, tunnels and gardens, open most of the year.
Laid out 1808–1810
The lakeside gardens of Villa Melzi d’Eril at Bellagio, with a museum and a chapel by the little port of Loppia.
Canova, Hayez, Thorvaldsen
The villa of the Clerici marquises at Tremezzo: masterpieces by Canova, Hayez and Thorvaldsen in a botanical garden on the lake.
On its own peninsula
The FAI’s villa on a wooded peninsula at Lenno: 18th-century French furniture, Beauvais tapestries and the explorer Guido Monzino’s collections.
Nearly 2 km of garden
The Province of Lecco’s house museum at Varenna, with a botanical garden along nearly two kilometres of shore.
The town.
From 1396
The marble cathedral of Como, begun in 1396, in the heart of the walled town.
Since 1894
The funicular that has climbed from the Como lakefront to the village of Brunate since 1894.
On the first basin
The neoclassical villa on the Como shore, with its park; parts of the park are closed during restoration works.
UNESCO and the Isola Comacina.
UNESCO World Heritage
The chapels climbing to the sanctuary above Ossuccio, one of the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy listed by UNESCO in 2003.
