Como
A deep glacial lake in the shape of a Y, villas and gardens at the water's edge, Bellagio where the arms meet, and Milan forty kilometres south.
- Arrival
- Milan Malpensa · MXP
- To the lake
- Como is about 40 km north of Milan
- Private jets
- Linate Prime and Malpensa; Lugano nearby
- Best time
- May to September
The city
Three arms of water below the Alps.
Glaciers carved Lake Como into an inverted Y, forty-six kilometres long and more than four hundred metres deep. Como sits at the southern tip, with its cathedral and its funicular up to Brunate. Cernobbio, Moltrasio and Tremezzo follow the western shore, and Bellagio holds the point where the two southern arms divide.
The lake is at its best from May to September, when the days reach 19 to 26 °C. Rain is part of the summer here, so a day on the water is planned around the sky. Several of the great hotels open in mid-March and close around the end of October.
Arriving
Two Milan airports, and Lugano.
There is no airport on the lake. Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate serve it from the south, and Lugano, across the Swiss border, is also close.
- Nice 45 min
- Paris 1 h 10
- Stockholm 2 h 30
- Hong Kong 12 h 20 long-range jet
- San Francisco 12 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
Mild summers and cold winters at the foot of the Alps. From May to September the days reach 19 to 26 °C, but rain falls in every month and is heaviest from spring to autumn, so the usual dry-month rule does not apply here.
- 5° J 72
- 7° F 71
- 11° M 98
- 15° A 124
- 19° M 158
- 23° J 135
- 26° J 108
- 25° A 137
- 22° S 122
- 16° O 135
- 10° N 120
- 6° D 63
What to see and do
Days in and around Como.
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Landmark
Villa del Balbianello
Terraced gardens on a wooded peninsula, laid out around a villa of 1787.
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Landmark
Villa Carlotta
A house of 1690 at Tremezzo, with sculpture by Canova and gardens of azaleas and rhododendrons.
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Landmark
The seaplanes
Aero Club Como flies from the city waterfront, the oldest seaplane operation in the world.
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Opera & music
Teatro Sociale di Como
Inaugurated in August 1813 with an opera by Portogallo, the five tiered house of about 900 seats stages opera and concerts.
Official site -
Culture
Museo della Seta
Machinery and archives of the silk industry that made Como's name are shown in this educational museum on Via Castelnuovo.
Official site -
Nature
Funicolare Como Brunate
Running since 1894, the funicular climbs 1,084 metres of track from the lakefront to the village of Brunate and its views over the lake.
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Nature
Greenway del Lago di Como
This 10.5 km path on the western shore links Colonno to Cadenabbia through Ossuccio, Lenno and Tremezzo, in about three and a half hours.
Official site -
Nature
Giardini di Villa Melzi
Laid out in the early 1800s below Villa Melzi d'Eril, the English style garden runs along the shore at Bellagio.
Official site -
Golf
Menaggio and Cadenabbia Golf Club
Opened on 10 January 1907, the club plays an 18 hole par 70 course in the hills at Grandola ed Uniti, above Menaggio.
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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23 Feb – 1 Mar 2027
Luxury & fashion
Milan Fashion Week Women (Autumn/Winter 2027)
The Milan women's collections week coordinated by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, showing Autumn/Winter 2027-2028 collections.
Milan, about 39 km away
In 4 months
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13–18 Apr 2027
Luxury & fashion
Salone del Mobile.Milano
International furniture and design fair at Fiera Milano in Rho, held during Milan Design Week.
Fiera Milano, Rho, Milan, about 32 km away
In 5 months
-
May 2027 Dates to be confirmed
Luxury & fashion
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este
Concours for historic cars at the Villa d'Este hotel on Lake Como, held since 2011 over a weekend in the second half of May.
Villa d'Este
In 6 months
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September 2027 Dates to be confirmed
Luxury & fashion
Milan Fashion Week Women (Spring/Summer 2028)
The Milan women's collections week coordinated by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, held each September for the following spring and summer.
Milan, about 39 km away
In 10 months
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3–5 Sep 2027
Formula 1
Italian Grand Prix
Round 14 of the 24-round 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza with a Sprint race.
Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, about 26 km away
In 10 months
Where to stay
Villas on the water.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Passalacqua A late eighteenth-century villa where Bellini wrote Norma, with twenty-four suites across three buildings.
- Villa d'Este Built in 1568 and a hotel since 1873, known for the pool that floats on the lake.
- Grand Hotel Tremezzo Open since 1910, in a park that was once the botanical garden of Villa Carlotta next door.
- Il Sereno A modern building on the eastern shore, with interiors by Patricia Urquiola and vertical gardens by Patrick Blanc.
- Grand Hotel Victoria A nineteenth-century neoclassical hotel on the shore, looking across to Bellagio.
- The Lake Como EDITION A nineteenth-century palazzo on the western shore, new to the Keys in 2026, with a floating pool and its own dock.
- Villa Làrio Eighteen suites in three buildings on the eastern arm, with an infinity pool and a private landing stage.
- Palazzo Albricci Peregrini A handful of rooms in an old family palazzo inside the town walls, marked only by a small sign.
Where to dine
Three stars around the lake.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Il Sereno Al Lago One Michelin star Modern €€€€ Il Sereno, Torno
- Materia One Michelin star Creative €€€€ Via Trieste, Cernobbio
- Kitchen One Michelin star Italian Contemporary €€€€ Via per Cernobbio, Como
Elsewhere in Italy
More reasons to come.
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Rome
The Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Vatican across the Tiber.
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Milan
The Last Supper, the roof of the Duomo, and the fashion weeks.
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Venice
Palazzi on the Grand Canal, and the islands of the lagoon.
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Florence
The Uffizi, the Duomo, and the Chianti hills to the south.
- San Marino (Republic) A republic of its own on Mount Titano, some forty minutes by road from Rimini airport.
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Amalfi
Positano, Ravello and the coast road, with Capri offshore.
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Porto Cervo
Yachts, the Piazzetta, and the beaches of north-east Sardinia.
- Taormina A hill town over the Ionian Sea, facing Etna.
Flying to Como?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.