If the ferries are the heart of a Como trip, the villas are its soul. The lake has been a retreat for the wealthy since Roman times, and the great houses they built, wrapped in gardens that tumble to the water, are the real reason to come. Four are essential, and I would build a trip around them. What follows is how I visit each one, when to go, what it costs, and how to string them together without spending the day chasing boats. I have written this as a supporting piece to Victoria’s complete guide to Lake Como, so if you want the wider picture, start there and come back for the gardens.
A note before we begin. Prices on the lake shift a little each season, so I have kept them as soft bands rather than exact figures. Treat them as a guide for budgeting, not a promise. And read to the end for the practical part, because the single most useful thing I can tell you is how to sequence the day.
Villa del Balbianello, Lenno
If you see one villa, see this one. Balbianello sits on a wooded promontory near Lenno, a slim finger of land with a twin-arched loggia at its tip and terraced gardens that fall away on both sides to the water. It is the most photographed spot on the lake, and for once the reputation is earned rather than inflated. The gardens are clipped and disciplined without feeling severe, holm oaks pruned into green clouds, gravel paths that curl around to views you did not expect. Film lovers will recognise it. It stood in for Naboo in Star Wars Episode II, the Anakin and Padme scenes, and it appears in Casino Royale as the place where Bond convalesces. It is an FAI heritage property, which is the Italian equivalent of a national trust, and it is cared for accordingly.
Getting there is part of the pleasure. From Lido di Lenno you can either take a steep footpath of about a kilometre, roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes on foot, or a little taxi-boat from the Lenno waterfront. The boat is the lovelier arrival, costing about six euros one way or nine return, running roughly every thirty minutes until around five in the afternoon. Arriving from the water, watching the loggia rise above you, is the version I would choose every time.
Two things about timing that will save you a wasted trip. First, the season runs roughly mid-March to mid-November. Second, and this catches people out, Balbianello keeps the FAI two-day closure and is shut on Mondays and Wednesdays. Core hours are about ten to six. A garden-only ticket runs roughly ten to fifteen euros. The combined garden-and-villa ticket, around twenty-four euros, includes the interior, which you can only see on a guided tour of about forty-five minutes and which you should book ahead. It sells out in high season. My advice is to treat Balbianello as a fixed point in the day, book the slot, and plan everything else around it.
Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo
Carlotta, on the west shore at Tremezzo, is a different animal. It is both a botanical garden and an art museum, and it wears both roles well. Inside the house you will find Canova sculptures and a cool, marbled calm. Outside is the reason most people come, a garden famous for its spring azaleas and rhododendrons that flood the terraces in colour. There is a formal Italian garden near the house, then things loosen into a valley of ferns, centuries-old camellias, and citrus trained against warm walls.
The blooms are the whole point, so time it if you can. Colour builds from about mid-March, runs strong through April, and holds into early May, with the best of it usually late April to early May. If you are planning your trip around the flowers, my note on the best time to visit Lake Como goes into the seasons in more detail. Carlotta opens roughly March the twentieth to mid-October, daily, about ten to seven, with the last ticket around six. Adult entry is about seventeen and a half euros. The ferry stop is named for it, “Tremezzo, Villa Carlotta”, which makes it one of the easiest to reach.
Villa Melzi Gardens, Bellagio
If you have ever seen a photograph of Como that made you want to book a flight, it may well have been Melzi. This is the Slim Aarons postcard look, an English-style lakeside garden laid out in the Napoleonic era, between 1808 and 1810, with lawns that run right down to the waterline. There are classical statues placed with restraint, a Moorish pavilion, and a genuine Japanese water garden that feels like a small held breath halfway along the path. The villa itself is private and cannot be visited, but the gardens are the draw, and they do not need the house.
Melzi is the easiest of the great gardens to fold into an afternoon, which is exactly why I love it. It sits a short walk, about ten minutes, south along the lakefront from the Bellagio ferry dock. No booking is needed. The season runs roughly late March to the end of October, daily, about ten to seven, and the ticket is only about ten euros. When people ask me for the most garden per euro and per effort, this is my answer. It also happens to be one of the finest photo spots on the lake, particularly in the softer light of late afternoon.
Villa Monastero, Varenna
Cross to the east shore and you find Monastero at Varenna, a former convent turned private residence, now open to the public. Its great asset is length. The garden runs nearly two kilometres along the shore, a ribbon of agave, citrus, and cypress with the water always beside you and the mountains rising opposite. There is a house-museum too, with rooms kept much as the last owners left them, so you can pair the walk with a little interior history if you like.
A garden-only ticket is about thirteen euros, and the combined ticket with the house-museum is about fifteen, which is a small step up for what you get. Monastero sits right on the Varenna lakefront promenade, so it slots naturally into a wander through one of the prettiest villages on the lake. Of the four essential gardens, this is the one I would pair with a slow lunch and no fixed plan.
Villa Serbelloni Park, Bellagio
One point of confusion worth clearing up. The Villa Serbelloni park is the hilltop park above Bellagio, and it is not the grand hotel of the same name. You visit the park by guided tour only, booked through the Bellagio tourist office, Promobellagio. It is a moderately strenuous walk of about ninety minutes to two hours, costing around thirteen euros, and it runs spring through autumn. The reward justifies the effort. From the top you look down all three branches of the lake at once, the split where Como divides, a view you cannot get anywhere else. If your legs are willing and the tour times suit, it is a memorable morning.
Planning a villa-hopping day
The trick is to cluster by shore and let the ferries do the linking rather than fighting them. The west shore, the Tremezzina, holds both Balbianello and Carlotta, which sit close enough to pair in a single morning and early afternoon. The east shore has Villa Monastero at Varenna. Bellagio, in the middle, gives you Melzi and the Serbelloni park tour. My guide to getting around Lake Como by boat explains the ferry triangle that connects all three, and it is worth reading before you fix a route.
Build the whole day around Balbianello. Check its Monday and Wednesday closure first, then book your interior slot, and treat that time as the anchor. Everything else is flexible and can bend around it. A workable west-shore day might be Balbianello in the morning on its booked slot, a light lunch at Lenno, then Carlotta in the afternoon while the light warms the terraces. A Bellagio day pairs the gentle Melzi gardens with the more demanding Serbelloni climb, one for the morning and one for later. Do not try to see all four in a single day. Two gardens, done slowly, will stay with you far longer than four seen at a jog. For more on pacing a trip, see the best things to do in Lake Como.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Como villa is the best to visit?
Balbianello for drama and setting, Carlotta for spring colour and art, Melzi for ease and that postcard view, Monastero for a long, quiet shoreline walk. If I had to name one, it is Balbianello, but I would not build a whole trip on a single garden. Pick two that suit your dates and pace.
Is Villa del Balbianello worth it, and how do I visit?
Yes, and it is the one I would not skip. Reach it from Lido di Lenno by a footpath of about a kilometre, roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes, or by the little taxi-boat from the Lenno waterfront, about six euros one way. Remember it closes Mondays and Wednesdays, and book ahead if you want the guided interior tour, which sells out in high season.
When do the gardens bloom?
The azaleas and rhododendrons at Carlotta peak from about mid-March through April into early May, with the strongest colour usually late April to early May. If flowers are your reason for coming, aim for that window and go midweek to avoid the heaviest crowds.
Can you go inside the villas?
It varies. Balbianello’s interior is open by guided tour only, about forty-five minutes, booked ahead. Carlotta and Monastero both have house-museums you can enter with a combined ticket. Melzi’s villa is private and cannot be visited, though its gardens are the reason to go. The Serbelloni park above Bellagio is grounds only, by guided tour.
