Lake Como

"A beautiful lake in Italy surrounded by soaring mountains and lakeside mansions, offering a serene setting for meditation and mindfulness."

"Word is certainly out about Lake Como — rumor this summer was that Taylor and Travis were shopping for their own love nest in this northern Italian resort. And as I recently found when visiting the town of Bellagio and Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, it really is that beautiful here. Loving couples should definitely splurge on a boat ride in a vintage Riva boat, complete with a picnic and prosecco. In the evening, the lakeshore twinkles with light, reflected on the water’s surface, and it’s as pretty as you can imagine." - Elizabeth Heath Elizabeth Heath Elizabeth Heath is a writer and editor living on a hill in Umbria, from where she writes about travel in Italy, the rest of Europe, and farther afield. Travel + Leisure Editorial Gui

"This Italian restaurant has been a local favorite since it opened in 2011, but in early summer 2023 new partners came on and gave the business a major facelift. A handsome fresh coat of green paint and neon signs in Italian adorn the walls, but it’s the spaghetti with clams and roasted branzino that remain the main attractions." - Dianne de Guzman, Paolo Bicchieri, Garrick Ramirez

"This summer we went to Italy; it’s our most frequented [destination], and we always start in Lake Como. You want to be in that lake! I rented a boat and would drive from one end of the lake to the other. We would jump in the water, and get an incredible lunch somewhere along the way."

"With 18 suites (all with views over the lake) accessed sharply from Como's one road, this place feels definitively private, set apart, very much on its own picturesque high pinnacle hanging over the water. Part of a 19th-century property previously owned by the Lombardi family, it has something no other five-star hotel around here can quite claim: a very secluded pontoon that guests can swim off directly, bothered by nothing but the occasional boat dropping somebody off for lunch. (Inexplicably, most hotels don't encourage swimming in Como itself). It's worth coming to eat (just-caught fish and tomatoes from the hotel gardens) even if you don't stay, but there is something particularly authentic about this side of the lake and it would feel a shame to not sleep here, too. Book now with Booking.com This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date. It was originally published on Condé Nast Traveller U.K." - Antonia Quirke