🙂 George Clooney! Villas! Aperol Spritz! Views!
🙁 Avis Car Hire had gone home! Villas are closed on Mondays!
We enjoyed a 3 day trip for our 28th wedding anniversary which was enjoyed at a leisurely pace and covered most of what we wanted to see!
First night was spent in Menaggio where we visited Villa Carlotta and hired a boat for a 5 hour trip including magnificent lunch! We should have visited Villa too! Second day was Bellagio, Bellano and Varenna third day we covered the rest of the lake northwards on a lovely drive and ended with lunch in Menaggio.
We flew in with British Airways on an easy 1.5hr flight. NEVER use Avis Car Hire- we had called ahead and confirmed that they would wait for us…however, on arrival (and our flight landed at 11h59 – they are supposed to service you if your flight arrives before midnight and may charge you EUR35 after midnight) … no one was there!! (On an earlier trip to Florida, we had booked a Ford Mustang a year in advance – they did not provide us with we had requested – never again – useless!). The other three car rentals were extremely busy serving all their customers. Fortunately for us a friendly chap at Locauto provided us with a perfect little Lancia at a reasonable cost.
ANYWAY… we headed for Menaggio and checked in at 02h00 at The Grand Hotel Menaggio with a very friendly chap at the desk to welcome us. Parking is limited but they accommodate your vehicle on their access drive and you leave the keys with them so that they can move cars around. The room was quite small and smelt a it musty but improved when we opened the windows. Good breakfast. Even at this time Lake Como looked spectacular. It was a full moon.
We headed straight to bed and slept in and were delighted to wake up to sunshine and stunning views! The hotel is right next to the ferry – so very. convenient and is just a short walk to the Menaggio Main Square.
After a hearty breakfast we drove to a nearby carpark – it was really busy with limited spaces. the weather forecast for today was the best so we wanted to hire a boat to capitalise on the good weather. Unfortunately we had not prebooked so we were told to take a taxi to Lazio where we could pick up out boat at midday. Nautic Planet offer various prices per the hour and includes optional insurance – very easy! A MUST do for one day on the lake…or you can choose an option with a skipper…. this would actually have been better for us as we couldn’t moor up at the Villas as we had wanted and if we had a skipper, he could have picked us up and dropped us off… pros and cons as also fun to do on your own.
We headed off and stopped off at Villa Carlotta which was right at the boat pick up point. This is an impressive villa set in stunning botanical gardens and filled with art. In 1801 Villa Carlotta was sold by Caterina Bigli Clerici, the last descendant of the noble Milanese family, to Giovanni Battista Sommariva, at the time President of the Governing Committee of the Cisalpine Republic (1797–1802) established by Napoleon Bonaparte in northern Italy.
We bought some snacks and drinks to take with us on the boat and set off. Very easy to drive and great fun spotting all the grand villas from the lake perspective.
Villa Balbianello looked magnificent set in stunning gardens! Its is famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, and has been featured in a number of famous movies including: A Month by the Lake; Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones; and Casino Royale. Besides being a filming location, it was also the home of an Italian explorer. Count Guido Monzino, the last person to live in this villa, was the first Italian to lead an expedition to Mount Everest. One of its many oddities is the dome-shaped tree, which is trimmed by gardeners by hand every winter over the course of three weeks. It was specifically designed this way to preserve the view from the lake from inside the villa.
Next door is the equally impressive Villa Cassinella … stunning … and a mere EUR190,000.00 per week… a wedding was in progress when we were taking photos…
We continued on our way … Clooney’s Digs… one from our friend’s drive by when they must have been in residence with all the flowers and our visit when it was firmly closed. He regularly spends the summer months on Lake Como in this 25-room 1700 Art Nouveau Villa Oleandra in the village of Laglio, which is a sleepy little nest. He purchased the Villa for $7m in 2002.
Paul found the most idyllic place for lunch …. Aquadolce… DIVINE. The only challenge was mooring up…. there was a strong current and we were not told that we had to ‘reverse’ park … Fortunately some kind helpers soon appeared and struggled away to get our vessel moored up – thank you! Slightly embarrassing but think we endeared ourselves to our waiter! We enjoyed a fantastic meal in perfect ambiance with lovely views – just divine.
The desert and desert wine were to die for!
We felt far more relaxed ‘driving’ back and enjyed the views from the lake!
We passed Nesso – At the bottom of the bridge you can spot the base of the waterfall – this is a popular swimming spot and looked very atmospheric!
We returned our boat and took a taxi back to our car and drove to the car ferry at Caden Abbia at for our 10 minute crossing for the next night in Bellagio.
Bellagio is a very beautiful town, and easily the most famous on Lake Como – for this reason it’s also the most touristy, and can be packed full of people during the peak hours of the day. We were taken by surprise as we had to drive through the narrow walkways to reach our hotel … the luxurious Grand Villa Serbollini. Count Frizzoni built this for his wife in 1854. Bellagio then became more and more popular with Hollywood stars and international politicians: Sir Winston Churchill, Roosevelt, the Rothschilds, J. F. Kennedy, Mary Pickford, Clark Gable, and Al Pacino are just a few of the prestigious guests who have walked the lounges and gardens by the lake. It is impressive. The reception rooms have high and intricately designed ceilings. The hotel decor is refurbished every year – and you really do feel and see the opulence. Breakfast is served in magnificent surroundings. There is free parking. Our room was large with a bath and shower and a very comfortable bed and lovely views. We managed to relax on the ‘beach’ with a few aperol spritzes and enjoy the sunset.
What makes Bellagio so special is definitely its narrow alleys and stony streets. You can grab a gelato almost anywhere and enjoy exploring all the parts of town – which honestly won’t take you that long, since Bellagio is so tiny. After sunset we did exactly this, and explored the town which is largely geared up to extremely wealthy tourists … we certainly were not buying any items at those inflated prices! But a gelato or two was completely affordable! :-0)
We headed back to our little piece of paradise for more sundowners … we had an engaging waiter who have us so many hints for future trips! After a few vodka martinis and other cocktails we were really quite squiffy! The pianist was excellent and added to a wonderful evening in a glorious room.
We awoke to a groggy start but were energised by the incredible great hall in which we enjoyed our breakfast – quite stunning.
Perfect timing for our car ferry to Varenna which took 15minutes with more stunning views of the lakeside.
Varenna was founded by local fishermen in AD 769 and was later allied with the commune of Milan. We were so pleasantly surprised by this little oasis – our fav spot! It is so picturesque on arrival and then we headed through the tunnels to Bellano first as our hotel check in was only at 14h00.
In Bellano there is a small entrance fee to access the gorge, there were ticket inspectors handing out fines s be sure to set your timer. Inside you’ll find walkways that connect canyon walls together so you can explore the inside of the orrido. You don’t need more than 30 minutes to explore this area, but you’ll be glad you did! This is a natural gorge created 15 million years ago by the erosion of the River Pioverna and the Adda glacier which, over the centuries, have shaped the rock into gigantic potholes, dark ravines and caves. The narrow canyon can be visited thanks to a system of footbridges anchored on the high walls overlooking the water – quite dramatic!
At the entrance to the site, there is also a three-storey pentagonal tower perched on a rock overlooking the river, already known in the early seventeenth century, present in all publications that refer to the gorge, but the origins of which are unknown. Nowadays it is known as Cà del Diavol because of the frescoes in the upper part where the devil and other mythological figures can be seen , but also because of the legends that have arisen and that indicate it as the site of numerous satanic rites, parties and orgiastic meetings.
It was now perfect timing to check into our Hotel Royal Victoria in Varenna. It did not take long to drive back and we stopped outside and were given a key card to park in the main parking Complex. Amazing welcome and a tranquil pace. Our suite was AMAZING with a Prosecco and strawberries Welcome gift … I was then told that the swimming pool was closed because it was too cold … 26C?! We are from England!! I explained that this was a showstopper and that I had booked my accommodation on the basis of swimming pools and therefore what could be done?… moments later from our balcony I could see the maintenance man cleaning tables and setting up – well done on them for acting so swiftly! Our suite was large with a big bath and shower, comfortable bed and lovely views. The breakfast room also has lovely views. The pool was fine and there is also a little beach on the lake below the hotel. Highly recommended. We were given a farewell gift of water and mints.
We headed to the pool and met some really lovely other people who also needed a swim! 🙂
Lunch was delicious with the best tiramisu I have ever tasted!
We then needed to walk off lunch so headed off on The Walk of Lovers which is a short pedestrian path cantilevered over water in Varenna. It affords romantic views of Lake Como, the mountains, and the small village with its colourful houses perched at the foot of the cliff which is crowned at the top by the Castello di Vezio. The red fenced promenade in Varenna, with its steep alleys and quaint corners attracts lovers from all around the world. We preferred Varenna out of the three places that we stayed at.
We struggled to find anywhere to eat that was not fully booked so the concierge provided a recommendation which proved to be great! Our waiter, Champagne was excellent.
We headed back and watched the highlights of the Coronation…and then had breakfast with stunning views…
We decided to head off an explore the remainder of the lake by car … but made an error in route – and headed via tunnels (!!) along the way but found the shoreline eventually! LOL. We enjoyed a pleasant lunch on the square of Menaggio eating pizza and another gelato.
We were disappointed to read that Villa Balbianello was closed on Mondays as that had been our plan for the afternoon….we drove there anyway and parked up .. it was firmly closed. 🙁 Our son had said it had been an absolute highlight – oh well, something to return to… we headed off for a final aperol spritz (and were splashed by the incoming ferry!) before driving to the airport for our flight home – A very lovely 3 days!
