Como
The painted lake: a grand tour by car
Ready-made route
Who painted Italy's most famous picture? A day behind the wheel around the lake: the villas of Bond and House of Gucci, a marble duel between two dignitaries, a car ferry across the water and a finale with the best view of Como.
- 5 hDuration
- 60 kmDistance
- 10Stops
- from €11.99Price
- 20 people are looking at this
- Last unlocked about 2 hours ago
What's included
- Audio guide for every stop
- Works offline once downloaded
- Walking map with the exact order
- Yours to keep, no subscription
One-off payment
We send the route and a one-tap link into the app. No account, no password needed.
The walk, stop by stop
The first three stops are free to read here — the rest come with the route in the app.
Villa del Balbiano
Piazza Cardinal Durini, 22010 Ossuccio CO
- The main residence set against the lakeshore
- The gardens framing the villa
- The pool used in House of Gucci, if visible
Pin It Properly
This is Villa del Balbiano in Ossuccio, not Como city. The address is Piazza Cardinal Durini, named for the cardinal who gave the estate its grandest upgrade.
Durini’s Upgrade
The Giovio and Gallio families shaped the lakeside residence over centuries. Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini later enlarged it for aristocratic display and cultured leisure: less quiet retreat, more carefully staged good living.
In House of Gucci, Villa del Balbiano’s frescoed rooms, gardens and pool became Aldo Gucci’s home. Centuries of aristocratic display were recast as fashion-family excess.
Open in MapsVilla del Balbianello
Via Guido Monzino 1, 22016 Tremezzina CO
- The open loggia framing the lake
- The villa's terraced gardens
- The contrast between the wooded peninsula and open water
Naboo Meets Bond
These terraces appeared as Naboo in Star Wars and later became a convalescent clinic in Casino Royale. First galactic romance, then a battered secret agent—the lake handled both roles rather well.
The Point of It All
The villa occupies the tip of the wooded Dosso d'Avedo peninsula, on the western shore of Lake Como's south-western branch. Isola Comacina lies about 1,500 metres to the west.
Guido Monzino filled the villa with souvenirs of Everest and the North Pole, bringing Himalayan heights and polar ice into a retreat above Lake Como.
Open in MapsVilla Carlotta
Via Statale 5605, 22016 Tremezzina CO
- Face the villa, then turn around for its Lake Como setting
- The botanical garden surrounding the museum
- Works by Canova and Thorvaldsen inside
The Furniture Has a Past
The collection is not limited to paintings and sculpture. It also includes furniture from previous owners, bringing the people who lived here into the museum’s story. As you move through the rooms, notice how the furnishings share the stage with the art.
Beyond the Marble
Canova and Thorvaldsen may pull you toward the sculpture, but the collection also includes paintings by Francesco Hayez and Giovanni Migliara. Before moving to the next room, turn back to the walls and give the paintings their share of attention.
The villa was completed in 1745, but its architect remains unknown. The building has kept the names of its collectors and royal owners; the person who designed it never made the confirmed credits.
Open in Maps
What comes after the free stops
Titles and photos, without the stories: those are what you unlock. Nothing here is a spoiler.
Grand Hotel Tremezzo
A technologically daring Belle Époque hotel opened by Enea and Maria Gandola in 1910. Its story later became tangled with Greta Garbo, Lake Como, and the dream factory of Hollywood.
Gardens of Villa Melzi
This neoclassical summer estate was commissioned by Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Napoleon’s vice-president of the Italian Republic. Later visitors included Stendhal and Franz Liszt, linking Bellagio’s lakeside beauty with politics, literature and music.
Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni
Once a noble family’s private holiday villa, it became the Grand Hotel Bellagio in 1873 and helped turn Bellagio into an international resort. Its salons later hosted political and Hollywood figures including Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Mary Pickford and Clark Gable.
Villa Serbelloni and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center
An American heiress gave this commanding Bellagio estate to the Rockefeller Foundation in 1959 to promote international understanding. It has since hosted artists, scientists, judges, writers and more than 85 Nobel laureates.
Villa Pliniana
A secluded 16th-century villa beside the intermittent spring described by Pliny the Younger. Its guests ranged from Byron and Shelley to Rossini and Napoleon, while its brooding atmosphere passed from Fogazzaro’s novel Malombra into cinema.
Villa Roccabruna and the Giuditta Pasta Estate
Soprano Giuditta Pasta bought this Lake Como estate in 1827 and drew Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Manzoni and Stendhal into her artistic circle. Although her original residence was later replaced by Villa Roccabruna, parts of the older estate survive within today’s Mandarin Oriental resort.
Villa Geno
A peaceful Lake Como waterfront that has served as a religious settlement, a leper hospital, an aristocratic villa and, finally, a municipal park. Its postwar fountain can send water roughly 45 metres above the lake.
How it works
- Unlock it here or in the app — one payment, no subscription.
- Download it once; the audio and the map work without signal.
- Walk at your own pace, start and stop whenever you want.
Unlock the whole city
Every route and quest in this city, at less than the price of three of them. €19.99
