Hello,

I would very much appreciate if you could help...

we will be staying in Bellagio for 5 nights
My itinerary is outlined as follows:

Days:
1. Upon arrival from Switzerland to Milano Centrale - bus sightseeing around Milan. Then evening hydrofoil to Bellagio
2. Bellagio sightseeing. Boat to Bellano and Varenna with reasonable stop-offs there to allow some time for viewing the Villas and towns. Return to Bellagio.
3. Hydrofoil to Como. Sightseeing, shopping. Then walking or bussing to Cernobbio. Return to Ballagio on a boat.
4. Boat to Mennagio. Then bus/boat to Cadenabbia. Further on to Tremezzo (Villas). Return to Bellagio
5. Hydrofoil to Como. Train to Milan. Sightseeing. Shopping.
6. Early morning departure.

The reason of breaking visiting small towns into several days is to allow for reasonable time to spend in there.

OR

Will I be able to visit all the referred-to towns in one day (except Como and Cernobbio) without being in a rush and being able to take in MUST-SEE places there?

I didn’t find on the Net any around-lake cruises. Are there any?

In the days 2 and 4 - is it good a good order of the towns or they can be combined in one day (for instance, Tremezzo goes to day 2)?

Please, be so kind to suggest your refinments to the itinerary.

Thank you very much

Somewhere in there you must visit the most wonderful villa of them all -- Villa Balbaniello. The best way is one of the small boat tours that go from next to the passenger ferrry landing in Bellagio. They take you right to the villa and give a wonderful guided tour.

You can do one day boat passes for mid lake, and hop from town to town, or villa to villa if you want. The boats in that central area are frequent. But getting from Cernobbia back to Bellagio in the later afternoon takes a bit of planning, if I recall.

Thanks, NeoPatrick

Do you mean that planning a trip from Cernobbio back to Bellagio means a rare ferries' operation?

What town is the closest to Villa Balbaniello?

Thanks

<i>What town is the closest to Villa Balbaniello?</i>

Lenno. A nice day trip to Villa Balbaniello is to take the ferry from Bellagio to Lenno. Walk around the small lake harbor to the center of town and have lunch at Trattoria Santo Stefano. Order the lake fish. Then continue on to the Villa.

The ferry frequency to/from Lenno is not that often, but it is very doable.

&gt;Please, be so kind to suggest your refinments to the itinerary.&lt;

IMHO, 5 nights in Bellagio are a few too many. I'd not go to Como for instance.

It's also my opinion that nearby Lake Lugano (and its villages - Morcote, Gandria, etc) is the more attractive Lake. Therefore I suggest that you try to include it in your itinerary...

Budman's suggestion is a good but be sure to check in advance that Villa Balbaianello is open. We did what he said twice. One time the grounds were completely closed -- we think there was a wedding. And the next time we entered the grounds but the house was not open. So we waited two years before we took this little tour (about 10 people) with a wonderful guide who pointed out places along the lake on our way and led us through the villa with lots of great stories about it -- including the stories about the very recent filming of Casino Royale that took place there. It was the &quot;hospital&quot; that 007 recuperated at near the end of the film.

I'd disagree with TuckH. How can 5 nights in Bellagio be too many? Maybe if you had said 50 nights. . .
And we all have different opinions. I like Lugano also, and we once spent three nights at lovely little Morcote, but in my book Bellagio at Lake Come is FAR prettier and nicer. Ironically on that trip we drove for the day to Como and wondered what all the fuss about Lake Como was about. Silly us -- we didn't get to the mid lake and Bellagio.

But here's a compromise. I'd agree that the town of Como is not worth a lot of effort. Instead I'd take the ferry over to Menaggio and take the bus to Lugano (about an hour as I recall) for the day. Have lunch there and maybe a boat ride on the lake. And it's a much more exciting place for shopping than Como -- particularly if you're looking for jewelry or watches!

Good point Patrick. I know they are closed on Monday's, and when we went the houses didn't open until later in the afternoon, but the grounds were very nice.

Patrick, your 'compromise' is a good one. I happen to like the fjordlike Lake Lugano more than the broad and open Lake Como. Of course, the mid-section of Lake Como is where its main attraction lies.

dmitrch, if you do get to Lugano, take the funicular to the top of San Salvatore and even hike a bit up there. To my knowledge, Lake Como does not offer such a nice feature. Also, you can walk along the lakefront to Gandria, an ideal spot to take lunch. Then take the boat back (or vice versa).

Thank you all very much
Suggestion to go to Lugano sounds very enticing. I will consider that.
But where can I check in advance that Villa Balbaniello is open for the visitors?

Thanks

...forgot to say that when I watched Casino Royale I told my wife that the &quot;hospital&quot; looked like somewhere on Lake Como. And it really turned out to be so.

bookmarking

Five nights will go by quickly. I spent four nights and wished for more. We stayed in Varenna where we could walk to the Villa Cipressi and the Villa Monestaro. The Villa Balbianello in Lenno is indeed lovely. Be sure to take the tour--you may need reservations. We arrived just as the tour was beginning and joined in without reservations.

You can see my photos at http://www.travelswithdiane.com/Trip...5LakeComo.html

luvtotravel,

nice pictures. Moreover, we will be staying at the Hotel des Alpes in Luzern too in the room with a river view (Reuss, spelling right?)
Do you think that villa excursions are worthy. Isn't it better off to go alone without being in a group of people who you see for the first and last time?
But anyway, can you please give me a link just in case if I decide to make a reservation.

thank you very much

Just spent ages typing a long post and the darn thing didn't take and then disappeared - dang. So a shortened version. Try and see the Villa Balbianello, it is really fantastic, we actually didn't get inside the villa but the grounds are well worth the effort. You will see lots of conflicting information re: opening times etc, all very confusing. Their offical brochure says the garden entrance is open on Tues, Sat, Sun and public holidays. This is at the end of the Quay, it is signposted. A reasonably rough path but very doable. We found the garden to be open all day even though another brochure said it was closed between 12.30 and 3.30pm but when we were there it was not the case. There is boat access on other days, but when the boat driver saw us approaching he hitched anchor and took off!! most peculiar. To see inside the Villa you need to book a tour, the tourist info office could probably help with this. We didn't have a tour booked and were offered a private tour at 60E which we declined. They said if there been a tour group going through we would have been welcome to join in. If this is the case with you, make sure you join in, it looked terrific.

We combined the Villa B with a visit earlier in the day to Villa Carlotta, also worth a good look.

Look carefully at the ferry times and don't miss the one leaving from Lenno. As a previous poster said they are not the most frequent. And another tip, do not eat at Albergo Plinio in Lenno. Really disgusting pre cooked food. Stay well away from here.

you will love Lake Como, enjoy. Schnauzer

Hello, Schnauzer

thank you very much for valuable information.
For me seeing the grounds is of high priority. But not getting inside the Villas will not make me disapponted. As I understand there is a confusion in the working hours of Villas but I'll try to see into it.

thank you very much