Lake Como in Bloom: A Slow-Travel Guide to the Great Gardens

Garden tourism has quietly become one of the most rewarding ways to travel in Italy. It combines landscape, history, botany and hospitality, and it asks only one thing of the visitor: that you slow down.

Lake Como is its natural capital. The network Grandi Giardini Italiani, which brings together some of the country’s finest gardens, has its headquarters at Villa Erba in Cernobbio. Many of the lake’s best-known villas belong to it. The appeal is wide. Botany lovers, architecture students, families and people who simply like to walk all find something here, and most tickets cost far less than a day on the lake’s more glamorous terraces.

This guide gathers the gardens and parks you can actually visit around the lake in 2027, grouped by area so you can plan a day without crossing the water twice.

At a glance

Como and Cernobbio

Villa Olmo, Como. The neoclassical villa and its Italian parterre are the city’s most photographed spot, and the park is open to everyone. The walk from Villa Olmo along the lake is the simplest garden outing on the lake.

Villa del Grumello, Como. A romantic park of more than four hectares, mostly on a hillside, with paths that look back over the first basin of the lake and the city. It is part of the Chilometro della Conoscenza, a botanical walk linking Villa Olmo, Villa del Grumello and Villa Sucota. In 2026 it reopened on Easter Monday, and Easter Monday 2027 falls on 29 March. It is closed on Saturdays.

Villa Erba, Cernobbio. Once the home of Luchino Visconti, now an exhibition venue and the seat of Grandi Giardini Italiani. The park opens mainly through its seasonal events programme.

Tremezzina

Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo. The lake’s great botanical garden: azaleas and rhododendrons in spring, a tunnel of citrus, and a museum with works by Canova and Hayez. The 2026 season ran from 20 March to 8 November, followed by a handful of winter days through 8 December. 

Villa del Balbianello, Lenno. A FAI property on a wooded promontory, reached only on foot from Lenno (about 25 minutes, uphill) or by taxi boat. Booking is required. The park-only ticket gives access to the gardens, terraces and the outside of the Loggia Durini. The villa ticket adds a guided tour of the interiors. 

Isola Comacina, Ossuccio. The lake’s only island, with archaeological remains and a wild, Mediterranean feel rather than a designed garden. It opens from May to the end of October, and the small Antiquarium museum in Ossuccio is the starting point.

Bellagio

Gardens of Villa Melzi. An English-style landscape garden stretching along the lakefront, with a Japanese pond, camellias and mature trees. It is closed for the winter break and returns at the end of March 2027. No reservation is needed for individual visitors, and guided tours can be arranged by email.

Park of Villa Serbelloni. The promontory park can only be visited on a guided walk, twice a day, with views over both branches of the lake. The villa itself is never open. The tours leave from the PromoBellagio office, and bad weather cancels them.

Varenna

Villa Monastero. A botanical garden almost two kilometres long beside a house museum. The 2027 programme already announced includes Dining in The Betrothed in spring and summer, an autumn exhibition on Saint Charles Borromeo and a winter exhibition on the Kees family. In spring, the villa joins Villa Carlotta and Villa Melzi in the annual Camelie sul Lario camellia celebration.

Villa Cipressi. Terraced gardens lined with cypresses that step down to the water, attached to a hotel. A combined ticket with Villa Monastero has been offered on days when both are open.

Castello di Vezio. A medieval lookout above Varenna with an olive grove, a small botanical garden and a falconry display. It is open daily from 1 March to 1 December, and on sunny weekends in winter.

When to go

•          Late March to May: camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons. This is the lake at its most colourful, and the busiest time for the big names.

•          June to August: long evenings, outdoor concerts and festivals in several parks. 

•          September and October: softer light, fewer crowds, and most gardens still open daily.

•          November to February: a quiet season, with Villa Carlotta, Balbianello and Castello di Vezio opening on selected days.

Three easy days

1.        Tremezzina: Villa Carlotta in the morning, then Balbianello after lunch (book ahead, and allow time for the walk or taxi boat).

2.        Bellagio: the Villa Melzi gardens in the morning and the Serbelloni park walk at 15:30.

3.        Varenna: Villa Monastero, Villa Cipressi, and the climb to Castello di Vezio for sunset.

Boats are the best way to link them. Navigazione Laghi stops at Tremezzo (Villa Carlotta) and at Lido di Lenno for Balbianello, and ferries connect Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Tremezzo.

Practical notes

•          Wear comfortable shoes. Several gardens are steep and partly gravelled.

•          Balbianello needs advance booking. Serbelloni tours need dry weather.

About the author

Hanna Fitsner is co-owner of Best Como Immobiliare, a boutique real estate agency specialising in prestigious properties on Lake Como. She has lived in Italy for more than twenty years and helps international clients through every stage of buying or renting on the lake.

Falling for the lake? Write to hanna@bestcomo.com and tell me what you are looking for.