An Insider's Guide to Lake Como

Italy is and probably always will be a draw for travel enthusiasts because you can keep returning and still discover someplace new and different each time. Between the Dolomites and Sicily there's an intoxicating variety of landscapes, cultures, and villages. In Northern Italy the lake district has an almost mythical reputation. Lake Como, Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore, Lake Iseo, and others were formed by glaciers and have stunning Alpine backdrops, a Mediterranean climate, and your choice of picturesque towns to use as your base to explore gardens, palaces, and cultural activities or relax on board a private, scenic boat ride with an aperitivo in hand. Elegant Como at the bottom of the western part of Lake Como is easily accessible and makes a great introduction to this splendid part of Italy.

6/23/25 Virtuoso article below by Marika Cain can be found here.

Out and about with hotelier Valentina De Santis.

I arrived at Lake Como in a bit of a state. There was a cover shoot on the line, and the April storm that had parked over the lake was threatening to stay there all week. On top of that, I wasn’t quite sure I’d packed the right shoes – a couple of pairs of flats in my carry-on, plus the sneakers I’d worn in transit, seemed underwhelming for one of the world’s most star-studded vacation spots. With the weather in the iffy zone, my packing had leaned practical. But give me four days in Lake Como, and I’ll give you a changed woman. I left smitten with the northern Italian lake, yes, and its Clooney-spangled, villa-dotted dazzle. But equally so with Valentina De Santis, the third-generation owner and CEO of Grand Hotel Tremezzo and, more recently, the eighteenth-century villa, Passalacqua, a few towns south. The trip draped a fresh perspective over me like a Como silk scarf.

De Santis may be the ultimate Lake Como insider. I’d known her for years through the travel world, and she’d been exhorting me to visit ever since the pandemic foiled a 2020 trip. She grew up roaming the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, the 115-year-old grande dame that her grandparents took over in 1975 and which she now oversees, along with Passalacqua. This is a woman whose day might include meeting with Chanel about a luncheon during its cruise-collection takeover of a host of high-profile Lake Como venues, running her kids to a horse camp, consulting with an architect about a staff-housing build-out, chatting with guests in the lobby, and dashing to a dinner party in Milan thrown by her friend and collaborator J.J. Martin of La DoubleJ. This mantle of glam responsibility could nudge some into self-important territory – not so De Santis, who carries it with an enthusiasm, warmth, and even goofiness that draw pure magic into her orbit.

The climate when I landed on Passalacqua’s doorstep may have been less than ideal for swanning about in a swimsuit under the designer pool umbrellas, but it was perfect for making new friends. My luggage was whisked away, my passport was borrowed and returned sporting a monogrammed leather cover, and I was handed a little pink nosegay tied with Passalacqua-yellow ribbon, the first of many small surprises that endeared me to the hotel and its big-sister property. De Santis appeared in a hail of kisses, eyes sparkling, bracelets and rings glittering, manicure impeccable. “Ragazze!” she cried. “You are finally, finally here!”

Where I was, exactly: in the hamlet of Moltrasio, near Lake Como’s southwestern point in Lombardy. The 29-mile-long lake bumps against the foothills of the Alps and is ringed with clusters of peach, ocher, rust, and cream-colored dwellings that cascade toward its shores. The region grazes Switzerland to the west and north and has long attracted highbrow travelers escaping Milan’s summer heat; the parade of noteworthy visitors here runs the gamut from Napoleon to Wordsworth to Madonna. And yet the area remains loyal to its roots, with a healthy contingent of generations-deep family-run boutiques, hotels, restaurants, and factories that reinforce “Made in Italy” as a true marker of quality. 

De Santis and her family bought Passalacqua at a private auction in 2018 and transformed it into the most buzzed-about hotel on the lake, acting as their own interior designers, their MO across properties. The 24-suite villa, where Bellini composed La Sonnambula and Norma, could have veered into stuffiness in the wrong hands, with its wedding-cake ceilings and heritage-building-code restrictions. But like its proprietor, it wears refinement with wit. The grounds terrace down to the lake, punctuated at various intervals by the main villa, a pool, an orange Fiat Spiaggina straight out of Wes Anderson central casting, Italian gardens, an olive grove, and Casa al Lago, which houses four lakefront rooms. The setup telegraphs “fancy but fun” flawlessly.

Silvio Vettorello, general manager of the two hotels, told me that Passalacqua’s vibe was very intentional. “Valentina and I were trying to do something. And we knew we’d done it right the first time a guest came downstairs barefoot,” he said. Vettorello himself, a beloved local fixture, is no small part of that vibe, decked out in an Italian-GM-worthy suit, sipping a Shirley Temple because he’d given up alcohol for Lent, mentioning what George (Clooney) had to say to him recently about American politics. 

Entering my room, the second-floor Beatrice Suite, I found 900 square feet of princess-level indulgence, from the Venetian etched-mirror minibar with complimentary beverages and snacks (I loved the crunchy tarallini) to a tub that looked large enough to swim laps in. Petal-pink Como silk taffeta drapes swooped from the pistachio-and-buttercream ceiling dotted with plaster roses. Outside the windows a fountain burbled, and beyond the century-old Lebanon cedars, across the misty lake, a scatter of villages stepped down green hillsides. My shoulders lowered a notch or two. That night, on a cloud of white-birch-fiber sheets, I slept like a slab of Moltrasio limestone.

The next morning, De Santis, eager to share her hometown’s charms, rain or shine, slalomed us through the lanes from Moltrasio to Como, the lake’s southernmost and largest town. She pointed out her home – a statue-crowned lakeside villa at the north end of downtown Como, where her parents, Paolo and Antonella, live in one wing, she and her family in the other.

As we made our way through Como, popping into her favorite spots, shop owners and restaurateurs greeted her like family. “E tua mamma?” said the proprietor of a tea shop and vintage jewelry boutique, asking after her mother. At Moresi, where owner Patrizia Moresi has designed chic knitwear (cashmere in winter, cotton in summer) since 1977, De Santis earmarked a black-and-white-striped blazer for a return visit. At Gioielleria Felice Gabaglio (De Santis’ father used to bring her here to pick out jewelry for her mom), third- and fourth-generation owners Marina Caspani and her daughter Alessandra Falbo whisked us past the showroom to an inner sanctum, where tray after tray of baubles with increasingly eye-watering carat counts and price tags appeared. A new collection was emblazoned with Passalacqua’s logo, three vertical fish – the lucci (pike) from the villa’s original crest. With De Santis as a guide, the best of the lake was at my fingertips.

During a behind-the-scenes tour of Como’s jewel-box opera house, which the hotel can arrange for guests, we bumped into De Santis’ parents. Our tour guides didn’t seem surprised. The family has their own box at the theater, nicknamed “Little La Scala” (“big” La Scala moved productions here when it was damaged during World War II). After lunch at De Santis’ favorite spot, Osteria del Gallo (orecchiette with turnip tops, served on green checked tablecloths, ten euros), I met Lucia Mantero for a tour of her family’s silk factory, an experience the hotel also arranges for guests. In keeping with the theme, she’s among the fourth generation to lead the factory, which printed 1.6 million yards of Como’s renowned textile last year. Mantero, who oversees the business with her brother and father, took me to the spotless factory floor, where fat, print-emblazoned bolts awaited finishing, destined for next season’s pieces by some of fashion’s most revered brands. (Mantero doesn’t disclose its clients’ identities publicly; cameras aren’t allowed on the factory floor.) The pièce de résistance: the archive, which holds every scarf the Mantero factory has ever created – more than 80,000 pieces – plus 100,000 fabric samples, and a 10,000-volume library of books, swatch papers, and more. As the family guides the region’s famous export into the future, they’re bringing its past along for the ride.

While arriving at Passalacqua feels discreet and low key, a Grand Hotel Tremezzo welcome literally stops traffic. With blaze-orange awnings and towering six stories above the lake on the village of Tremezzo’s main street, this is a place where bellhops regularly hold traffic to let guests cross to and from the lakeside beach and floating swimming pool to the hotel. The Aqua Como 1910-scented interiors are a riot of color and prints: persimmon, red, lapis, chartreuse, florals, and stripes, employed to exuberant effect. Quiet luxury, who?

De Santis had encouraged me to get in touch with Andrea Grisdale (“my bestie!”), owner of Virtuoso on-site tour connection IC Bellagio. So, on my final day, Grisdale sent for me in a gleaming Venetian water taxi to make the ten-minute crossing from the hotel to Bellagio, her hometown, for a cooking lesson (tagliatelle with fresh vegetables, gnocchi with Gorgonzola cream sauce, a pillow of tiramisu) and a spot of shopping with a local guide. That the rain held off and the sun emerged can’t be definitively credited to Grisdale and De Santis, but I’m not ready to rule it out.

Perched on a peninsula (also called Bellagio) at the crook of Lake Como’s upside-down Y shape, the town is thronged with tourists in high season but was only pleasantly bustling the day I visited. The locals-first ethos continues here, with many shops helmed by longtime family owners. The result is a retail experience par excellence at spots like Calzoleria Rolando, where you can pick up a pair of Ferragamo flats, as well as footwear from the exquisite and reasonably priced house line (many pairs cost around $250). Devotees collect owner Cristiano Bertolaso’s shoes and wear them for decades. With practicality in mind, I went into the shop thinking “loafers.” But then a pair of fringed kitten-heel sandals winked at me from a display, and I thought about De Santis and Lake Como and how joy, fanciness, and frivolity can coexist, whatever the weather. My new shoes looked great with my outfit at dinner that night.

Lake Como Black Book

Como

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Teatro Sociale opera house or take in an opera, theater, or dance performance.

Shop for jewelry at Gioielleria Felice Gabaglio – if fine gems aren’t in the budget, ask to see the enameled Fraleoni collection, perfect for travel.

Since 1977, Moresi has used local textiles in its timeless and oh-so-Italian knitwear for women – polished and smartly tailored jackets, dresses, trousers, and more.

Skip the touristy restaurants on the main square and grab a table on the patio at Latteria S. Fedele, a former grocery turned restaurant.

You’ll usually need a reservation at the popular and homey Osteria del Gallo, where the menu changes daily, and the walls are lined with wine bottles.

Visit the Mantero silk factory, family-owned and -operated since 1902, for a peek inside the printing of fabrics for some of the world’s best-known designer brands, as well as Mantero’s own line – and peruse the on-site shop afterward. 

Bellagio

Family-owned Calzoleria Rolando carries its own house line of men’s and women’s shoes, as well as Italian brands such as Ferragamo and Testoni.

Stock up on scarves at Azalea Silk of Como. Its narrow twilly scarves can adorn necks or handbags and make easily packable gifts for people back home.

Since 1855, the same family has owned La Bottega del Legno di Mario Tacchi, filled with olive-wood items and decorative lacquered pieces. 

Don’t be put off by the name: Souvenir d’Italie across from the boat dock sells an array of beautiful fine jewelry, including cornuto di toro good-luck charms.

Anita Colombo’s L’Angolo delle Idee sparkles with a whimsical selection of handmade glass ornaments.

How to See the Best of Lake Como

Passalacqua

With 24 suites spread between the gracious main villa, the Palazz (former stables), and the lakeside Casa al Lago, Passalacqua exudes opulence and whimsy in equal measure: terraced gardens, frescoed ceilings, and Murano chandeliers paired with La DoubleJ pool umbrellas and massive glass cannisters of candy at the check-in desk. An open kitchen leads to the powder-blue Sala delle Dame, for breakfast or dinner. There are also leisurely lunches and dinners on the terrace, plus a cozy cocktail bar. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 hotel credit.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo

In front, the 80-room Grand Hotel Tremezzo cuts an unmissable figure on the lake, with orange awnings on its 100-window facade and orange-and-white lounge umbrellas on its lakeside “beach” (a sand-filled terrace) and floating pool. Behind the main building lie another pool, tennis courts, and five acres of palm groves and lush botanical gardens ascending the hillside. Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 hotel credit.

IC Bellagio

Virtuoso on-site tour connection IC Bellagio works with travel advisors to arrange private, custom outings around Lake Como and throughout Italy. Among the Lake Como options: cooking lessons, boat tours, hiking, shopping or historical explorations, foraging for botanicals with the owners of a gin distillery, and more.

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