Lake Como

Lake Como is Italy's most elegant lakeside retreat, attracting 2.5 million visitors annually to its Belle Époque villas and lush gardens. Covering 146 km² and plunging 160 meters at its deepest point, its surface area is larger than #5 Cinque Terre's entire national park. The village of Bellagio sits at the lake's iconic three-pronged fork, where average summer water temperatures reach 24°C—warmer than most alpine lakes at this altitude. George Clooney's Villa Oleandra has brought Hollywood glamour, but the real draw remains the 16th-century villas with terraced gardens that command an average of €1,500 per night during peak season, double the typical Italian lake accommodation rate. For over two centuries, Como has defined Alpine luxury.