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. 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.