Lenno

Our favorite villa to visit because of its extraordinary beauty and romantic setting is Villa del Balbianello at Lenno, located on the west side of Lake Como. Built in 1700 by Cardinal Durini, this picture-postcard perfect villa is so beautiful it looks like a painting (and many artists have captured it on canvas). It is perched on the tip of a tiny peninsula with terraced gardens down to the lake. Have plenty of film in your camera because as the ferry approaches the town of Lenno you will see the villa to your left and won’t be able to stop taking photos. When your ferry arrives into Lenno, ask for directions to Sala Comacina, where you take a special motorboat to the landing where a flight of steps leads up to the gardens that are open to the public from the beginning of April until the end of October on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 am to 12:30 pm and again in the afternoon from 3:30 pm to 6 pm.