The Lake Como Hidden Gems That Don’t Appear on Your Instagram Feed—And Where to Find Them

For lunch any where along the lake, do not rest on piadine, a kind of Italian sandwich most equivalent to a flour tortilla quesadilla. You can get one at pretty much any bar or café, stuffed with oil-packed tuna and arugula and tomato, or with turkey and vinegary mayonnaise, and the greatest types appear sizzling with melty cheese within and a crispy, flexible exterior.

Wherever to stay

If your finances is on the superior close, publish up at Passalacqua, the most recent luxurious hotel in town, which sits at the finish of a narrow, winding highway on the shore of Moltrasio. As a portion of the Grand Lodge Tremezzo family members, the restored 18th century super-villa presents impeccable provider, vistas, and grounds—plus a bar cart that designed me audibly gasp—with practically no crowd. (It has only 24 rooms and a very similar residence footprint to the GHT, which has 90 rooms, so Passalacqua feels serene though if you get lonely, you might take a look at the fuzzy chickens penned off to one facet of the gardens, laying eggs for breakfast.)

For a moderate-to-large finances, if a remote and tranquil sanctuary appeals, take into account Villa Lario, a contemporary lodge with 18 rooms tucked into the steep roadside midway involving Como and Bellagio. Or if you’re right after a modern location that permits you to explore by foot, ebook a place at MUSA Lago di Como, which opened on the shore of charming fisherman village Sala Comacina in June 2022. Its lakefront GAIA Bar has magical superpowers—it can convert do the job stress into an additional spherical of aperitivi in underneath ten minutes, flat—and a gracious patio with panoramic views from its comfy sofas. There are also a lot of private villas for lease, like the rustic-stylish Villa Torno just a couple minutes south of Villa Lario, or Villa Musa if you’re just after the sunny western shore.

If you are searching to expend a lot less on lodging, depend oneself fortunate if you can snag just one of the three elegant rooms at Villa Lina, a mattress and breakfast with a stellar area and the kindest owners. Each of its bedrooms is soothingly appointed in neutrals, with head-on views of the lake, and it is conveniently situated on the strolling path that connects just about every cluster of restaurants and bars in Tremezzo. For the intrepid, sporty traveler seeking for stylish-spartan lodging even more north—Grand Central for windsurfing and other water sports activities, as effectively as some trekking routes—check out Casa Olea in Cremia, a minimalist joint newly opened in a restored 18th-century vicarage. (Occur with a rental automobile, given that there aren’t numerous alternatives for dining close by.) Or, for lavender-scented poolside slopes, make your way all the way up to Agriturismo Treterre, perched at the best of a looping road with a serious quality. Treterre features scenic isolation and a landscape that generally forces your shoulders down from all around your ears, with a restaurant that culls from the property’s farmland.

And if you do obtain by yourself in will need of a area in downtown Como, say to catch an early practice, or mainly because you choose the benefit of staying inside a metropolis, guide a space at Palazzo Albricci Peregrini, a 15th-century palace-turned-treasure upper body of a boutique hotel with Venetian plaster partitions, exquisite household furniture, and plush finishings perfectly well worth your time. Como is rife with folks for very good motive, just after all.