The best boat excursions
on Lake Como

Colic e
the Abbey of Piona

Many of our water tours depart from Colico, in the Alto Lario, but before leaving or returning from the boat tour, you can take a tour of the city and visit the Piona Abbey, located on a peninsula on the waters of the lake and able to offer one of the best views of Upper Lake Como,

Pearl of Lombard Romanesque architecture, the Abbey is composed of the Church of San Nicola and the Cloister, in which you can admire the Cippo Agrippino and an epigraph dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its mysterious charm and its gardens still cultivated with herbs, aromas and medical plants by the monks who live here, allow you to enjoy an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

Varenna and
Villa Monastero

The stop in Varenna is one of the most requested and recommended, because this romantic and evocative village is one of the most fascinating in the center of the lake. The historic center is absolutely worth visiting, rich in artistic heritage, with the central square overlooked by the Church of San Giorgio and the Church of San Giovanni Battista, which preserve precious frescoes and ancient pictorial fragments.

But the main attraction in the city is certainly Villa Monastero, with the house museum and its botanical gardens where many plant species grow luxuriantly. To return to the pier, we recommend taking the Passeggiata degli Innamorati, a short walkway set into the rock overlooking the lake. The vines that cover its arched structure transform in the summer into an apotheosis of colors and scents.

Bellagio
and its Villas

The Pearl of the Lake needs no introduction, so much so that it is among the most popular and famous destinations in the center of the Lake. For those who land there, however, it can become interesting to discover its most renowned and prestigious villas.

Villa Melzi d’Eril with its very white facade that stands out among the colors of the lake, is a real mixture of styles, cultures and traditions: neoclassical, Egyptian, Arabic, Japanese. Here you will even find a Venetian gondola brought by Napoleon Bonaparte and perfectly integrated into the magnificent garden full of centuries-old plants, azaleas, camellias, giant rhododendrons and colorful magnolia blooms.

Villa Serbelloni is fortunate to have one of the most beautiful natural parks in the world, capable of covering almost the entire Bellagio promontory. Approximately 21 hectares full of paths, paths, terraces and statues immersed in lush vegetation. Today the Villa, owned by the Rockefeller Foundation, hosts the organization’s conferences and study trips.

Gravedona and
Palazzo Gallio

Gravedona is one of the most important cities of the Alto Lario, famous for its historic centre, known as “the Castle”, made up of ancient stone houses huddled together and overlooking narrow alleys in perpetual shade and steep stairs that connect the pizzettes on the various levels .

The main attraction in the city, however, remains Palazzo Gallio, one of the most impressive buildings overlooking the Alto Lario, with two wonderful terraces that allow an exceptional panoramic view of the lake. Today the palace is a renowned wedding location, capable of hosting cultural events, concerts, art exhibitions and workshops.

Tremezzo and
Villa Carlotta

Another unmissable stop is Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, a place of absolute beauty, overlooking the lake.

Neoclassical style and precious period furnishings frame unique art masterpieces in the world. Here original works by Tiepolo, Hayez and Canova await you, as well as a magnificent botanical garden which contains over 150 different varieties of azaleas which offer, in the summer, an incredible show of colours.

Menaggio and
Villa Gaeta

The village of Menaggio finds its heart in Piazza Garibaldi, often animated by concerts, craft markets and events that offer a unique and pleasant atmosphere for tourists. Don’t miss the long lake and its walk in the shade of plane trees and wrought iron arbours.

The most spectacular attraction is Villa Gaeta, closed to the public, but admirable while remaining on board our boat. The villa, mixing an Art Nouveau taste with a medieval castle layout and Renaissance details, reveals a unique, fascinating and fairy-tale style, so much so that it has been used as a location for Hollywood films of the caliber of Casino Royale.

Its spectacular garden can only be glimpsed, with the cypress trees that tower beyond the pittosporum hedges, and many typical Mediterranean varieties that compete with the cedars and pines that shade the private beach.

Pianello del Lario and the
Lariana Boat Museum

For those who would like to combine our boat tour with an interesting excursus on the history of boating in the Lario area, the destination we would like to recommend is Pianello del Lario, where the Lariana Boat Museum was created.

An enviable and unique collection of boats awaits the curious here, gathered in the setting of a fascinating nineteenth-century spinning mill. Almost two thousand years of the lake’s nautical history pass on the keels of more than 400 historic boats, which have sailed Lake Como over the centuries.

From Lucia’s batèl, told by Manzoni, to the navèt, the typical fishermen’s boat, up to smuggling, leisure and competition boats and even Venetian gondolas and boats that have made history such as the Motonave Balilla, the Freccia hydrofoil of the Gerani or the Merope, Olympic champion in Helsinki in 1952.

Balbianello Villa and La Cassinella Villa

Here are two villas that you can’t help but admire when passing by boat and where you will definitely want to stop for a good look. Both in the Lenno area, they are able to overshadow the visit to the actual city, making a few stops in themselves.

Villa del Balbianello: today owned by the FAI, but in the past it belonged to Guido Monzino, a true adventurer, this villa, perched on a promontory, collects the memories of a life made up of explorations, finds recovered all over the world and exceptional art collections.

An advice? Avoid going there on Mondays or Wednesdays because you will find it inexorably closed.

Villa La Cassinella: reachable only by boat, this Villa is truly enchanting, so much so that it has been transformed into a 5-star hotel for fairytale stays. Characterized by very tall cypresses, it offers a 30,000 m2 garden and a magnificent terrace with breathtaking views of the lake, as well as elegant interiors in ancient Siena marble.

A boat trip will be enough to be enchanted.

The ravine of
Nesso

By staying on board the Breva, you will have the opportunity to admire one of the most characteristic and astonishing views of the lake.

In fact, skirting the village of Nesso, under a small medieval bridge that crosses a very narrow natural gorge, you can admire two streams that flow into the lake, creating the spectacle of a beautiful waterfall, paradoxically called “Orrido”.