Keeping our hotel as a base, you can choose among many daily excursions. You should not miss the opportunity to visit the villas of the area with their gardens: Villa Balbianello in Lenno, Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, Villa Monastero in Varenna and Villa Melzi in Bellagio, just to mention the most famous ones.
Another interesting daily excursion is offered by the visit of the town of Como, leaving by boat and returning to the hotel in the evening. You can also go up to Brunate, a small center reachable through a singular funicular railway, and admire the lake from above, or take a brief boat tour visiting the picturesque small villages.

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Lenno and the lake coast
Lenno is an important center on the west coast of the lake, where the area denominated Tremezzina starts. According to the historical chronicles of the XVII Century, one of the villas of the Roman author Pliny the Younger (1st Century A.D.) was built in Lenno and was known as "the Comoedia".
Starting from Lenno you can take a beautiful walk, though rather exacting, climbing up to the Mount of Tremezzo (1700 m ). Following by boat the shores of the lake, and doubling the promontory where villa Balbianello stands, you can reach Comacina island.

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Lenno
Located on a beautiful inlet with view on the lake and on Bellagio, Lenno has noteworthy historical testimonies: the ancient Romanesque Crypt and Baptistery, the parish church of S.Stefano, the church S.Andrea (XIth cent.), the Abbey of 'Acquafredda (XII cent.), the Santuario del Soccorso and the chapels with frescoes of the seventeenth century. You cannot miss a visit to Villa Balbianello, one of the most beautiful and romantic villas of the lake.

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Argegno
Argegno is one of the smallest comunes of the lake. With the Romanesque bridge and the mills' alley with its buildings overlooking the river, Argegno holds intact a piece of history. The Santuario of S.Anna (XVII cent.) and the cableway by whom you can reach Pigra (900 meters on the sea level) deserve a visit.

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Bellagio
Located at the centre of the lake, Bellagio lies at the estreme end of the promontory separating the two arms of the lake.
The gardens of Villa Serbelloni and Villa Melzi are well-known, but also the churches di S.Giacomo (XII cent.), S.Giorgio and S.Martino (examples of Romanesque art) and S.Giovanni Battista (baroque art) deserve a visit.

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Griante - Cadenabbia
Known as the "Riviera delle Azalee" for its unique and sunny location, where plenty of azaleas and flowers adorn the fantastic scenery of the gardens: from the well-known Villa Carlotta, to Villa Collina and Villa Maria.
Cadenabbia lies on the lake shores and offers a large choice of tourist activities.

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Menaggio
Its main vocation is, without doubt, the tourism of charme. During the last century it became a very exclusive and refined centre for English tourists, thanks also to the nearness of Lugano and Switzerland. The village centre is worth a visit: the romanesque church of S. Stefano, restructured during the XVII century; the baroque church of San Carlo and the church of S. Giusto. You can visit also the belltower of S.Bartolomeo and Michele (XII cent.) in the hamlet of Nobiallo.

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Sala Comacina
From this little village, which lies in front of the Isola Comacina, you can take a boat to the island. In the nineteenth century Sala Comacina was already considered to be an important holiday destination, as is demonstrated by the many villas which have stood along the coast since then. Villa Rachele was owned by Cesare Beccaria and hosted many famous literary figures, such as Alessandro Manzoni and Cesare Cantù.

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Grandola ed Uniti
Naggio, Velzo, Codogna, Cardano, Gonte e Grona are the six hamlets that form the Commune of Grandola e Uniti. These are rural villages, surrounded by chestnut groves, with simple small trattorias where you can taste a good meal. Along country paths near the hamlets you can take pleasant and romantic walks.

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Tremezzo
With its mild climate, it is a paradise. On the other side of the lake, it faces the Grigna, with its pink sunsets. Olive, citron, orange, lemon trees and even rubber-trees grow in its protected gardens. Particularly interesting is the architecture of the villas, going from the neoclassical style to the Art Nouveau. You can visit Villa La Quiete for its suberb Italian garden and Villa La Carlia for the beautiful flight of stairs descending down to the lake.

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Varenna
Varenna is situated at the feet of a rocky promontory, which dominates the centre of the Lake, above which sits an ancient castle.
The town, whose origins date back to Roman times, has a few signs of its medieval past: the church of S. Giovanni Battista (X-XI cent.), the church S.Giorgio (XII cent.). Near the lake, you can visit the beautiful Villa Monastero and Villa Cipressi. The river Fiumelatte entered the Guiness: it is the shortest Italian river, only 250-m long and it runs only for six months a year.

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Comacina Island
The lake's only island is a tiny square of wooded ground with a history that is much longer that its 2km perimeter. There you can visit the fourteenth century Church of San Giovanni and the remains of the little Church of Sant'Eufemia, which dates back to seventh century but it was rebuilt in the eleventh century. Every year in June the festival of Saint John takes place to commemorate the destruction of the island in 1169 as a punishment for its' alliance with Milan during the ten-year war (1118-1127).

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Lake Como
Lake Como originated at the end of the glacial era, about 11 thousand years ago. The continuous advancing and withdrawing of the glacier dug the lake bed, which was then filled with the water from the melting of the ice to form Lake Lario, better known as Lake Como. Its peculiar “Y” shape is due to the mountains of the “Lariano Triangle” that opposed and deviated the glacier way.
The area was inhabited since prehistorical times, probably by some tribes from beyond the Alps such as the Reti, who settled in the northern area of the lake, and the Celts. The Romans built a wider and more linear road alongshore; they partially utilized the ancient path and called the new road Via Regia.

Under the Longobard rule, this road, known even today as "Regina", was reopened and put back into use by Queen Teodolinda. Given the strategical importance of the lake, the area was exposed to barbarian invasions and rule for centuries.
In 1300, the Lario territory belonged to the Dukedom of Milan under the rule of the Sforza, followed by the Visconti. At the end of 1400, on Lombard soil, broke out endless and bloody wars for the succession to the Dukedom of Milan. From the Alps swarmed down the Grisons, a Swiss people who fought the French who, in turn, were fighting against the Hispanic – Germans, who also claimed the possession of the Dukedom of Milan. The Lario became a pass through land for hordes of soldiers of venture, who caused destructions, famine and plagues. The age of tourism in Tremezzina started at the very beginning of the 1800, when the lake became a resort for tourists. A large colony of British and German people settled in its villages, this time bringing prosperity to the native. 

Features of the lake
Lake Como, with an area of 146 square kilometers, is the third Italian lake, after lake Garda and lake Maggiore. Its peculiar shape – a Y upside down – is formed by the three branches: Colico towards north, Lecco towards south-east, Conmo towards south-west, with a tota perimeter of 170 km. The maximum length, between Como and Gera Lario, is 50 km; the maximum width, between Fiumelatte and Cadenabbia, is 4,4 km; the minimum one between Careno and Torriggia, is 650 m; the maximum depth, between Argegno and Nesso, is 410 m (the highest among European lakes); the average height above sea level is 199 m.
The lake is surrounded by mountains; the highest being is Mount Legnone (2609 m), above Colico. There are 37 affluent rivers, among which the most important is the Adda, followed by the Mera. The Adda is also the only emissary; it flows out of the lake in Lecco, forms the two small Garlate and Olginate lakes and continues towards the river Po.