Villa Carlotta
The magnificent 18th century Villa Carlotta, just a 5-minute walk from the hotel, is famous for its art collections and celebrated botanical gardens, a prestigious monument in itself with ancient cedars and sequoias and a blaze of camellias, magnolias, rhododendrons, peonies, and more than 150 different varieties of azaleas: a delight for lovers of country homes and gardens. 0.1 mi/0.3 km, 2 minute walk from the hotel.
Villa Balbianello
Located just 0.6 mi/1 km outside Lenno, this one-of-a-kind villa was where scenes from the 2006 James Bond's movie Casino Royale and the Star Wars Episode II were shot. It is one of the most dramatic locations on Lake Como (if not the world). Built by Cardinal Angelo Durini in 1787, Villa Balbianello is set amid florid gardens on a promontory. The sculpted gardens, which seem to drip off the high promontory like sauce off a melting ice-cream cone, are the perfect place for hopelessly romantic elopers to spend a day. 3 mi/5 km, accessible via boat.
Bellagio
Worldwide known as the “pearl of Lake Como”, Bellagio is suspended like a pendant on the promontory where the lake’s western and eastern arms split and head south. It’s impossible not to be smitten by Bellagio’s waterfront of bobbing boats, its maze of steep stone staircases, red-roofed and green-shuttered buildings, dark cypress groves and rhododendron-filled gardens. It sits at the crux of the inverted Y that is Lake Como; the Como and Lecco arms of the Lake wash off to port and starboard. In front of the hotel, on the other lake shore, accessible via public boat service.
Varenna
A beguiling village bursting with florid plant life, exotic flowery perfumes and birdsong, is a short ferry ride away from its rival in postcard beauty Bellagio. Its pastel-colored houses defy the standard laws of physics, seemingly gripping for all they’re worth to the steep slopes that rise from the lake. In front of the hotel, on the other lake shore, accessible via public boat service.
Menaggio
The village of Menaggio has a cute cobblestone old center and a beautiful flowered walk along the lake shore. The central square overlooking the lake has a couple of cafes that are perfect for lake-gazing and people-watching. 3 mi/5 km, 5 minutes by car.
Comacina Island
Once the site of a Roman fort and medieval settlement, Lake Como’s only island forms its own little bay with the mainland. When the Lombards invaded northern Italy, the island held out as a Byzantine redoubt. The medieval settlement was razed by Como in 1169 as punishment for its loyalty to Milan. Today, as silent witness to this terrible event, lie the scant ruins of the Romanesque Chiesa di Sant’Eufemia. 5 mi/8 km, accessible by boat.
Como
The old centre of the main town that gives its name to the world-famous lake, just a half-hour's scenic ride away by car or boat from Tremezzo, is a must-see. The 12th century walls contain the Romanesque Cathedral, the Broletto (medieval town hall), the Basilicas of St. Abbondio and St. Carpoforo, and the majestic neoclassical Villa Olmo, hosting major art exhibitions during the summer months. 15 mi/25 km, half an hour by car.
Fox Town
Luxury outlet in Mendrisio (Switzerland); 21 mi/35 km, half an hour by car.
Milan
The shopping city par excellence: followers of Italian fashion cannot miss the Quadrilatero d’Oro. 45 mi/75 km, one hour by car.
Gambling
There are three international casinos within a 28 mi/45 km radius at Campione d’Italia, Mendrisio and Lugano.