Bellagio Villas and the Beautiful Lake Como

For the 5th country on my 12/12/12 challenge (12 countries, in 12 months for £1200) I visited Italy. Milan was the city in favor for the challenge; however after a few email exchanges, an opportunity arose to visit Lake Como, which couldn’t be missed!

After a nightmare of start with the car hire company; not naming any names *cough* AVIS *cough*, Mattia from Bellagio Villas welcomed us to Villa Puccini. This being one of a number of properties passed down family generations, they now use as their beautiful accommodation surrounding the lake. The place was huge! We had the luxury of choosing from 4 beds, had a fully equip kitchen, spacious lounge and my favourite bit…. The huge balcony over looking the Lake itself! Also unlike many other places around you have your own private, direct access to the water! Check out their video here!

The location of Villa Puccini is awesome; whether you have a car or not. It has great bus links on the door step into Bellagio from which you can get the ferry to places such as Varenna and Cadenabbia. The other apartments are a couple of minutes down the road from Villa Puccini (also on the water) or if you fancy something away from the water and closer to the town, Villa Morosini is actually in Bellagio itself!

With Bellagio Villas being the ideal stay for your time around Lake Como, you may ask, what is there to do in and around Lake? Well, a lot!

- For the hikers out there I would recommend Mount San Primo, just a short drive from Bellagio, you can drive (or walk – a lot longer) to San Primo. From here it is a fairly challenging trek for an hour or so to the summit but the views are so worth it!

- Bellagio and the surrounding towns. From Bellagio you can get the ferry to Cadenabbia and Varenna and they are all as stunning as each other. From Cadenabbia you can take a short drive to Villa Del Balbianello, the setting of scenes from James Bond – Casino Royal and Star Wars – Attack of the Clones. All the towns are stunning! The cobbled streets and terracotta roofs really makes you like you’re in old school Italy.

- On the lake – We didn’t get around to it but if you’re a bit of an adventure seeker like me, you can do a number of water sports on the lake. However, if you’re looking for a more chilled afternoon, many places offer boat hire, with many not requiring a boat license.

- One of favourite parts – FOOD! There are delicious restaurants all round the Lake, anything from authentic Italian pizza to the locally caught fresh fish specialties, you can’t go wrong! In fact Mattia even has a book of the best local restaurants to eat at.

If you don’t feel like leaving the comfort of your own apartment/villa, no worries at all! Both Villas on the water have waterfront access where you can cool off in the summer sun or even take out one of your own private kayaks! If the water isn’t your thing just take a chill on one of the deck chairs and soak up your stunning surroundings.

If you’re interested in booking the perfect, idyllic stay in Lake Como, check Bellagio Villas booking page here!

Once again, a massive thank you to Mattia for hosting us; it was a pleasure staying in accommodation with such great history. We had an awesome time and the place was amazing! Will definitely be back!