The Italian Lakes

The Italian Lakes work best in the shoulders. May and June bring the gardens at Villa Carlotta and Villa Taranto into flower while the water is still quiet. September gives warm days, cooler nights and far fewer boats. July and August are hot and crowded, and Como in particular becomes hard to move around. From November to March most of the lake closes.

Como is the lake members ask for, but the alternatives are worth knowing. Maggiore is wider and calmer, with the Borromean islands. Garda is bigger and warmer, and better for families and for sailing.

Milan Linate and Malpensa are both within about an hour by car, and a helicopter transfer from Linate onto the lake takes roughly fifteen minutes. Among our preferred hotel partners, Mandarin Oriental Lago di Como occupies a nineteenth-century villa at Blevio on the eastern shore, with a pool that floats on the lake itself. In the city, Park Hyatt Milano is beside the Galleria and Four Seasons Hotel Milano is a converted fifteenth-century convent in the Quadrilatero. Either makes a natural first or last night.

The Italian Lakes are the June leg of the OUIJETS twelve-month calendar. Ask your advisor about private launches, villa buyouts for celebrations, and whether Como or Maggiore actually suits your group before the dates are fixed.