Places to visit on Lake Como

BellagioThe tip of the headland where the lake splits in two. Lario Water Taxi's captain on Bellagio seen from the water: the villas, the gardens and the best time to arrive. Castello di VezioThe tower above Varenna, told by a captain who sees it from the water every day: how to walk up, what to see and when to go. FiumelatteFiumelatte springs out of the mountain and reaches Lake Como after about 250 metres. From the boat you see a white streak pouring into the lake, a short way from Varenna. Isola ComacinaA wooded ridge off Ossuccio, medieval ruins under the trees and a story that ended in flames in 1169. You can only get there by boat, which is exactly how it should be. LennoThe Tremezzina village where you set off for Villa del Balbianello, with a Romanesque crypt, an 11th-century baptistery and a sheltered promenade at the head of its bay. LezzenoSeven kilometres of shoreline between Nesso and Bellagio, a grotto you can only reach by boat, and villages that only make sense from the lake. Here is how it looks from my water taxi. MenaggioThe lakefront promenade, the old town climbing up to the castle and the park of Villa Vigoni, told by a captain who crosses central Lake Como every day in a wooden Venetian water taxi. TremezzoTremezzo's lakefront, Villa Carlotta and Parco Olivelli, told by a captain who passes them every day in a wooden Venetian water taxi. VarennaColourful houses on the water, Villa Monastero with its own landing stage and Castello di Vezio above the rooftops. Varenna, told by a captain who sets off from here every day. Villa BalbianoA private villa you can only really see from the lake. How to see Villa Balbiano by boat, what to look for and when to go, from a captain who passes it every day. Villa CarlottaVilla Carlotta seen from the lake, the way we show it to guests from our Venetian water taxi: the gate on the water, the spring azaleas, the rooms with Canova and Hayez. Villa CipressiCypress-lined terraces dropping to the water, agaves planted in the 1800s and a façade that looks straight at Bellagio. Villa Cipressi as I see it from the helm of a Venetian water taxi. Villa del BalbianelloThe FAI villa on the tip of the Lavedo peninsula in Lenno, seen by the captain of Lario Water Taxi: the arrival from the water, the Durini Loggia, Guido Monzino's museum and when to go. Villa MelziThe white villa on the Bellagio shore is private, but its English-style garden is open to visitors. Here is how it looks from my Venetian water taxi, almost every day of the season. Villa MonasteroA Lario Water Taxi captain on Villa Monastero from the lake: the botanical garden along the shore, the house museum and how to arrive by boat at its landing stage. Villa SerbelloniThe wooded hill where Lake Como splits in two. How to get there by boat, how the guided garden tour works and when to go, told by the captain.

CernobbioThe first real village on the western shore after Como. An Art Nouveau pier, a curving waterfront and grand villas on the water, seen from the helm of a Venetian water taxi. ComoArriving in Como from the water: the cathedral, the Tempio Voltiano, the funicular to Brunate and the old walled town. A captain's advice on doing it right. MoltrasioHouses climbing from the lake to the mountain, villas where Vincenzo Bellini stayed and a landing stage minutes from Como. Here it is as I see it, from the water taxi. Orrido di NessoTwo mountain streams, a narrow gorge and a medieval bridge right at the waterline. Our captain on what Nesso looks like when you arrive by boat. TornoA small harbour, two old churches and lanes climbing into the woods. Torno is one of the first stops when you leave Como by boat, and it deserves more than a glance from the ferry. Villa d'EsteA Lario Water Taxi captain on Villa d'Este as you see it from a boat: the long lakefront facade, the pool that floats on the lake and more than four centuries of history just outside Cernobbio. Villa OleandraVilla Oleandra isn't open to visitors, so the lake is the place to see it. How to see it well by boat, when to go and what else is around Laglio. Villa PlinianaA 16th century villa built over a spring that rises and falls on its own. From the road you barely notice it. From the water it's a different story.

Abbadia LarianaThe first village north of Lecco on the eastern shore, with the Grigne behind it, two kilometres of beaches and a 19th-century silk mill. Here it is the way I see it: from the water. LeccoLecco on Lake Como told by a captain who brings guests here by water taxi: the bay, Mount Resegone, Pescarenico and a 14th-century bridge over the Adda. MalgrateThe village across the water from Lecco, where the lake ends and the Adda begins. How to get there by boat, what to see and when to go, told by the captain. Mandello del LarioOn the eastern shore of the Lecco branch, right under the Grigna peaks, sits the town where Moto Guzzi bikes are built. Here is how it looks when you arrive by boat.

ColicoThe last village on the eastern shore, under Monte Legnone, with two forts, Piona Abbey and the wind that fills the sails. Colico told by someone who gets there by water taxi. DongoPalazzo Manzi, the 1945 lakefront and the lakeside walk to Gravedona. The captain of Lario Water Taxi on Dongo, seen the way you approach it from the water. GravedonaA Romanesque church right on the shore, a four-towered palace on the rocks, Piona and Monte Legnone across the water. Gravedona, as you see it from a water taxi. Piona AbbeyA Romanesque priory on the Olgiasca peninsula near Colico, home to Cistercian monks since 1938. The best way in is slowly, from the water.