Villa Del Balbianello, Lake Como

Balbianello has appeared in two Bond films and the Star Wars prequels, which is a lot of screen work for a loggia that seats twelve people

Villa del Balbianello sits on a narrow promontory at Lenno on the western shore of Lake Como’s southwest arm. It appeared as the convalescent villa in Casino Royale (2006), as the Naboo lakeside retreat in Attack of the Clones (2002), and has been photographed so many times in the preceding 250 years that its particular combination of carved balustrades, topiary, and lake view has become a visual shorthand for the Italian lake aesthetic. This is not a criticism; it earned the reputation. The upper loggia’s view down both arms of the lake, with the mountains behind Varenna catching snow in winter, is one of the better views in northern Italy.

The villa is a late 18th-century property owned by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (Italy’s National Trust equivalent) since explorer Guido Monzino bequeathed it in 1988. The interior – Monzino’s collection of mountaineering expedition memorabilia, as he led the first Italian expedition to summit Everest via the south ridge in 1973 – is interesting in a way the film locations don’t advertise. The building itself is not large; the point is the combination of architecture, garden, and water.

Getting There and Visiting

Lenno is 25 kilometres north of Como on the western shore, reachable by the C10 bus from Como (about 45 minutes) or by car on the SS340. From Lenno, the villa is accessible by a short boat ride operated by the FAI from the Lenno pier (approximately EUR 5 each way), or by a 30-minute walk on the signposted footpath from the village. The villa is open Wednesday through Monday from April through October; closed Tuesdays except in peak summer. Admission is around EUR 14 for villa and gardens. Advance booking is strongly recommended in summer when boat capacity limits the number of visitors on the promontory at any time.

The Gardens

The terraced gardens climbing the promontory slope are designed in the English landscape style adapted to the terrain: stone balustrades, box hedging cut into formal shapes at the lower level, looser planting around the terrace walls. The topiary at the promontory point is maintained in precise geometric forms. Late April through June, when rhododendrons and azaleas are in bloom, is the peak season visually. The restricted boat capacity means the promontory never becomes as crowded as Bellagio’s waterfront on a Saturday in July.

Bellagio and the Rest of the Lake

Bellagio, on the central headland where the two southern arms of the lake divide, is the most famous town on Como and is crowded at a level that requires either arriving early or building a strategy. The ferry from Lenno takes about 20 minutes and allows a combined visit in a single day. Skip the lakefront cafes and go to the bars on Piazza della Chiesa up the hill – prices are half what the waterfront charges.

Tremezzo, 2 kilometres north of Lenno, has Villa Carlotta (open to visitors with a notable rhododendron collection in spring) and the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, an Edwardian palace hotel that allows non-guests to use the floating swimming platform and bar in summer. Menaggio, 3 kilometres further north, is where people who actually live on the lake eat – restaurants serving lake fish like lavarello (grilled or pan-fried lake whitefish) and perch at prices that reflect local economics rather than tourist demand.

Getting to Lake Como

Como city is 40 minutes by train from Milan Cadorna station. Ferries and hydrofoils operate from the waterfront to all lake towns. September and October are better months than July and August: crowds thin, the light shifts to autumn gold, and the water temperature (22-24 degrees Celsius) makes swimming comfortable without the July congestion.