Lake Como
Eat
Harrys Bar, Cernobbio: charming restaurant with both an indoor & outdoor area. Perfect for any meal. Known for their bellinis. When we went they had truffles and were putting them on all of their dishes.
Locanda Tirlanda: located on the waterfront a bit past the town of Tremezzo. More on the casual side but very romantic being near the water.
Trattoria Glicine, Cernobbio
Lenno?
Grand Tremezzo- this hotel has an excellent Di GIacomo and more formal restuarnat inside, both are great.
Passalaqua
Veranda, Cernobbio, Ville d Este
Hotels
Villa d Este
Passalaqua
Grand Tremezzo
Hotel Orso Bruno- boutique hotel, no frills in a good location
Sheraton, has a michellin star restuarant called Kitchen with very romantic views along the water.
Hotel Grand Imperiale-
Bellagio hotel
Belmond- coming soon in 2026
Ritz Carlton- coming soon 2025 (Bellagio)
To do
Rent a boat and tour the gardens
Garden where 007 and star wars were filmed
Hike
Book Ferrys in advance- book online for the day and route needed. Not necessary to book the exact timeslot.
Evan and I booked a book to Lake Como when we heard my best friend Courtney and her future husband would be there for a week and we could spent some time with them on the front end of the trip. They got in Saturday evening so Evan and I had Friday and Saturday to ourselves. We flew into Milan Malpensa which is less than an hour drive from Lake Como- incredible. We landed incredibly late from London Thursday night after some pretty crazy weather delays- something we hae gotten way to used to living in London. We ended up staying at the Moxy at the airport before getting our rental car the next morning. Obviously this was no frills hotel but it got the job done and marriott points! We rented our car in the morning and headed for Lake Como. The weather was sprinkling the whole way but still very beautiful. We had lunch reservations at Di Giacomo at the Hotel Grand Tremezzo. Even though it was still sprinkling they sat us outside. Which I actually very much appreciated. The show must go on! Love that because this was the year of rain and we have had many of plans cancelled like in Cannes and Malta due to rain, so it was nice that everything still went on as planned. The lunch was delicious. Pricey but worth it for me. Cocktails ran about 35 Euro. And for lunch I had a fish that came out to like 90 EURO (thank EV). We were well covered and the pool area was fun to sit at with the cute orange and white umbrellas looking up at the beautiful Grand Tremezzo hotel.
After lunch, the plan was to ferry to Bellagio. This was done because it was only a 10 min ferry ride (one stop). Which a lot of them are normally multiple stops and can be hours long. Grand Tremezzo is sandwiched between two ferry stops. I had heard before to pre purchase ferry tickets because it sells out. IT was funny because you do not buy a particular time but instead you buy for the day and the route. The ferry was chaos and especially from Bellagio. We ended up not walking around for the full time that we planned because we figured we would not get on the first ferry back and we were on a strict timeline.
The ferry is nice and sells drinks & has a bathroom in the covered seating area. The ferries in general stop running at 8 pm so it is hard to coordinate dinners in other areas if you are relying on a ferry. Bellagio was very beautiful with the nice shops and cafes along the port and winding roads up the cobble stone reps gave me a bit of Positano vibes (but better). There were some high end shops- not many designers but they did have larger shops that sold designers and I did see an Isabel Marant. Bellagio has some very nice hotels. One of which, ____, is right on the water. There is also a point , literally called La Punta (or point) where a lot of tourists go for pictures & views. There is a restaurant with an outdoor patio out here as well. Evan and I learned that a Ritz Carlton is coming to Bellagio in 2027.
Post our exploration in Bellagio, we headed back to our hotel to get ready as we had a big dinner booked at Passalaqua. This was something I have planned in my head for years (since it opened). La Double J collaborated with the hotel on the design. It is the sister property of The Grand Tremezzo as well. The hotel is a few steps above the Grand Imperiale (and by a few I mean a lot of treacherous steps) which was fun to walk up in wedges.
We had made reservations for dinner in advance at Passalaqua, they asked us to do their tasting menu and to abide by a dress code, which I have no problem with.
Passalaqua exceeded my expectations. It was stunning. All of the grounds and views were unreal. They grow their own vegetables and have chickens on the property. They have a gorgeous pool and clay courts. Before dinner we had aperitivo in the garden above the pool. Cocktails were quite pricey but they were served with the most beautiful spread of amuse bouche which could have served as dinner itself! We moved into the bar area which is well suited for a night cap- I loved the design of this space and we enjoyed another cocktail before heading into the restaurant area. They serve dinner all over the hotel. There is a blue restaurant room and red room. The blue was my favorite interiors. We started the tasting menu with . they were able to serve gluten free bread and pastas- which were delicious. I am always rating my favorite gluten free pasta and rissottos I have had while traveling and I think Passalqua just took first place in the best pasta I have had. \they did something fun where they paid homage to a dish that was inspired by the olden days in Italy when they needed to make dinner and would just use anything they could find in the kitchen to make a pasta dish. This had peas and a creamy sauce and let me tell you- wow! We also had ___ and then the dessert came. At that point I was about to pop and then the chef came out to make us a fun pastry and then let us choose which chocolates we wanted. Lets just say I rolled down that hill after dinner.
The next morning, after attempting to sleep on a full belly, we decided to hike… what an adventure it was. Evan had found a path on Strava. It was 6 miles and looked like 3 miles up and 3 miles down based on his map. Well let me tell ya we gave this hike a 0 stars don’t waste your time. Might as well just walk up the steps as this was the hardest part. The trek down was not fun- so slippery and not great steps (so many leaves) we were side stepping the whole way. There were some pretty water falls and moss but with that came lots of flies and bugs. So my vote would be avoid this hike above Moltrasio unless you have proper shoes & bug spray.
Most a fun hike we had our boat ride. We went to our pool and had lunch. Which props to the menu at the grand imperial. They had a niçoise salad which is my fav and it was v tasty. We booked our boat through lake como boats. It was very well organized. They sent me the number of our driver so I could whats app him. He showed up early and was able to pick us up directly from our hotel. This was a highlight of the trip.
Eat
Harrys Bar, Cernobbio: charming restaurant with both an indoor & outdoor area. Perfect for any meal. Known for their bellinis. When we went they had truffles and were putting them on all of their dishes.
Locanda Tirlanda: located on the waterfront a bit past the town of Tremezzo. More on the casual side but very romantic being near the water.
Trattoria Glicine, Cernobbio
Lenno?
Grand Tremezzo- this hotel has an excellent Di GIacomo and more formal restuarnat inside, both are great.
Passalaqua
Veranda, Cernobbio, Ville d Este
Hotels
Villa d Este
Passalaqua
Grand Tremezzo
Hotel Orso Bruno- boutique hotel, no frills in a good location
Sheraton, has a michellin star restuarant called Kitchen with very romantic views along the water.
Hotel Grand Imperiale-
Bellagio hotel
Belmond- coming soon in 2026
Ritz Carlton- coming soon 2025 (Bellagio)
To do
Rent a boat and tour the gardens
Garden where 007 and star wars were filmed
Hike
Book Ferrys in advance- book online for the day and route needed. Not necessary to book the exact timeslot.
Evan and I booked a book to Lake Como when we heard my best friend Courtney and her future husband would be there for a week and we could spent some time with them on the front end of the trip. They got in Saturday evening so Evan and I had Friday and Saturday to ourselves. We flew into Milan Malpensa which is less than an hour drive from Lake Como- incredible. We landed incredibly late from London Thursday night after some pretty crazy weather delays- something we hae gotten way to used to living in London. We ended up staying at the Moxy at the airport before getting our rental car the next morning. Obviously this was no frills hotel but it got the job done and marriott points! We rented our car in the morning and headed for Lake Como. The weather was sprinkling the whole way but still very beautiful. We had lunch reservations at Di Giacomo at the Hotel Grand Tremezzo. Even though it was still sprinkling they sat us outside. Which I actually very much appreciated. The show must go on! Love that because this was the year of rain and we have had many of plans cancelled like in Cannes and Malta due to rain, so it was nice that everything still went on as planned. The lunch was delicious. Pricey but worth it for me. Cocktails ran about 35 Euro. And for lunch I had a fish that came out to like 90 EURO (thank EV). We were well covered and the pool area was fun to sit at with the cute orange and white umbrellas looking up at the beautiful Grand Tremezzo hotel.
After lunch, the plan was to ferry to Bellagio. This was done because it was only a 10 min ferry ride (one stop). Which a lot of them are normally multiple stops and can be hours long. Grand Tremezzo is sandwiched between two ferry stops. I had heard before to pre purchase ferry tickets because it sells out. IT was funny because you do not buy a particular time but instead you buy for the day and the route. The ferry was chaos and especially from Bellagio. We ended up not walking around for the full time that we planned because we figured we would not get on the first ferry back and we were on a strict timeline.
The ferry is nice and sells drinks & has a bathroom in the covered seating area. The ferries in general stop running at 8 pm so it is hard to coordinate dinners in other areas if you are relying on a ferry. Bellagio was very beautiful with the nice shops and cafes along the port and winding roads up the cobble stone reps gave me a bit of Positano vibes (but better). There were some high end shops- not many designers but they did have larger shops that sold designers and I did see an Isabel Marant. Bellagio has some very nice hotels. One of which, ____, is right on the water. There is also a point , literally called La Punta (or point) where a lot of tourists go for pictures & views. There is a restaurant with an outdoor patio out here as well. Evan and I learned that a Ritz Carlton is coming to Bellagio in 2027.
Post our exploration in Bellagio, we headed back to our hotel to get ready as we had a big dinner booked at Passalaqua. This was something I have planned in my head for years (since it opened). La Double J collaborated with the hotel on the design. It is the sister property of The Grand Tremezzo as well. The hotel is a few steps above the Grand Imperiale (and by a few I mean a lot of treacherous steps) which was fun to walk up in wedges.
We had made reservations for dinner in advance at Passalaqua, they asked us to do their tasting menu and to abide by a dress code, which I have no problem with.
Passalaqua exceeded my expectations. It was stunning. All of the grounds and views were unreal. They grow their own vegetables and have chickens on the property. They have a gorgeous pool and clay courts. Before dinner we had aperitivo in the garden above the pool. Cocktails were quite pricey but they were served with the most beautiful spread of amuse bouche which could have served as dinner itself! We moved into the bar area which is well suited for a night cap- I loved the design of this space and we enjoyed another cocktail before heading into the restaurant area. They serve dinner all over the hotel. There is a blue restaurant room and red room. The blue was my favorite interiors. We started the tasting menu with . they were able to serve gluten free bread and pastas- which were delicious. I am always rating my favorite gluten free pasta and rissottos I have had while traveling and I think Passalqua just took first place in the best pasta I have had. \they did something fun where they paid homage to a dish that was inspired by the olden days in Italy when they needed to make dinner and would just use anything they could find in the kitchen to make a pasta dish. This had peas and a creamy sauce and let me tell you- wow! We also had ___ and then the dessert came. At that point I was about to pop and then the chef came out to make us a fun pastry and then let us choose which chocolates we wanted. Lets just say I rolled down that hill after dinner.
The next morning, after attempting to sleep on a full belly, we decided to hike… what an adventure it was. Evan had found a path on Strava. It was 6 miles and looked like 3 miles up and 3 miles down based on his map. Well let me tell ya we gave this hike a 0 stars don’t waste your time. Might as well just walk up the steps as this was the hardest part. The trek down was not fun- so slippery and not great steps (so many leaves) we were side stepping the whole way. There were some pretty water falls and moss but with that came lots of flies and bugs. So my vote would be avoid this hike above Moltrasio unless you have proper shoes & bug spray.
Most a fun hike we had our boat ride. We went to our pool and had lunch. Which props to the menu at the grand imperial. They had a niçoise salad which is my fav and it was v tasty. We booked our boat through lake como boats. It was very well organized. They sent me the number of our driver so I could whats app him. He showed up early and was able to pick us up directly from our hotel. This was a highlight of the trip.