1 hour
Como villas cruise
The first basin in front of Como and Cernobbio: Villa Olmo, Villa Erba, Villa Pizzo and the Blevio shoreline.
Como · Villa Olmo · Blevio · Cernobbio
Details
Private skippered guide
Villa del Balbianello by boat: the loggia on the Lavedo headland
Villa del Balbianello stands on a narrow wooded spit near Lenno, and its famous double loggia only reveals itself from the water. Arriving by vintage wooden boat is the classic approach — and the only one that gives you the whole façade at once.
The villa was built as a Franciscan monastery, then rebuilt as a private retreat; explorer Guido Monzino left it to the Italian environmental trust, which opens the gardens and rooms to visitors. Film fans know the loggia from Star Wars and James Bond, and it is one of the most requested photo stops on the lake.
From the boat we round the Lavedo peninsula slowly, passing the boathouse, the stone stairway and the ancient church of San Giovanni, then hold off the loggia for photographs. If you want to visit inside, we time the cruise around opening hours and can land you at the villa's own jetty.
Villa del Balbianello
What you see from the boat
The double loggia
The arched belvedere on the point, visible only from the lake.
The Lavedo peninsula
A ribbon of cypress and holm oak reaching out into the water.
Comacina Island
The lake's only island, five minutes away, with its ruins and single restaurant.
Isola Comacina bay and Sala Comacina
A sheltered stretch of water the colour of green glass.
Info
Planning your Balbianello cruise
- How long to allow
- Two hours from Como to see it from the water; three hours if you also want Comacina Island.
- Visits ashore
- The villa and gardens have set opening days and hours; tell us if you'd like to go inside and we'll plan around them.
- Where we board
- Como, Cernobbio, Bellagio, Menaggio, Varenna or your hotel jetty.
Tours
Cruises and tours
From a one-hour sunset aperitif to a half-day tour of Bellagio and Varenna, every itinerary is private and built around you.
2 hours
Villas & gardens tour
From Como towards Torno, Laglio and Nesso, past period mansions, stone boathouses and gardens running into the water.
Como · Torno · Laglio · Nesso
Details3 hours
Bellagio & Comacina Island
The heart of the lake: the tip of Bellagio, Villa del Balbianello and the Lario's only island, with time ashore.
Bellagio · Balbianello · Comacina Island
DetailsDestinations
Boat tour guides, place by place
Detailed guides to the places we reach on board: what you see from the water, the best light, and how long to allow.
Bellagio
Bellagio sits on the tip that splits Lake Como in two. Approaching it in a classic mahogany taxi is the way the village was meant …
Read the guide
Varenna
Varenna faces west, which makes it the best sunset stop on Lake Como. Seen from the water its ochre and rose houses stack straight…
Read the guideComo
Como is where most cruises begin. Leaving the city basin in a mahogany taxi, the shoreline turns into a sequence of villas, cypres…
Read the guidePhotograph the loggia from the water
Tell us your dates and we'll build the cruise around Balbianello and Comacina Island.