Lakes & Villas of Northern Italy

Day 1 | Wednesday 5 May
Arrive Milan - To Varese
The pre-Alpine foothills of Lombardy formed a favoured retreat of the Lombard aristocracy, who established villas and gardens across these hills as places of respite within easy reach of Milan. Within these foothills, and positioned between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como, lies Varese, known to Italians as the ‘Garden City’ for its green boulevards and elegant villas that spread across the surrounding hills. Meeting at Milan’s Malpensa Airport in the mid-morning, we continue into the city centre in time for a welcome lunch at a local restaurant. Our first point of call is the gardens of Palazzo Estense, considered among the most beautiful in the region. Laid out in the 18th century for Francesco III d’Este, Duke of Modena, they follow a formal Baroque design, with long axial vistas, terraces and carefully structured parterres descending towards a central water basin. Following our visit, we continue to our hotel with time to check-in and freshen up before dinner at La Perla, where a menu of refined northern Italian cuisine highlights regional Lombard specialities. Overnight Varese (L, D)

Day 2 | Thursday 6 May
Verbania and Baveno
Lake Maggiore stretches across the Piedmont–Lombardy border, its western shore long shaped by the villas and gardens of Milan’s nobility. Venturing along its shores this morning, we arrive at Verbania. Formed from the merger of the historic lakeside towns of Pallanza and Intra, it retains much of that patrician atmosphere, its waterfront promenade backed by Belle Époque hotels and flowering gardens that thrive in the area’s remarkably mild microclimate. Our visit here is devoted to Villa Taranto, whose botanical gardens rank among the finest in Italy. Created in the 1930s by Neil McEacharn, a Scottish soldier, traveller and botanist, the 16-hectare estate contains over 20,000 plant species, with spring bringing an extraordinary sequence of tulips, dahlias, rare water lilies and rhododendrons in bloom. A walk along the Pallanza lakefront follows, before lunch together in a local restaurant. Continuing south along the shore in the afternoon, we make our way to Baveno’s Complesso Monumentale, featuring a 12th-century Romanesque church and a 5th-century octagonal baptistery, later adorned with 16th-century frescoes. After time to explore the complex, we return to Varese for an evening at leisure. Overnight Varese (B, L)

Day 3 | Friday 7 May
The Borromean Islands
Few families have shaped the visual identity of Lake Maggiore more completely than the Borromeo, whose ownership of the islands bearing their name stretches back to the 13th century.Each island represents a different aspect of aristocratic ambition: Isola Bella is an exercise in baroque theatre; Isola dei Pescatori retains the character of a working fishing village; and Isola Madre, the largest, was transformed in the 19th century into an English-style botanical garden of extraordinary variety. Departing by coach to Stresa this morning, we board a private boat to begin our exploration of the Borromean Islands. We first arrive at Isola Bella to explore the Palazzo Borromeo and its celebrated terraced gardens – a carefully orchestrated composition of statuary, citrus trees and theatrical design that remained one of the most discussed garden schemes in Europe for two centuries. A short crossing then brings us to Isola dei Pescatori for lunch at a local restaurant, followed by a visit to the Church of San Vittore and time to walk through the island’s narrow lanes. We continue in the afternoon to Isola Madre, where expansive botanical gardens reflect a more naturalistic approach to landscape design, before returning to Varese.Overnight Varese (B, L)

Day 4 | Saturday 8 May
Castiglione Olona and Villa Cicogna Mozzoni
The small town of Castiglione Olona is among the most beautiful discoveries in Lombardy. In the early 15th century, Cardinal Branda da Castiglione – a diplomat who had spent years in Hungary and Bohemia – acquired the town and set about transforming it in accordance with the classicising
ideals he had absorbed at the Council of Constance.
The result is a remarkably coherent ensemble: the Collegiate Church of Sant’Antonio and the adjacent Palazzo Branda contain extraordinary frescoes by Masolino da Panicale, whose influence on the development of Italian Renaissance painting remains underappreciated. Following a visit here this morning, with time to absorb the town’s distinctive character, we continue to Villa Cicogna Mozzoni – a Renaissance villa of exceptional quality set in the hills above Varese. A private guided tour of the house and its gardens is led by the owner, Count Jacopo Cicogna Mozzoni, whose family has held the estate since the 15th century. Lunch is enjoyed at the villa, and the afternoon is spent exploring the loggia and terraced water gardens before our return to Varese. Overnight Varese (B, L)

Day 5 | Sunday 9 May
Lecco and Lake Como
Lake Como divides into two narrow arms, and it is the eastern branch – less visited and more dramatic – that frames the city of Lecco. Backed by the limestone peaks of the Grigne, Lecco is a place of true character: a working town with a renowned artistic history, most famously as the setting of Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed, the foundational novel of modern Italian literature. Departing Varese this morning, we travel to Lecco for a guided walking tour of the historic centre, including the lakeside promenades, Piazza Garibaldi, the Basilica of San Nicolò and the surviving Visconti tower. The afternoon is then at leisure to explore further, enjoy the waterfront atmosphere or simply take in the mountain scenery. This evening we gather for dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight Lecco (B, D)

Day 6 | Monday 10 May
Bellagio, Villa Carlotta and Villa Melzi
The distinctive geography of Lake Como – its Y-shaped form with Bellagio set at the meeting of its two branches – has fostered one of the most richly developed landscapes of villas and gardens in Europe. The mild climate resulting from the lake’s microenvironments supports plants otherwise unviable at this latitude, and for centuries the villas overlooking the lake have cultivated gardens that combine Mediterranean, subtropical and alpine species. Following a talk in the hotel this morning introducing the principal villas to be found along its shores, we travel to Bellagio, where time at leisure allows for exploration of the town’s steep lanes and waterfront. Lunch is enjoyed in one of Bellagio’s fine restaurants before a private boat takes us across to Villa Carlotta on the western shore, where terraced gardens rise steeply from the water’s edge. Celebrated for its spring displays of azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias, the villa also houses significant works by Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorvaldsen. Returning to Bellagio, we visit Villa Melzi, renowned for its harmonious English‑style gardens, sweeping lakeside paths and rare botanical specimens. On return to our hotel in Lecco, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Lecco (B, L)

Day 7 | Tuesday 11 May
Villa d’Este and Villa Balbianello
Among the many villas that line the shores of Lake Como, two have secured an enduring place in the European imagination.The Villa d’Este, located in the picturesque town of Cernobbio, began as a cardinal’s residence in the 16th century. It passed through several hands, including Caroline of Brunswick who made it her eccentric court in exile, and became one of the most celebrated hotels in Italy in the 19th century. Its terraced gardens and stately avenue of cypress trees represent the villa tradition at its most dramatic. The Villa Balbianello, on a wooded promontory further up the western shore, is a different proposition: intimate, scholarly and with views across the water that make it one of the most photographed sites in Lombardy. Beginning in Cernobbio today, we first enjoy a private-guided visit to Villa Bernasconi, one of the rare examples of Art Nouveau architecture on Lake Como, before a gentle lakeside walk brings us to Villa d’Este for a private-guided tour of its historic gardens. We then board a private boat for Villa del Balbianello, where a guided visit reveals both the villa and its striking promontory gardens, set high above the water. Later in the afternoon we continue to Como, where the 13th-century cathedral provides an opportunity for a passeggiata before our return to Lecco. The day concludes with dinner together in a fine local restaurant. Overnight Lecco (B, D)

Day 8 | Wednesday 12 May
Brescia
One of the most historically layered cities in northern Italy, Brescia is often overlooked in favour of its better-known neighbours. Founded as a Roman colony in the 1st century BCE, it remained a significant settlement through the Lombard period, the communal era of the Middle Ages and the subsequent centuries of Venetian rule, accumulating at each stage buildings and artworks that together make its historic centre one of the richest in the region. Departing Lecco today, we arrive in Brescia in time for lunch at one of the city’s characterful trattorias, followed by a visit to the Santa Giulia UNESCO World-Heritage complex. Here, Roman foundations, a Lombard monastic core and later Benedictine additions illustrate the successive phases that have shaped the city. Nearby, the Capitolium of Brescia and Roman theatre extend this narrative, while on the cathedral square the juxtaposition of the Duomo Vecchio and Duomo Nuovo provides a clear reading of Brescian architectural development across the centuries. We then continue to our hotel, where the remainder of the evening is at leisure. Overnight Brescia (B, L)

Day 9 | Thursday 13 May
Franciacorta and Lake Iseo
Lake Iseo is the least visited of the major Lombard lakes, and its relative obscurity makes it one of the most rewarding. The lake is dominated by Monte Isola – the largest lake island in Europe – a steep, wooded mass rising some 600 metres from the water and home to a scattering of fishing communities, small churches and a way of life that has changed remarkably little over the past century. The surrounding district of Franciacorta, meanwhile, has become synonymous with Italy’s finest sparkling wine, produced by the traditional method from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc grapes grown on the low morainic hills between Brescia and the lake. Beginning our morning at Sulzano on the lake’s western shore, a short ferry crossing brings us to Monte Isola, where we walk the island’s streets, visit the Church of San Michele and pause for a coffee before returning by ferry. We then continue to Franciacorta for a winery visit at one of the district’s leading estates, including a cellar tour, tasting and lunch. On return to Brescia, the remainder of the day is at leisure. Overnight Brescia (B, WT, L)

Day 10 | Friday 14 May
Sirmione and Desenzano
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and, straddling the boundary between the Alpine climate of the north and the Mediterranean warmth of the south, one of the most striking in its contrasts. Departing Brescia today, we first stop in Sirmione, set on a narrow peninsula extending into the lake’s southern reaches. Our visit begins with a walking tour through this fortified town before continuing to the so-called ‘Grotte di Catullo’. Despite their name, these are the remains of one of the largest Roman villas in Italy, their extensive walls and floor mosaics spread across the headland at the peninsula’s tip, overlooking the water. Lunch is enjoyed at a local restaurant before we take a short walk to the ferry for our journey across the lake to Desenzano del Garda. Here, we visit the Villa Romana, an important late Roman residence renowned for its exceptionally well-preserved mosaic pavements, whose intricate geometric and figurative designs offer a remarkable insight into the sophistication of aristocratic life in northern Italy during the 4th century CE. From Desenzano, we continue west towards Verona, arriving at our hotel in the early evening. Overnight Verona (B, L)

Day 11 | Saturday 15 May
Mantua
In the 15th century, the Gonzaga lords of Mantua set out to make their court one of the most brilliant in Italy. The results, astonishing in their ambition, survive in two buildings. At the Palazzo Ducale, Andrea Mantegna’s Camera degli Sposi – completed in 1474 – is one of the great achievements of the Italian Renaissance: a room in which painted architecture, landscape and portraiture fuse into a seamless illusion, transforming a modest chamber into a vision of courtly grandeur. At the Palazzo Te, the exuberant frescoes of Giulio Romano, Raphael’s most gifted pupil, translate that ambition into something altogether more playful and spectacular. A coach journey around the southern reaches of Lake Garda brings us to Mantua this morning, where we first visit the Palazzo Ducale, including a pre-booked entry to the celebrated Camera degli Sposi. There is time for lunch in the centre of the city before our afternoon visit to the Palazzo Te, with its extraordinary Sala dei Giganti. On our return to Verona, we pause for dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Verona (B, D)

Day 12 | Sunday 16 May
Verona
Verona’s long Roman history is inscribed in the bones of the city – in the grid of its ancient streets, the mass of its arena, the columns of its temples and the gates through which legions once marched. But the city’s most celebrated period came in the 13th and 14th centuries, under the Scaliger dynasty, whose love of military display, courtly ceremony and competitive monument-building left Verona with one of the finest concentrations of medieval funerary architecture in Europe. Our day begins with a visit to the Santa Maria Antica – the dynastic church of the Scaligeri – followed by a walk through the city’s historic core, taking in the Porta Borsari, Piazza dei Signori and Piazza delle Erbe, where the Roman forum once lay. Lunch is enjoyed at a local restaurant, before the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure for independent exploration of Verona. Overnight Verona (B, L)

Day 13 | Monday 17 May
Valpolicella
The Valpolicella, a series of parallel valleys extending north from Verona into the Lessini hills, has been a centre of wine production since antiquity. Today it produces some of Italy’s most complex red wines, including Amarone della Valpolicella, made from grapes dried for several months before fermentation, a process that concentrates both flavour and structure. The valley is also home to one of the most intriguing prehistoric sites in northern Italy: the Fumane Cave, where some of the oldest evidence of symbolic human behaviour in Europe was found, including painted shells and carved animal bones dating to over 40,000 years ago. The morning begins at the Fumane Cave with a guided visit, before we continue to Villa della Torre for a guided wine tasting. The cellars of this exceptional Renaissance villa have remained in continuous use since the 16th century. Returning to Verona in the late afternoon, there is time to enjoy the city at leisure this evening. Overnight Verona (B, WT)

Day 14 | Tuesday 18 May
Vicenza and Soave
Andrea Palladio’s architecture was not merely a stylistic preference but a philosophical proposition: that the principles of ancient Rome, if correctly applied, could produce buildings of universal harmony. His most famous building, the Villa Capra ‘La Rotonda’ outside Vicenza, has been the most copied private residence in the world – from Jefferson’s Monticello to Chiswick House in London – and it remains, in its hillside setting with views in all four directions, one of the most persuasive arguments in stone that architecture has ever made. Venturing north from Verona into the foothills of the Lessini Mountains this morning, we first visit Villa La Rotonda before continuing into Vicenza to walk through the city. Our tour includes the Teatro Olimpico – Palladio’s final building, with its permanent stage set of forced-perspective streets remaining intact since its inauguration in 1585. Following time at leisure for lunch, we continue to the walled medieval town of Soave, set among vineyards at the foot of the Lessini Mountains and long associated with one of Italy’s best-known white wines. Here, we visit the imposing Castello Scaligero before enjoying a wine tasting with light snacks at a local winery. Returning to Verona in the late afternoon, there is time to refresh before our farewell dinner this evening. Overnight Verona (B, WT, D)

Day 15 | Wednesday 19 May
Depart Verona
The tour concludes this morning after breakfast, with a group transfer provided to Verona Airport. (B)