June 5 - Arrive in Milan
Welcome to Italy! Upon arrival at the airport today you’ll be met by your tour escort and assisted with your transfer to your hotel in Lake Como.
Truly beautiful! Those words do not do this part of Italy justice. This jewel in the crown of Italy’s famous lakes is a haven of tranquility, superb cuisine, majestic snow capped mountains, courteous folk and style. In his ‘Charterhouse of Parma’ Stendhal described it as an “enchanting spot, unequaled on earth in its loveliness.” Virgil called it simply “our greatest” lake.
Como is in Lombardy, 45 km North of Milan and in the Province of Como. Lake Como is 50 km long and west of Menaggio is where the lake splits in two. The mountains around the lake are 2000 m high and the lake up to 1350 feet deep, making it one of the deepest lakes inEurope.
Accommodations: Barchetta Excelsior for 3 nights: The first thing you will notice when you come into the Hotel Barchetta is the modern entrance hall. After a warm welcome and a speedy check-in, you can enjoy a coffee or an aperitif in our American Bar before being shown to your room. Your luggage will already be waiting for you.
Open the door and behind it lies a bright, airy room. Go round the bed and out onto the balcony, or look out of the large windows, to discover what your view of Como is like, the lake or the city?
The Bistro is open for light lunches and snacks where you can take in what’s happening in the square outside. The Barchetta Restaurant serves breakfast with a spectacular view of the lake. Join us for dinner to meet the group!
You’re at home, but at the same time in the centre of a small but great city.
June 6 - Como Sightseeing Breakfast
After your hot buffet breakfast at the hotel this morning, board your coach withyour guide for a full day of sightseeing this beautiful area. Your tour will include the public ferry and visits to Bellaggio, Porto Carlotta and Varenna.
Bellagio, often considered to be one of the most beautiful towns inItaly, lies at the apex of Triangolo Lariano, the land mass between Como and Lecco. With cobbled streets, a spectacular location, oleanders that ornament the streets and promenade, Bellagio is not a place to miss. Ferries frequent Bellagio arriving from Tremezzo, Menaggio, Varenna and Cadenabbia. Buses also run, which takes up to an hour from eitherLeccoorComo, but the roads are narrow and dangerous. Car ferries and hydrofoils also dock at Bellagio.
Some people say that Varenna is even more beautiful than Bellagio. Halfway up the Eastern shore this town is a cool spot in the heat of summer with overhanging trees and foliage. Almost devoid of the usual tourist offerings, it does have waterside cafes, with the town located up steep and narrow alleys.
Villa Carlotta is situated in the village of Tremezzo and covers an area of over 70,000 square meters. There are numerous masterpieces of art inside the villa itself as well as a splendid garden with many beautiful flowers and trees which you can walk around in at your leisure.
The villa was built from 1690-1743 by the Clerici, a wealthy Milanese family of merchants. In 1801 Gian Battista Sommariva (a famous politician, businessman and patron of arts) bought the villa. The villa has a collection of art works such as; Canova, Thorvaldsen and Hayez: Palamedes, Eros and Psyche, Terpsychore and The last kiss of Romeo and Juliet.
June 7 - Lake Como Sightseeing
Today you’ll have some time at leisure before enjoying a hands-on cooking class at the Centro Studi Casnati Instituto Alberghiero Scuola Di Arte Culinaria inComo.
Web site: www.alcasnati.it
Lessons are hands on, not demonstrations. The work will be organized into groups and each group will be followed by a chef and an interpreter. Each group will be assigned recipes to prepare depending on the time available, and each group will go to the nearby supermarket to buy ingredients to prepare the recipes later. Participants will be able to consume what lessons they have prepared, accompanied by a wine that compliments the recipe.
June 8 - Como to Santa Margherita Ligure
After breakfast and some free time this morning depart Como for Cinque Terre.