The Casino Royale Lake Como trail leads to two villas: the ones where the film was shot. From my Venetian water taxi you see them just as on screen, so that's where I'll tell you about them from: the water.
I'm a captain at Lario Water Taxi, and I know these two villas from the lake, which is the view I like best. Casino Royale dates from 2006 and was partly filmed here on Lake Como. Anyone who's seen it remembers two moments: Bond recovering after Le Chiffre, with Vesper beside him, and the ending with the line fans know by heart.
These are real places, with a name and an address. One can be visited, the other can't. But both can be seen well from the lake, and that's where I want to show them to you.
Villa del Balbianello, where Bond recovers
The first is Villa del Balbianello, on the Lavedo point at Lenno. In the film it's where Bond recovers from the wounds Le Chiffre gave him, together with Vesper. They're scenes that stay with you, and part of the credit goes to the villa.
These days, when I take guests towards the point, I always ease off a little before we arrive. The villa opens up above the shore bit by bit. The loggia is recognisable at first glance, just like in the film.
At that point I don't need to say which film we're talking about: anyone who's seen it gets there on their own.
A curiosity I'm always happy to share on board: the Balbianello was also a set for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Bond and the Jedi, in the same villa.
Today the villa belongs to the FAI. On its page I tell you about arriving from the water, the Loggia Durini, Guido Monzino's museum and the right moment to go.
Lenno is the village you set off from for the Balbianello, with a sheltered lakefront at the end of the bay. If you have time, stop: there's a Romanesque crypt and an 11th-century baptistery, worth a short walk ashore before or after the villa.
Villa La Gaeta, the Casino Royale finale
The second is Villa La Gaeta, at Acquaseria, in San Siro. This is where the film's final scene was shot: Bond confronts Mr White and says «The name's Bond, James Bond». Fans of the saga still hear that line in their heads.
Villa La Gaeta is private: it can't be visited, you see it from the lake. That's why a boat is the right way to look at it, with the staircase that anyone who's seen the film recognises in an instant.
When we pass Acquaseria I keep the engine low and give everyone their own time. Some take photos, some try to piece the scene back together in their heads. I tell what I know, then let the villa do the talking.
More villas along the way
And if you're in the mood for more villas, at Tremezzo there's Villa Carlotta, and the village has its own lakefront and the Parco Olivelli. On the villa's page I tell you about the gate on the water, the spring azaleas and the rooms with Canova and Hayez.
Why see them from the water
The film showed these villas up close, with the right light and every frame carefully chosen. From the lake you find them whole: the shore below, the water in front, the villa filling your view.
A Venetian water taxi has one simple advantage: it goes slowly when it needs to. We pull in close, engine almost off, and we look. Then we move on to the next villa, the varnished wood of the bow shining and the lake sliding by underneath.
The Royale Tour passes in front of the villas where Casino Royale was filmed. If you'd like to see them like this, from the water and just as in the film, I'll be waiting on board: I'll tell you the rest along the way.
Central lakeVilla del Balbianello Central lakeLenno Central lakeTremezzo
Royale Tour
The tour that passes the Casino Royale villas: two and a half hours on a Venetian water taxi.
