Villa d'Este Lake Como: Cernobbio's grand villa seen from the water
A Lario Water Taxi captain on Villa d'Este as you see it from a boat: the long lakefront facade, the pool that floats on the lake and more than four centuries of history just outside Cernobbio.
Search for Villa d'Este Lake Como and you'll mostly find photos of the gardens. I know it from the water: it's one of the first great villas I pass when I leave Como and head up the western shore. I go by it almost every day in my Venetian water taxi, and the same thing usually happens on board: the chatter stops and everyone just looks.
Villa d'Este from the lake: what you see arriving by boat
The villa sits in the middle of a wide bay, just outside the village of Cernobbio. From the water you read it straight away: a long, even facade in five sections, a big arched terrace in the centre and dormer windows tucked under the roof.
Out in front, on the lake itself, is the floating swimming pool, built in 1966 and described by the hotel as the first of its kind on Lake Como. A little further along you'll spot the Queen's Pavilion with its red trompe-l'oeil facade. Behind it all, the park climbs the hillside: ten hectares of old trees, formal flowerbeds and avenues.
How to get to Villa d'Este Lake Como by boat
The villa has a private dock for boats, arranged through the hotel's Concierge. If you're on the public ferries, you get off at the Cernobbio landing stage and walk about five minutes. With our water taxi we glide past slowly, barely on the throttle, or drop you in Cernobbio and pick you up later.
Villa d'Este history in brief
It all starts in 1568, when Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, Bishop of Como, has a summer residence built here. The design is traditionally credited to Pellegrino Pellegrini, known as Il Tibaldi. Its first name was Villa del Garovo, after the stream that runs beside it.
After that it changed hands many times. Vittoria Peluso, known as La Pelusina, a former La Scala ballerina, had mock fortresses built in the park for her husband, a Napoleonic general. In 1815 Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, bought it and renamed it the New Villa d'Este. In 1873 a group of Milanese businessmen turned it into a luxury hotel, and that's what it has been ever since. Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini were among its early guests.
In 1913 the villa and its park were declared a National Monument.
What to see at Villa d'Este
- 01The lakefront facade
Long and symmetrical, with the arched terrace at its heart. It's the classic postcard view, best seen from the water.
- 02The Queen's Pavilion
Built in 1856 by Baron Ciani and dedicated to Caroline of Brunswick. It began life as a spa; today it holds 27 rooms behind that red facade you can pick out from far away.
- 03The Mosaic and the Hercules Avenue
A Baroque nymphaeum covered in pebbles, known simply as the Mosaic, opens onto an avenue that climbs between little cascades and stone basins up to the statue of Hercules and Lichas.
- 04The floating pool
It has been sitting on the lake in front of the villa since 1966. Seen from a boat, almost at water level, it always turns heads.
- 05The park
Magnolias, camellias, wisteria and cypresses across ten hectares rising from the shore. The garden is part of the Grandi Giardini Italiani network.
When to visit Villa d'Este
April to June is when the park looks its best and the light on the water is soft. Every May the gardens host the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, a show of classic cars and concept cars, and Cernobbio gets busy. September and October are calmer, with fewer boats about.
Worth knowing: Villa d'Este is a working hotel, not a museum with a ticket desk. To get inside you either stay or book a table at one of the restaurants, and some only open in certain months. Opening periods and access rules change, so check the official website before you go. From the water, though, you can see it all year round.
Places near Villa d'Este
The village of Cernobbio is a short stroll away, with its lakefront and ferry landing. A few minutes south by boat is Como. Carry on up the same shore and you reach Moltrasio, while across the water lies Torno. With a full day you can push on to the central lake and Bellagio: that's what we do on the Full Day Dolce Far Niente or, if you have half a day, the Grand Tour.
