Lake Como Adventure
Day 1
From Bellagio to Como Enjoy a lovely private boat tour from Bellagio to Como, passing splendid villas, gardens and lakeside villages enroute before reaching Como. Como is one of the wealthiest towns in Italy, and you’ll find evidence of this as you wind your way through its medieval lanes. You’ll pass some beautiful shops - Como has for centuries been known for its luxury silk production, in recent decades specializing on quality finishing. Approaching the lake front, you’ll reach the medieval Broletto (Town Hall/Court of Justice) and the Duomo cathedral, with its impressive dome by Filippo Juvarra (who worked extensively for the Savoy, as can be seen in Turin). Inclusions: Full day tour with guide, private boat tour from Bellagio to Como, walking tour of Como with entrance to Duomo cathedral and fast boat return to Bellagio later in the afternoon. Also possible to return a seaplane return in the afternoon (not included).
Day 2
Valtellina Exploration with ‘Rifugio’ Lunch Today you’ll take a car ferry across the lake to the quaint village of Varenna, certainly worth a stroll for a morning caffè… then you’ll continue driving northward and in 30 minutes you will reach the Valtellina, a beautiful east-west valley extending from Lake Como up to the 4000-meter heights of the Alps. Today you will explore the sunny ‘Costiera dei Cech’ – extensive valley slopes covered with vineyards and tiny villages. Indeed notwithstanding Valtellina’s proximity to some of the highest peaks of the Alps, those very mountains have created a rather protected climate, especially the south-facing slopes. Walk with a local guide to explore the vineyards, finishing with a great lunch on local specialties including pizzocheri - a buckwheat pasta mixed with the flavorful cheese, bitto, and cabbage and potatoes - at a ‘rifugio’ or mountain house, in reality this case a winemaking cooperative, whose excellent wines will accompany our lunch.
Inclusions
Full day tour with guide in Valtellina and wine-tasting lunch based on local specialties in the valley. Does not include transportation. Possible to drive a sports or vintage car into the Valtellina, or helicopter to one of the premier vineyards to taste Sforzato – a sublime meditation wine made from local Nebbiolo, the same grape that makes Barolo wine in Piedmont.
Day 3
Romantic Sculpture Experience at a Lakeside Villa Enjoy a private Romantic Sculpture Experience by one of Italy’s most creative living sculptors, in the splendid gardens of a lakeside villa. After the workshop, enjoy your own exclusive brindisi and aperitifs along the lake! Inclusions: Sculpture course, followed by exclusive, private use of the gardens afterwards, together with aperitifs.
Day 4
Grin & Gin Today you will partake in a full immersion with Lake Como’s premier gin producer. Start your day foraging for local botanical herbs directly on-site, in spectacular meadows overlooking the lake, with a “lesson” in ethnobotany given by the botanist. This is followed by a tasting of the producer’s products, during which the producers will recount the history of the distillate and methods of distillation. Finally, it is time to prepare your own cocktails together with an expert bartender. You will create special cocktails, learning how each is attained in a wonderfully interactive session. Inclusions: Everything in above description, except for transportation to/from various sites.
