Hotel Villa Cipressi

Lake Como


Most Como villas are either opulent palaces used as Bond film locations or second homes for people like George Clooney, but at the Cipressi, for a not inordinate fee, you can blend in with the glitterati and book a room. The villa’s gardens are one of the lake’s most exalted tourist sights.

The rooms are modern and minimalist, contrasting beautifully with the old-world ostentation elsewhere.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lake Como attractions

1. Villa Cipressi Botanical Gardens

0.02 MILES

The villa itself is a hotel, but the steeply terraced grounds are open to anyone willing to part with €6. The gardens bloom with cipressi (cypress trees),…

2. Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista

0.1 MILES

Much overlooked in all the excitement about Varenna's villas are the lovely 14th-century frescoes, somewhat damaged but nevertheless full of colour,…

3. Castello di Vezio

0.12 MILES

High above the terracotta rooftops of Varenna, the imposing Castello di Vezio offers magnificent views over Lake Como. The 13th-century building was once…

4. Villa Monastero

0.19 MILES

At Villa Monastero elegant balustrades and statues sit amid exotic shrubs; spiky yucca trees frame lake and mountain views. The villa itself is a former…

5. Villa Serbelloni

1.76 MILES

The lavish gardens of Villa Serbelloni cover much of the promontory on which Bellagio sits. The villa has been a magnet for Europe's great and good,…

6. Basilica di San Giacomo

1.84 MILES

Bellagio's most interesting Romanesque church is the Basilica di San Giacomo, built in the 12th century by master builders from Como.

7. Orrido

2.5 MILES

Once an industrial centre, Bellano (5km north of Varenna) is a sleepy lakeside town with a singular sight: the Orrido, a powerful waterfall where the…

8. Villa Melzi d'Eril

2.58 MILES

The grounds of neoclassical Villa Melzi d’Eril are a highlight among Lake Como's (many) delightful places. The villa was built in 1808 for one of Napoleon…