Guides

What we know,written down.

The questions members ask us most often, answered properly and kept current. Where a figure needs checking against a live source we say so rather than guessing, which is the whole difference between a reference and an article.

11 guides Updated August 2026

Evening light falling across a village on the western shore of Lake Como

Places 14 minutes

Lake Como: how the lake is put together, and how to read it

The shape of the lake, the light on each shore, what changes with the season, and which village answers which question.

01Property

A pale stucco villa held above the lake by terraced gardens

Where to Buy on Lake Como

Not a ranking of villages, but the seven things that actually decide where on this lake you should be looking.

15 minutes

Lakeside buildings in the late afternoon

Buying on Lake Como: Foreign Buyers

How an Italian purchase actually proceeds, from the first written offer to the deed signed in front of the notary, and what a buyer from outside Italy needs in place before any of it can begin.

16 min

Renovating a Historic Villa

Two separate constraints sit over almost every old house on this shore, materials arrive by barge or by hand, and the working season is the one nobody wants to be here for. That is why programmes slip and budgets move.

17 min

02Ownership

The Cost of Owning a Villa

The standing annual cost of a lake house is decided less by its size than by its garden, its water frontage and whether anybody is living in it. Almost nobody budgets for the last of those.

15 min

A historic residence set within terraced gardens above Tremezzina

Lake Como Property Taxes

Three different authorities tax an Italian house, at three different moments, on a value that is not the price you paid. Understanding which is which explains most of what confuses foreign owners.

16 min

03Staying

Lake and mountains framed by the window of a villa drawing room

Where to Stay on Lake Como

Position decides more about a stay here than the house does: which shore, which branch, how you arrive and what you will actually do with the day.

11 minutes

04Boats

A village seen from the water on approach

Lake Como by Boat

The lake was laid out to be travelled on the water, and it still works better that way, provided you understand the wind, the timetable and where you are actually allowed to land.

11 minutes

The Boat Owner's Guide

Keeping a boat on this lake is less about the boat than about the berth, the winter and the two or three people who look after both.

12 minutes

05Dining

Where to Eat on Lake Como

Eating well on this lake is less about knowing names than about knowing the pattern: how far from the ferry quay to walk, when the kitchens close, and what the lake itself actually produces.

10 minutes

06Arriving

Milan to Lake Como

Three airports, two useful railheads, one slow shore road and a last leg that is very often best done on the water.

10 minutes

07Places

The Complete Guide to Lake Como

The shape of the lake, the light on each shore, what changes with the season, and which village answers which question.

14 minutes