Lake Como Bliss: The Most Breathtaking Mountain Picnic, Villas & Wine Tasting | SIMPLY SLOW TRAVELER

Welcome to a new day around Lake Como. Today I am taking you to two beautiful lakeside gardens in Varena, as well as two wonderful and under the radar experiences to enjoy the best of the lake. Our day started with a visit to one of the most iconic Lake Como villas and gardens, the Villa Cipresi, in the heart of Varena. The villa itself is a hotel, but the gardens are often open to the public. Owing to its very romantic nature and the beautiful views of the lake all the way to Bellagio, Villa Cipresi is often booked for private events and weddings. On such days, the gardens are closed to the public, so have that in mind when planning your trip to Lake Como and make sure to check their availability in advance on their website. I will now take you around the gardens and just let you enjoy its quaintness and the amazing views. After a morning well spent in Villa Cipresi, we went for one of my favorite experiences I had in Lake Como. A picnic up high in the mountains with full lake views and all the way to Lake Lugano afar. Our lovely hostess picked us up in Varena and after a drive up the hills with a few stops to admire the increasingly amazing views, we arrived at this picturesque little town 3000 feet above the lake and only accessible by residents. Waiting for us, we had this wonderful scenario with a lovely selection of cheeses and cold cuts, fruits and local delicacies as well as a local sparkling wine. For almost three hours, we just sat there eating, drinking and relaxing with this incredible scenario right ahead of us and then we went exploring the area around. It is hard to put into words how much one feels immersed in the grand landscape around and the best thing is really scheduling this picnic for your next trip to Lake Como. For all the details on this one-of-a-kind way of enjoying the lake, you can check my guide the lake for a wine tasting at a very traditional family-run vineyard. After a visit of the sellers and a bit of the history of this family and their wine, including how it was served in the Cluny's wedding, we sat on the terrace with more amazing lake views, tasting the orange of white, rosé and red along some local cold cuts and cheeses. To end our day, we went back to Varena and this time we went exploring Vila Monastero. Vila Monastero is a lakeside garden right next to Vila Cipresi, but extending over one mile along the lake margin. It is worth spending two good hours to fully explore it and enjoy the whole scenery, especially in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, the skies closed for the later part of the day, but the whole visit was still very beautiful. In afternoons, when there is a wedding in Vila Cipresi, it is more than likely that a newly wed couple will go for a photo session in Vila Monastero, attesting to the beauty of its gardens, and then go off on a boat ride around the lake. We were hoping that the skies would open for the sunset, which sadly didn't happen. Still, the lightly foggy skies took on these golden hues and the mist in the air made the whole garden look even more secretive and romantic, perfect to end our day. Thank you for joining me on this day in Lago di Como, and don't forget to subscribe for more long videos with more details of my trips around Europe.