Lake Como Villas & Gardens
Private Day Trip from Milan
Two of the great houses of Lake Como in one day: Villa del Balbianello on its wooded point and Villa Carlotta with its gardens and sculpture. Door-to-door by private Mercedes, 8 hours, fixed price from €600 per car.
Book this day trip
Lake Como Villas & Gardens · private and tailor-made
Book this day trip
See the price for your car now, then send the request: we confirm the driver and send a secure payment link. The itinerary is yours to change: tell us your stops in the notes.
- CarsMercedes E-Class up to 2 guests, V-Class up to 6
- Pick-upYour hotel in Milan, or Malpensa, Linate, Bergamo (+€60)
- PaymentNothing now: we confirm, then send a secure link
A day for gardens, art and lakeside architecture
This Lake Como day is built around two villas a few kilometres apart on the western shore. Villa del Balbianello, at the tip of the Lavedo peninsula near Lenno, was created by Cardinal Durini at the end of the 18th century and left to the FAI, the Italian National Trust, by the explorer Guido Monzino in 1988; its terraces have appeared in Star Wars: Episode II and Casino Royale. Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo has a museum with works by Canova, Thorvaldsen and Hayez and about eight hectares of gardens. Of our lake day trips from Milan, this is the one for garden lovers.
The car gets you to Lenno and Tremezzo without the slow shore buses, and your driver times the day around your Balbianello booking. Villa tickets are not included. For a broader day along the same shore with Bellagio, see our Bellagio day trip from Milan. The price is per vehicle, not per person: from €600 with an E-Class for two, from €680 with a V-Class for up to six.
Lake Como Villas Day at a Glance
Lake Como Villas Day Trip Itinerary
Balbianello in the morning, lunch by the water, Villa Carlotta in the afternoon. Times adapt to your villa booking.
Tailor-made, always. This itinerary is our suggestion only: every MilanobyCar day trip is tailor-made. Change the stops, the order and the timing as you like, or tell us your own plan in the booking notes.
Your driver, your local insider. Our chauffeurs are not licensed tour guides and do not guide you inside museums or sites, but they know these places well from years on the road: ask them for the best viewpoints, where to eat, where to stroll and how to avoid the busiest spots. If you would like a licensed guide, we can book one for you.
Pick-up at your hotel in Milan
Your driver meets you in the lobby. The A9 to Como is followed by the Regina road along the western shore, through Cernobbio, Moltrasio and Argegno to Lenno.
To Balbianello on foot or by taxi boat
Cars cannot drive to the villa. From Lenno it is a walk of about 1 km, partly uphill on a gravel path, around 20–25 minutes; or a paid taxi boat from the Lido di Lenno. Your driver drops you at the start and tells you where to meet.
Terraces, loggia and the Monzino collections
The garden terraces and the loggia overlook both sides of the lake. The villa interior, with Guido Monzino’s collections from his expeditions, is shown on a guided tour of about 50 minutes in Italian or English included in the villa and park ticket. Booking is required, and the villa is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Lunch in Lenno or Tremezzo
A lakeside lunch between the two villas. Your driver can suggest places with a view of the water and book a table.
Museum and botanical garden
Inside: Canova’s Palamedes, Thorvaldsen’s frieze of Alexander entering Babylon and Hayez’s farewell of Romeo and Juliet. Outside: about eight hectares of terraced gardens, at their peak in April and May when 150 varieties of azaleas and the rhododendrons are in flower.
Back to your hotel in Milan
Back along the western shore and the A9, with a last stop on the Como lakefront if you like. Drop-off at your hotel, Malpensa or Linate.
Lake Como Villas Day Trip Prices — 8-Hour Private Car
Prices are per vehicle for the whole 8-hour day with 150 km included, whatever the number of passengers. Saturdays and Sundays +20%, major holidays +50%, airport pick-up +€60. Extra hours €75 with the E-Class, €85 with the V-Class, bookable in the form below.
- •Door-to-door from your Milan hotel
- •English-speaking chauffeur
- •8 hours · 150 km included
- •Door-to-door from your Milan hotel
- •English-speaking chauffeur
- •8 hours · 150 km included
- •Executive luxury sedan
- •English-speaking chauffeur
Included in the price
- ✓Private Mercedes and English-speaking chauffeur for the whole day
- ✓Door-to-door pick-up and return in Milan
- ✓Fuel, motorway tolls and parking for the car
- ✓Bottled water on board
- ✓Child seats on request, free of charge
- ✓Driver waiting while you visit
Not included — paid separately
- ✕Villa del Balbianello ticket (booking required)
- ✕Villa Carlotta ticket
- ✕Taxi boat to Balbianello, if used
- ✕Meals and drinks
- ✕Licensed local guide (bookable on request)
Milan to the Lake Como Villas: The Route
About 50 km on the A9 to Como, then about 30 km on the lakeside SS340 Regina road to Lenno and Tremezzo: around 1 hour 30 minutes in all.
Lake Como Villas Day Trip from Milan — FAQ
The Lake Como villas by private car or by public transport?
By public transport you need the train to Como and then a bus or a long ferry ride up the western shore, with uncertain timing for a fixed Balbianello booking. A private car takes you straight to Lenno and Tremezzo and waits, so a timed entry is easy to keep.
What to know about Balbianello and Carlotta
The two villas are very different. Balbianello is an intimate house with terraces on the water and Monzino’s expedition collections; Villa Carlotta is a grand late 17th-century residence turned museum, named after Princess Charlotte of Prussia, who received it as a wedding gift in 1847, with a large botanical garden.
How much is a Lake Como villas day trip?
MilanobyCar charges a fixed price per car: from €600 for two passengers in a Mercedes E-Class and from €680 for up to six in a V-Class, for 8 hours with 150 km included. Villa tickets and taxi boats are extra. Weekends +20%, holidays +50%.
Book Your Lake Como Villas Day Trip — Private Mercedes from Milan
8 hours, English-speaking driver, door-to-door. Tell us your Balbianello time and we plan the day around it.
or call +39 335 821 0912