Page 51 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

On the other side of
Como’s marina, the Fu-
nicolare Como-Brunate
(%031 30 36 08; www.
funicolarecomo.it; Piazza de
Gasperi 4; adult one way/return
€3/5.50, reduced €2/3.20;
hhalf-hourly departures
FRANCESCO IACOBELLI/GETTY IMAGES ©
6am-midnight summer, to
10.30pm winter) whisks you
uphill to the quiet village
of Brunate for splendid
views across the lake.
54 p53
The Drive » The 32km drive
from Como to Bellagio along ITALY 2 THE GRAcEFUL ITALIAN LAKES
the SS583 is spectacular. The
narrow road swoops and twists
around the lake shore the entire
way and rises up out of Como
giving panoramic views over the
lake. There are plenty of spots
en route where you can pull over
for photographs.

TRIP HIGHLIGHT
6 Bellagio
It’s impossible not to be
charmed by Bellagio’s
waterfront of bobbing
boats, its maze of stone
staircases, cypress groves
and showy gardens.
Villa Serbelloni (%031
95 15 55; Piazza della Chiesa
14; adult/child €9/5; htours
11.30am & 2.30pm Tue-Sun
mid-Mar–Oct) covers much
of the promontory on
which Bellagio sits.
Although owned by the
Rockefeller Foundation,
you can still tour the
gardens on a guided
tour. Otherwise stroll
the grounds of neoclas-
sical Villa Melzi d’Eril
(%339 4573838; www.
giardinidivillamelzi.it; Lungo
Lario Manzoni; adult/reduced

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