Take a cruise or a ferry to explore Lake Como…read more We booked a day trip from Milan to Lake Como with Ciao Florence. The public ferry was an interesting experience. Our family was able to find a place to stand on the top deck and eventually find seats. Our tour guide and group were scattered all over the ferry which made it a bit disorganized. The ferry itself was amazing. The views were magical on a wonderful sunny Friday. When our guide finally located most of the group that had migrated to the top floor, he gave us a bit of insight into Villa Carlotta. The history is one with many families involved. Originally built on ancestral land by the Clerici family who became successful silk merchants. The country estate and gardens were built in the 1690s. As with many wealthy families, the great grandson spent too much money building an extravagant palazzo, the Palazzo Clerici in Milan, which forced his heirs to see their Lake Como villa sold to cover their debts. Over the next couple of hundred years, the property continued to exchange hands until it was eventually was converted to a museum and gardens by royal decree. Nice to be able to see it from the ferry. Maybe next time, we will have more time to explore the villa and its gardens.

What an amazing place! It's a museum and a garden, the bottom floor is a cool interactive museum.read more

This is the home to one of Europe's most beautiful botanical gardens. Scottish Captain Neil…read moreMcEacharn donated this land to the Italian state in 1931, and it opened to the public in 1952. We admired the ornamental fountains, sculptures, and waterfalls that are accented by a diverse array of flora. It is 40 acres park houses 20,000 plants of particular botanic value and more than 80,000 blooming bulbous specimens and over 15,000 border plants cover the numerous flowerbeds. The English style gardens are below and you climb up some steps to view the Italian gardens. You can also view the Swiss Alps border - Monte Rosa - which is the highest mountain in Switzerland and the second-highest in both the Alps and western Europe. In the movie 'The Sound of Music", when Maria sings "The hills are alive . . ." you can see the alps, that I saw here! The garden is a real work of art generated in 1931 by Captain Neil McEacharn's botanic passion, plants from all over the world. Inside the Mausoleum Chapel, the windows have 4 round large stained glass windows, featuring some botanical favorites! If you're visiting Stresa, make sure you stop here!

It was a hot one but this was certainly worth the stop. Walk your way along the coast of Morcote…read morefor about 15 minutes after docking from the ferry and you'll find Parco Sherrer. This park offers a beautiful private collection of artwork overlooking the lake. There is a fee to enter this park. I loved how the park was sectioned out by different styles of work found from throughout the world. It's a stunning collection. In their words: "A unique atmosphere lingers at Scherrer Park in Morcote, on Lake Lugano. Inside the lush subtropical vegetation, reminding of exotic countries, are in fact architectural and artistic works inspired by distant cultures such as a Siamese tea house, an Egyptian temple and Greek sculptures. This fascinating garden is the work of Hermann Arthur Scherrer who since the 1930s dreamt of recreating a magical place inspired by his travels. Between palm trees and bamboo, eucalyptuses and lemon trees, cedars and oleanders, the visitor can admire many floral and scented species of plants."

Probably much better in spring time than in September...yes, there is an entrance on Via Privata…read moreFratelli Gabba (near the Bulgari hotel), at the end of the street, on the far right (hidden from view unless you're facing the entrance). It's not necessary to go through the Brera museum. Guess this means I will need to return to Milan for a third time, eventually...someday!

Came here at the recommendation of a friend living in Zurich. Such a wonderful experience. The…read moresmall island is a short boat ride from Locarno (also a short boat ride from Ascona). Entrance fee was small (about 8CHF). But wow, what a view! And the flowers! Heavenly. The smell of Jasmine was everywhere. Loved the flowers from around the globe, the Roman "bath" and the Bamboo garden. Very easy to spend an entire day here. A must visit, especially if you like nature, flowers, spectacular views, and the outdoors.

Amazing museum! A must go for people visiting the area! It's about the history of that area since…read morethe prehistoric time with a perfectly preserved mummy! They have original prehistoric , romans and later artifacts. It holds also temporary exhibit when we visit there was an interesting and interactive exhibit about the unification of Italy. Unfortunately we didn't have time to complete the whole tour there was another area where you could admire more more of the beautiful architecture of the palace but we will back!! The surrounding it's also gorgeous in this magnificent park that overlook the city. I also recommend to take a look at this park/gardens called giardini estensi that includes also the main palace that now it holds the city hall.