Great Italian Villa Gardens

Day 1 – Ciao Milano

The day you’ve been counting down to is finally here – it’s arrival day! Touch down in Italy. Lucky for you, your hotel is right next to the airport, so there’s no marathon transfer standing between you and a hot shower. Check in, rinse off the journey, and freshen up for the evening. That’s when the party really begins.

Tonight, you’ll meet your Carex crew over a three-course Italian dining extravaganza. What’ll it be? Plates of silky pasta, a roast swimming in herbs, or tiramisu so soft it barely holds its shape on the spoon? You’ll have to join to find out! Add a carafe of house red and plenty of “buon appetito!” floating around the table, and you’ll know you’re in for a treat with this trip.

Accommodation: Sheraton Malpensa (or similar)

Included: Dinner

Day 2 – Villa Porto Bozzolo and Villa Cicogna Mozzoni

It’s the first morning of the trip, and you’re off to Villa Porto Bozzolo where the 17th century is alive and kicking. The geometric Baroque-style gardens here are tiered like a green wedding cake, with gravel paths, grand staircases, and terraces that look like they climb straight up into the sky. Statues, fountains, and ornamental features complete the scene, creating an atmosphere of timeless beauty and grandeur. Lombardy doesn’t usually do this kind of formal razzmatazz (that’s more of a Roman thing), but that’s what makes this place feel like you’ve stumbled onto a misplaced secret.

Once you’ve explored every terrace, chances are you’ll be ready to have lunch. Inside the villa, there’s “La cucina di casa” if you want a sit-down meal or aperitif. Or take advantage of September’s perfect weather and picnic in the gardens. You can order a basket from the restaurant and find a spot under the trees – it’s your call.

Properly fed and recharged, it’s time for Villa Cicogna Mozzoni. This pre-1440s hunting lodge had a Renaissance makeover fit for a king in the mid-16th century, and its terraced, theatrical gardens have been gasp-worthily gorgeous ever since.Built against a hillside, the villa uses the natural terrain brilliantly. There’s this striking water staircase flanked by cypress trees that connects the different levels of the garden. It’s the kind of design that makes you stop and wonder how they pulled it off centuries ago. And lucky you, the current owner will show you around, sprinkling in a little family gossip to bring the grounds to life.

By evening, you’ll roll into the Palace Grand Hotel, your new home for the next few nights, just in time for your first four-course dinner together. Come hungry!

Accommodation: Palace Grand Hotel Varese (or similar)
Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3 – Isola Madre and Isola Bella 

Coach it to Stresa early this morning, then trade wheels for water on a private boat ride across Lake Maggiore to Isola Madre.

This one’s all about exotic plantings, ancient trees, and not to forget – white peacocks. The first plantings around the villa were designed in renaissance style,but back in the early 1800s, Prince Gilberto ripped out the formal orchards and replaced them with ornamental shrubs and trees. Then around 1850, Count Vitaliana went full-on plant collector, bringing in palms and exotics like Beschorneria yuccoides, Styrax, Bougainvillea, and Schinus mollis – plants that were practically unheard of in Europe at the time. 

Next, it’s on to Isola dei Pescatori, the sleepy little fishermen’s island, where the locals will treat you to lunch served straight from the lake,probably caught this very morning. Then, bellies full, you’ll head to the grand garden finale: Isola Bella.

It’s hard to accurately describe this place, so… imagine a Baroque palace and ten terraces of manicured gardens somehow crammed onto a rock in the lake. Count Borromeo built this for his wife Isabella in the 1600s, and, in our very impartial opinion, he nailed it.

Because the island’s shape is irregular, the terraced gardens were designed in its own wild geometric feat rather than following a traditional axis.Clipped evergreens, conifers, box hedges, Mediterranean citrus trees glowing in the sun, and peacocks strutting around like they own the place… when you’re walking through it, the design pulls you in so completely that you almost forget you’re on an island.

To round it all off, you’ll stop for dinner at one of our favorite pizza spots before rolling back to the hotel. Big day. So the only question is… bar or bed? Your call.

Accommodation: Palace Grand Hotel Varese (or similar)
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4 – Villa Melzi 

Villa Melzi, right on the shores of Lake Como (which, we’re sure, needs no introduction), was built in the early 1800s, with neoclassical gardens that are a masterclass in the ‘casual-but-curated’ look – a blend of naturalism and formal design. On your entire morning dedicated to exploring it, you’ll wander past marble statues and gazebos that feel straight out of an Italian Bridgerton, but better, thanks to the shimmering Como backdrop.

You’ll have some free time for lunch in Bellagio, which lives up to its “pearl of the lake” nickname. Grab a waterfront table, order something that sets off fireworks on your tongue, and drink in that view before moving on to Villa Medici-Giulini. 

Built in the 1600s and still as grand as in its heyday, it’s home to one of the best collections of ancient keyboard instruments in the world (harpsichords, fortepianos, spinets), surprisingly all still playable.

The gardens here have this split personality: formal Italian parterres and hedged avenues, then you suddenly find yourself in the midst of English-style plantings that are looser, softer and more colorful. Moving between the two creates this layered experience that makes the whole place feel bigger and more alive. And unlike gardens designed to look perfect in one frozen moment, this one’s meant to change beautifully with the seasons. You’re seeing it in September, which means you’re catching that sweet spot between summer’s last hurrah and autumn’s arrival.

After a wander through the Italian and English thematic gardens, settle in for an intimate dinner inside the villa, complete with live music echoing through frescoed halls. Goosebumps guaranteed!

Accommodation: Palace Grand Hotel Varese (or similar)
Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5 – Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello

Another early start for you with a visit to Villa Carlotta, the place to be at this time of year, and has been since 1745. Out at the front, the fountain-and-gate combo sets the scene, but it’s the gardens that really steal the show, full of terraced roses, climbing jasmine, tree ferns, and even the odd banana tree thanks to Como’s microclimate.

Down by the villa it’s all formal Italian geometry:clipped hedge, pergolas, and citrus tunnels. But keep walking and suddenly you’re in wooded and botanical zones covering the slopes with rhododendrons and azaleas, then stumbling into a bamboo garden with over 25 species, a rock garden where succulents are placed into stone pockets, and even a “fern valley” – basically an artificially carved gorge with a stream for dramatic effect.

Spend a while waltzing through English-style landscaped paths and imagining Duchess Carlotta herself checking on her rare plant collection a couple of centuries ago, before grabbing lunch in the garden café.

Now, it’s boat time! The only proper way to arrive at Villa del Balbianello is by water, gliding up to its cypress-framed entrance like a movie star. The whole place was designed to wow: carved out of a rocky headland with everything laid out to make sure the villa never has a bad angle.

Every path and planting is designed to frame a view. Holm oaks trimmed umbrella-style, plane trees shaped like candelabras, and climbing fig draped over the Loggia Durini, a stone archway that opens to the lake on both sides. Standing there, with the lake breeze and sunlight dancing through the leaves, feels almost surreal.

Hollywood clearly noticed, choosing to film parts of Casino Royale here. If it’s good enough for James Bond, it’s certainly good enough for us!

Accommodation: Palace Grand Hotel Varese (or similar)
Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6 – Villa Taranto 

Your morning kicks off at Villa Taranto, a garden that proves one man’s plant obsession is another man’s… national treasure? Back in the 1930s, Scottish captain Neil McEarchern started collecting rare species from all over the world, and today his creation sprawls across 180,000 square metres. His creation even made the botanical headlines in 1971, when Emmenopterys henryi, a rare tree so stubborn it can take decades to flower, finally bursted into bloom for the first time in Europe. Crowds of awestruck plant lovers were rushing here to witness it. And the excitement hasn’t really stopped since. Expect winding paths, colour explosions, and the occasional gasped ‘wait, how does that even grow here?’ as you explore these grounds.

After free time and another epic lunch in Verbania (go on, order the pasta again. We won’t judge you…), you’ll head to Giardino Lorella-Orta, a newer private garden with serious ‘wow’ power. At its heart is a 600-year-old chestnut tree lording over maples, magnolias, and rhododendrons, with Lake Orta and the snow-capped peaks of Monte Rosa in the backdrop. Pure heaven.

Round the day off with a glass or two at a local winery before heading back to the hotel for dinner. A fabulous day, if we do say so ourselves.

Accommodation: Palace Grand Hotel Varese (or similar)
Included: Breakfast, Wine Tasters and Dinner

Day 7 – Return to Milan

Bags packed? Good. But you’re not done yet. Your morning begins in another private garden at Villa Giulini, where, after noseying through the grounds to your heart’s content, you’ll enjoy lunch among the greenery. The villa belongs to the family of Villa Medici Giulini, and it’s a place that you wouldn’t normally visit or find any information about. The owner, Mr Vittorio Giulini, is happy to give us a glimpse of what lays behind their private garden gates and chat with you. 

Take one last deep breath of Lake District air before it’s time to point the compass back towards Milan.

On the way, finish with a stop at Bosco Verticale, Milan’s famous ‘vertical forest’ that was completed in 2014. These two apartment towers are swallowed by more than 900 trees and thousands of shrubs and plants! It’s part overgrown garden, part eco-art installation, and one of the coolest buildings you’ll ever see.

By evening, you’re back at the Sheraton Malpensa, where the adventure first began. Unfortunately, it’s farewell dinner time – but this isn’t Carex if we’re not going to make it a blooming brilliant send off! Expect good food, plenty of belly-laughs with your newfound friends, and maybe even a few plans for the next trip together?

Accommodation: Sheraton Malpensa (or similar)
Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 8 – Farewell Friends 

Say your goodbyes to your lovely new Carex crew, squeeze in one last Italian espresso, and then it’s time to roll. Safe travels, and until next time – arrivederci!

Included: Breakfast