Visit to Cernobbio and Piazza Risorgimento… Creatures of habit! Either we have become that way or we have always been that way. Who knows? A weekend in Lake Como always starts with a visit to Como. And there too we follow our manual: park the car in Autosilo Valduce and then drive through Via Vittorio Emanuelle II past the Duomo straight to Piazza Cavour. And what do we do then? You can guess it of course, shops for the misses and the shopping bags for the gents… But when 39 shops later tap the colorful glasses of Aperol Spritz together in saluti, the gent is just super happy to be here with his miss!
We enjoy the warm autumn sun under the steel blue sky. Musicians bring their moody repertoire. Street performers amaze passers-by. Sylvester and Tweety entertain children. Waiters pamper customers on crowded terraces.
Isn’t it wonderful that cozy, refined atmosphere in combination with the Italian down-to-earthness typical of Lombardy? This morning gets ten out of ten in our opinion! The bar is immediately set high.
From Como we drive to Cernobbio, a few kilometers further north of Como. Cernobbio is inextricably linked to Villa d’Este. You can write a book about the history of this villa.
Villa d’Este was built in the sixteenth century as a summer residence for the cardinal of Como. Over the centuries, the beautiful Renaissance building was restored and further embellished with each change of ownership. Today Villa d’Este is an exclusive hotel and they charge exuberant prices to spend the night there.
Every year in May, the most beautiful and exclusive vintage and classic cars gather at Villa d’Este for the Concorso d’Eleganza. The competition has been organized since 1929. The car-loving bunch awards the most elegant car and auctions the most expensive cars. A very exclusive event where ordinary mortals have no business… Although, you can buy tickets for the public event.
It is not possible to visit Villa d’Este, or at least the beautiful gardens. “Only for our guests, Sir,” the friendly guard laughs from behind his entrance gate. We don’t insist… Claiming that we are registering our car for next year’s Concorso d’Eleganza makes no sense because another one drives a Duster… Unmasked by our Dacia rental car!
We are enjoying the autumn sun... It feels like summer... This has to be the most beautiful weekend of this year!
We walk to la Piazza Risorgimento. From the tip of the square you have a beautiful view of Lake Como. The ferry boats arrive on the left and Lido di Cernobbio is on the right. There are benches here and there under the beautiful rows of trees.
The leaves turn yellow-brown and red, riva di Cernobbio at its best! A charming square, where you can rent a boat or sit on the terrace of the numerous bars and restaurants, but where today mainly locals and day trippers enjoy the autumn sun and the peace and quiet. We enjoy ourselves with two glasses of prosecco on the terrace of Bar Onda.
Via the small harbor we dive along the small streets into Cernobbio. We walk past the shop windows of the shops in the central one-way street. Cernobbio is described here and there as a renowned holiday resort. Of course you have the villas and some beautiful grandesque hotels, but a renowned holiday resort sounds too haughty for the pleasant and cozy atmosphere that we experience today…
We conclude our visit to Cernobbio with a short walk through the Giardino della Valle di Cernobbio. A landscaped garden with some fantasy wood sculptures.
Cernobbio we love you!
