There is a particular kind of arrival that Como rewards. Not the airport transfer, though those are well managed. But the drive from the mountains – from the cool, rarefied air of the Engadin valley, through the alpine passes, and down towards the warmth and colour of the Italian lakes.
The drive from St Moritz takes approximately two and a half hours, a distance that covers one of the most dramatic landscape transitions in Europe. From the high-altitude clarity of the Engadin, you descend through the Maloja Pass. The road unfolds in long, unhurried curves, dropping through pine forest and granite rock before the valley opens out towards Chiavenna. From there, the air changes – warmer, more fragrant, carrying the first suggestion of the lake. And then: Como.
It is a journey that has been made by writers, collectors, and European society for centuries. The experience of arriving by road rather than by flight gives you something that no transfer can replicate: a sense of the geography, of the distance travelled, and of the moment the landscape shifts from alpine to Italian.
Lake Como has long held a particular appeal for those based in Switzerland, Germany, and the broader northern European financial world. The combination of proximity, Italian warmth, cultural richness, and physical beauty creates something that no Alpine resort can replicate.
Many clients see Como not as a replacement for their mountain base, but as the perfect complement. Where St Moritz offers altitude, cold air, and the social rhythms of the ski season, Como offers softness, a slower pace, warmer light, and a landscape that seems designed for reflection rather than performance. The two places suit different moods, and those who love one tend, in our experience, to understand the other.
For families in particular, the lake offers something that the mountains cannot always provide: a home that works across all four seasons. The spring and autumn months on Como are exceptional – mild, uncrowded, and genuinely beautiful in ways that the height of summer, with its tourist traffic, sometimes obscures.
May is by some distance the finest time to make the St Moritz to Como journey. The mountain passes are clear of snow and at their most dramatic. The lake is alive with blossom and light, the gardens of Villa Carlotta, the wisteria on the older villas, and the camellias still holding on from April. Everything is in full colour before the summer crowds arrive.
And this year, the Concorso d’Eleganza, held on 15–17 May at Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, makes the drive not just beautiful, but purposeful. For many of our clients, the Concorso provides the occasion around which a broader visit is built: property viewings in the morning, the concours gardens in the afternoon, dinner on a terrace somewhere above the lake in the evening.
It is, in short, a very good reason to make the journey. And for those considering a property on the lake, it is also a useful reminder of the kind of life that ownership makes possible.
Cernobbio, where Villa d’Este sits, is one of the quieter and more refined villages on the western shore. It has a scale and character that suits those who prefer atmosphere over activity, good restaurants, a small harbour, and a sense that time moves at its own pace. From here, the central lake towns of Bellagio, Varenna, and Menaggio are all within easy reach by road or ferry.
For clients viewing property with Ultissimo around the Concorso weekend, we typically recommend spending at least two full days on the lake. This allows time to absorb the atmosphere of different villages, to see properties in varying light conditions, and to begin forming a sense of where on the lake feels most like home.
Planning a May visit to Lake Como? Contact Ultissimo to combine the Concorso experience with a curated property journey.
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