Villa Carlotta
Villa Carlotta
4.5
Architectural BuildingsGardensArt Museums
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Villa Carlotta welcomes you with its magnificent botanic garden and art masterpieces in over 70.000 square metres of gardens and museum. The beautiful villa was built at the end of XVII century by the Milanese marquis Giorgio Clerici in a natural basin between lake and mountains, facing the dolomite Grignas and the peninsula of Bellagio.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • Roger R
    Sevenoaks, United Kingdom284 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful house and gardens not to be missed
    Do not miss this place if you're in the area. The gardens are stunning and well worth taking the longest of the clearly waymarked trail and taking your time. I saw that there is a shorter trail for people with walking problems and that there is a lift to the upper level of the garden. The rooms in the house that are open to the public are well worth a look, especially for the stunning Canova statues.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written October 3, 2023
  • Helen S
    League City, Texas28 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A pearl on Lake Como
    We loved the villa, make sure you have 2-3 hours to visit. Amazing interior, authentic furniture, and many historical documents. Beautiful gardens, the walkways are color coded for distance. We were there at 10 a.m. when the doors opened (off season hours) and almost had the villa to ourselves. Helpful staff, English speaking.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 5, 2023
  • Andy5573
    Palmyra, Pennsylvania250 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Impressive Villa and Grounds.
    My wife and I enjoyed walking the grounds of this villa and viewing the interior of the villa and its contents. We found the museum/villa extremely interesting and the walk on the grounds to be equally impressive. We took a ferry from Varena where we were staying. Recommend this villa as a place to visit if you are into history and/or architecture.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 30, 2023
  • SCBlossom
    Charleston, South Carolina4,483 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The Best Villa on Lake Como
    Gorgeous gardens with very nice and helpful staff. The villa was nice with lovely artwork, beautiful views and exquisite sculptures. The gardens were magnificent! The contrast and beautifully maintained landscapes are unsurpassed. Plan on spending a long time strolling through the various types of trees, plants and gardens. Peek through the palm trees to view snow capped mountains. Amazing. Our favorite villa on Lake Como.
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written May 12, 2024
  • Beth
    12 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely experience, worth a visit
    Lovely gardens, with wonderful views of lake Como. We found it took us less than 90 mins to do the complete walk around, but if you wanted to take the full time or go back around this would be fine. Inside was less impressive than the gardens or the outside, but still nice to see. The cellar was interactive and enjoyable. Would recommend this to anyone, definitely worth the money.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 7, 2024
  • kzogger
    Chicago, Illinois924 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Gorgeous Plants, Serene Walkways
    Love this place! We arrived right when it opened and it was so nice to stroll through the grounds and the museum practically all by ourselves. The tree rhododendrons and azaleas were so colorful, the rock garden was beautifully landscaped with stunning flowers, the roses and camellias were amazing...I could go on and on. Oh, and the museum is a must-see both for the beauty of the rooms and for the works of art. Absolutely worth a visit.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 14, 2024
  • Nuha K 56
    Valparaiso, Indiana991 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice walk in garden with lake views
    Lovely stroll in the huge garden and arbetrerum. The villa itself is ok. semi empty except for statues and some painting on the walls. Not what I expect to see in a rich huge villa ( not much furniture). The garden takes most of the touring time. It is big we spend about 2 hours exploring it.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 21, 2024
  • Brown_Samantha
    Kennewick, Washington1,781 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Our favorite villa of the trip while visiting Lake Como area and beyond
    It is an easy ferry ride over from Bellagio, where we based while in Lake Como. The ferry stops right in front. We arrived just before 10 am, where a small crowd had formed. There is no need to book tickets ahead, it did not take long to get them from the ticket office. This property is very large, and less popular than Villa Balbianello. Once we got inside, the small crowd dispersed quickly. We really enjoyed the enormous gardens. You could wander for hours. Very shaded and a site map was helpful navigating the gardens. There is some elevation gain, walking up and down to see the varieties of plants and flowers. Bamboo forest with a torii gate. Giant sequoia tree grove. Palm trees. Even though it was over for rhododendron, there were plenty of colorful blooms. Especially the enormous hydrangeas. A small waterfalls with cascading creek flowing down hill. The villa itself is impressive. Right from the fountains and terraces with steps leading up to the building. It has a glorious view to Lake Como. Water features and ponds with turtles swimming in them. Even two citrus covered walk tunnels. The interior was open and had furnishing as well as many stunning sculptures on display. We used two of their bathroom facilities, both were very clean. This was such an enjoyable morning, quite a contrast to Villa Balbianello's mob scene. Bravo!
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written July 11, 2024
  • marcusssydney2018
    Sydney, Australia355 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Not a garden person but loved this place
    I love an historic house, but, sometimes the gardens leave me for dead. This place was exquisite! In spite of it being a warm day there's lots of cover in the garden. Allow 40 mins if fairly fit (sign says 75 mins for full garden). The the jewel in the crown is the villa. Beautiful painted ceilings, marbles, artworks and period furniture. Very enjoyable way to pas some time on Lake Como. Hint: take the ferry to Tremezzina or Villa Carlotta; the former is only 5 mins walk away and may save you ferry time!
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written August 30, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Juergen
Rome, Italy28 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Solo
One of the nicest villas of Lago di Como Lake of Como with a museum showing extraordinary art sculptures from Antonio Canova and one of his disciples (Amor and Psyche) and protraits of a Family called Sommariva, serving Emperor Napoleon. Nice art fountains and a very huge botanic garden with „azalee“ and bamboo and old huge trees from species from all over the world like a Chilean wine palm. A resort showing production of Olives with a lot of olive trees, the old way of producing olives people used to live from in the centuries before. Really with to visit once. All 18th century style. The time when Milanese families used to have their villas at the Lake of Como (Lago di Como).
Written August 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Curious_Traveller636
London, UK509 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
Having been very disappointed we couldn’t get in to Villa del Balbianello because of block bookings by tour groups, we were nervous. We should not have been. At 3pm on a Sat we walked in, the villa was not too busy, the house is well curated with pieces and the views over the lake stunning, and the gardens are beautiful: how they must have thrilled when they were first laid out, even more so than today. Enjoyed it and not too busy.
Written September 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JAW
39 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Family
Beautiful villa set in even more beautiful gardens. The gardens were extensive and you can stroll round for a while admiring the plants and trees here. The villa is interesting also. Tip don't arrive just before it opens as we did as we arrived when several coach trips did and it took a while to queue to enter and buy tickets. (There wasn't a proper queue area so it was a mass of people trying to move forward and as you know, not everyone is very good at waiting their turn.) Well worth a visit though if you persevere and you can easily reach by ferry as there is a stop for Villa Carlotta.
Written June 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ambassador767203
12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
We returned yesterday, on an October afternoon that still feels like summer. The villa is splendid. Its well-kept gardens are marked by 3 routes with different travel times. Each clearing is "thematic" the valley of ferns, the part dedicated to olive trees and that to bamboo. Once you have finished visiting the gardens, it seems almost unreal to be able to enter the villa and see splendid works by Canova, Thorvaldsen or Hayez. The cost of entry is 15 euros, but it is really worth it. Inside you will find a nice bar, several areas with toilets, and often, some nice exhibitions. The ferry is nearby. Allow at least 2 hours to visit the villa and gardens
Google
Written October 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jolie
Rotterdam, The Netherlands1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2024 • Couples
Very beautiful however a group of very rude influencers made it impossible to enjoy the museum inside. They claimed alot places in the garden and inside themuseun, i couldnt enjoy the beautiful art work inside because they wanted to take videos and photo's for a very long time. They swearing to other visiters, its was not a nice experience... so keep in mind you can't see the beautiful scenes my these rude @ssholes
Written May 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DeirdreSiobhan
Stuttgart, Germany652 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
One is a very well-kept, spacious park that you have to walk through (even uphill), the other is a magnificent villa with changing exhibitions, marble statues and beautifully furnished living rooms as well as an antique elevator, chandeliers, floor mosaics, colorful ceiling designs and large murals. The view from the balcony towards Bellagio is also worth it.
In the second half of September there was naturally not much left to discover in the garden, for the azaleas and rhododendrons you should stop by in spring. But we still saw the last roses, palm trees, bamboo and different colored lotus flowers in the beautiful water lily pond, the small "Valle delle Felci" even makes you think of a glimpse into the rainforest. - Toilets are located at the kiosk.
The shop in the entrance and exit area offers some nice things.
In order to avoid the constant lack of parking spaces at the lake, after the ferry crossing in Varenna we took one of the buses on the main road, which ran frequently and whose stops are right next to the "Villa Carlotta".

Google
Written October 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Not disclosed
287 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
Fabulous and interesting garden, with lakeside and hillside paths giving beautiful views of the garden and lake. Some paths are steep. You can walk for a long way beside the lake, roses were out and Sylvia's. There is a small cafe where you can order snacks and enjoy these sitting in the garden
Written June 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Andy5573
Palmyra, PA250 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
My wife and I enjoyed walking the grounds of this villa and viewing the interior of the villa and its contents. We found the museum/villa extremely interesting and the walk on the grounds to be equally impressive. We took a ferry from Varena where we were staying. Recommend this villa as a place to visit if you are into history and/or architecture.
Written October 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PixiebelRoma
Birmingham, UK69 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2019
We visited on a sunny afternoon and had a lovely time. The gardens are beautiful and well maintained. It's a lovely walk, which on a hot afternoon took a good two hours at a strolling pace. There are also nice views over the lake. We had a look inside the villa, although we couldn't access the marble room as it was being set up for a wedding reception, but we did get a look over the barrier.
If you've got a National Trust membership card, show it before you pay to get in as you get a discount (can't remember how much - 30% possibly). Even so it's not too expensive to get in.
Written February 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

saco
Romans-sur-Isere, France19 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Couples
We just finished the tour of this well-known city being popular with tourism first of all in the villa I did not find any interesting things apart from the crusts that are called painting but simply a small painting of the Raphael school that is beautiful and that is all I found as interesting painting otherwise the rest they could have made an effort at the furniture and especially the walls that are completely empty
There was a nice grand piano I wanted to play but it was closed
Villa Carlotta is known for its garden are beautiful garden and there it is true that it is worth it first we have many plants that are unknown to gigantic trees it is a good walk to do
She doesn't plan to eat well because the restaurant is bof and the cafeteria too
Automatically translated
Written July 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Villa Carlotta - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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