While Italy is known for its stunning beaches and exellent city-breaks, it is also an ideal country for a lakeside holiday. In fact, there are so many stunning lakes surrounded by luxury villas, vineyards and picture-perfect towns that it can be hard to choose where to go for your next getaway. To help you decide, here are ten of the most beautiful Italian lakes for a summer holiday:

Lake Como

If you’re looking for glitz and glamour, Lake Como is for you. You might recognise it from the final scene of James Bond’s Casino Royale. George Clooney also owns a villa on the lake’s shores. Go on a boat tour to take in the breathtaking scenery - cliffs teetering from the banks of the lake, while the stunning Alps tower over the northern end. You can see the glamorous Bell Epoque villas on the water’s edge, or head to the “pearl of the lake”, the picturesque town of Bellagio. The town is known for its world-class shopping and dining and Baroque gardens.