There's more to Como than ritzy villas and celebrities. Head off the beaten path and you'll find a lake for all budgets and all seasons. Lake Como – Liberty Style villas and gardens, pastel-coloured villages and mountains that plunge down into the lake. Pliny the Younger, Bryon, Stendhal, Goethe, Mark Twain, Gianni Versace and George Clooney all loved or love it. Yet it’s not just a playground for the wealthy and famous. Get off the usual tourist trail and there are pleasant surprises galore.

And don’t stick to just visiting in summer: granted, a lot of places close during winter, but you can always ring in advance or take a picnic for a day trip. The mood of the lake changes according to the season. Autumn seems more melancholy, spring shows more promise, and nothing beats the beauty of snow-topped mountains against clear blue skies in winter.