When you are after a literal example of “living the dream”, being handed a glass of perfectly chilled prosecco while on board a 1961 Riva timber speedboat that’s skimming across Lake Como on a cloudless day is hard to beat. So breathtaking is the combination of the boat’s streamlined retro beauty, the water’s otherworldly glimmering, the magnificent Swiss Alp backdrop and the passing parade of glorious villas and picturesque, hill-hugging towns that it’s hard not to believe you’ve fallen down some kind of Alice-like rabbit hole and landed in an actual dream.
Lake Como is one of those exceedingly rare places that not only lives up to its considerable hype but is also capable of surpassing it. The beautiful northern Italian lake has a long-time reputation as a playground for the glamorous, the artistic and the powerful – a rollcall of Italian aristocracy, Napoleon Bonaparte, the great opera composer Vincenzo Bellini and, in more recent developments, celebrities like international lawyer Amal Clooney and her movie star husband George. All that inherent hype may have you girding yourself for a bit of lily gilding and faded glory.
Instead, and particularly after last year’s opening of Lake Como’s newest hotel, Passalacqua, a lovingly, meticulously restored 18th-century villa sitting above seven acres of terraced gardens that run down towards the lake’s shore, you quickly understand the glory is anything but faded.
Bought and re-invented by the De Santis family, owners of Grand Hotel Tremezzo, the operatic shorefront resort hotel 20 minutes further north that’s an obvious design inspiration for film director Wes Anderson, Passalacqua is a hotel that succeeds so spectacularly by not feeling like a hotel at all.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2023-Ausgabe von Gourmet Traveller.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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THE SMOKING CAMEL
Each month we explore the origins behind some of Australia's signature drinks and learn how to recreate them.
MEET THE MAKER HELEN XU
As she swings open the doors to a new restaurant and hotel at her Yarra Valley vineyard, we check in with the Helen & Joey Estate winemaker to talk science, Sichuan and the wine brand she runs with husband Joey Zeng.
Fuel to the fire
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Sri Lankan hoppers
Chef TRAVIN DE HOEDT of Sydney's Kurumba shares his family recipe for this South Asian staple.
The art of...thoughtful feasting
It was a Moroccan tagine that taught ANNA HART to relax her ethics and eat, drink and be merry like a local.
THE NEW COCKTAIL CAPITAL
Mexico City is in its golden era of cocktail culture. Once home to a small handful of recognisable names, today the capital is heaving with globally renowned drinking destinations. And it's leading the charge for North America on awards lists such as World’s 50 Best (last year, Mexico City landed four bars on the list, compared to three in New York City).
Golden age
Time travel may not be possible but JOANNA HUNKIN discovers the next best thing when she pairs the Eastern & Oriental Express with a journey through Veuve Clicquot's private cellar.
48 HOURS IN PHUKET
Beyond beaches and resorts, Thailand's biggest island is a treasure trove of culinary gems. DANI VALENT gets the inside scoop from restaurateur Merica Charungvat.
LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE
Fireplaces, slowness and country scenes. Holidaying hits differently in winter
What is curry?
Cuisine or construct? RUSHANI EPA retraces the history of the saucy, spicy dish across the Indian subcontinent and its diaspora.