Casa Argento

Description from the owner

This newly completed apartment is only in its first season and has everything you will need to enjoy the lake. Its enviable central location along with the high level of luxury sets it apart from all other properties. It has a terrace with fantastic 180° views and dining furniture for 4. The bathroom has quality Italian ceramics with shower, WC. Bidet and sink. The large living-room/ Kitchen has a sofa bed, TV unit with LCD TV, DVD player. Internet is available on request (must be pre booked). The charming village is only 2 minutes away with a safe pedestrian path taking you down past the bakery, fruit and veg shop and the local shop leaving... you in the Piazzo with charming cafes, restaurants, bars and Gelateria. There is a bank with international cash machine, a small harbour with marina, beach and local speed-boat hire. The local beach has a snack bar and sun loungers and parasols available for hire. Speedboat hire is also available in the village.Read more

Additional Location Information

The property is located about a 2 minutes walk away from the village centre with a very safe pedestrian path, taking you down through the heart of the village with narrow cobbled lanes and archways, past the local panifico with aromas of freshly baked bread and leaving you in the middle of the Piazza where you can get fantastic ice cream made on the premises at Zoë’s. The village has a small mini market to provide you with all the basics .There is a bank with international cash machine, a small harbour with marina, fishing tackle shop, cable-car station ,to take you into the mountains to the village of Pigra where you can have the experience of Como from the sky (cable cars run every half hour with a break from 12- 2). The village has it own pebble beach with an adjoining pizzeria where you can hire sun loungers etc. or fish to your hearts content. There is a small food market in Argegno on Monday mornings where you can get fresh meat, fish veg and locally produced cheeses. There are numerous small bars in the village and a fantastic selection of restaurants and snack bars and in the surrounding areas (La Grillia 2km up the road that the property is on , is one of our favourites with great value in a beautiful rustic Italian setting).
Café Colombo is a tiny beautiful wine bar in the corner of the square with Italian 'tapas' and snacks available all day and a great Happy Hour (Free antipasti )at night. There is a new restaurant, recently opened in the village piazzo beside the fountain, called La Piazzetta www.piazzettargegno.it which serves a wide selection of food from pizza (best in Argegno) to fine dining i.e. fresh tuna tar. The owner Christian is very nice and will try to cater for all your dining needs. Others restaurants we recommend are, Villa Belvedere, www.villabelvedere-argegno.it beside the ferry port and Crotto dei Platini www.crottodeiplatani.it (3 mins down the road towards Brienno). These are situated on the Lake with fantastic food in a magical setting. A delightful new wine bar Enotica Argegno is only recently opened with a fantastic range of good wines available very cheaply. This also serves free antipasti in the evening. Next door there is a pub called Il Covo which stays open till late and is a popular destination for the younger generations. C afé Colombo is a tiny beautiful wine bar in the corner of the square with Italian 'tapas' and snacks available all day and a great Happy Hour (Free antipasti )at night. There is a new restaurant, recently opened in the village piazzo beside the fountain, called La Piazzetta www.piazzettargegno.it which serves a wide selection of food from pizza (best in Argegno) to fine dining i.e. fresh tuna tar. The owner Christian is very nice and will try to cater for all your dining needs. Others restaurants we recommend are, Villa Belvedere, www.villabelvedere-argegno.it beside the ferry port and Crotto dei Platini www.crottodeiplatani.it (3 mins down the road towards Brienno). These are situated on the Lake with fantastic food in a magical setting. A delightful new wine bar Enotica Argegno is only recently opened with a fantastic range of good wines available very cheaply. This also serves free antipasti in the evening. Next door there is a pub called Il Covo which stays open till late and is a popular destination for the younger generations.
The village lies on the main lakeside road and therefore is on the main bus route up and down the lake .It also has a ferry port stop for passenger ferries (both slow ferry and hydrofoil) and these are a great way of seeing the lake which is at its best when viewed from the water. You can get daily rambler tickets so you can hop on and off at your leisure.
Bellagio is one town not to miss. Taxis are available from La Piazzetta restaurant in the village. Public transport is both inexpensive and reliable and runs very frequently.
Car hire is recommended as you need to explore the lake to optimize your time there although we prefer to laze on the balcony with a bottle of locally produced Prosecco and just watch the world pass by.

Within a 10 min drive north you have a huge selection of beaches, both sand (man made) and pebble all along the lakeside. Swimming there is very safe as there are no tidal currents to worry about. Recommended is a day out on the lake on a boat which can be hired from two companies on the lake: www.rentland.it/ and www.lidodilenno.com/ (Lenno Boat hire is the closest -ask for Igor and tell him we sent you) No experience is necessary as the boats are very simple to operate and there are no hazards like shallows or sandbars (Como is the deepest lake in Europe). There are plenty of places to tie up for lunch or you can simply stop the boat are jump off for a swim in the warm freshwater. There is a fantastic lakeside pool (lido) in Menaggio 15min drive with a on-duty lifeguard. There is a large supermarket in Lenno (10 min drive away, north) or a shopping centre with hypermarket in Como town (20 mins drive, south). For some retail therapy I would recommend Bellagio with current Milan fashions and some good bargains to be had in Italian designer sunglasses, handbags etc. Como is famous in the region for its silk. There is a huge outlet centre called Foxtown (info on net) just over the border in Switzerland (15 mins from Como) where the Milanese go to do serious shopping. Don't forget to bring your passport.
Italian life around the lake starts very early (the local bakery is usually sold out of most of its bread by nine thirty) and ends quite early with dinner starting at about 7and bars closing around midnight. Also everywhere is very child friendly. Getting your timing right is very important as most shops close from 12.30 until 3 and most restaurants finish serving lunch at 2 with not another bite to be got until about 5 when they fire up their pizza ovens. There is a small shop in the village where you can get most of the basics but I suggest you go to in Bennet Shopping Centre in Como Nord where there is a very large supermarket which will cater for all of your needs.
With regard to place to visit top priority is a slow ferry on the lake to anywhere!

Best places are Bellagio (a must for lunch), Menaggio, and Como lakefront (also great for shopping with a flea market on Thursday mornings and all day Saturday).

You must visit some of the villas with the most popular being Villa Carlotta this has beautiful gardens and is open to the public.

Villa Balbainello is another beautiful villa to visit. It now has a new next door neighbour – Virgin boss Richard Branson.

You may want to take the cable car to Pigra. The view from there is amazing. This operates every 30 mins until noon and resumes at 2. There is a small restaurant in Pigra. We have included some information leaflets in the 'Va Bene' folder with regard to places to visit.

Of course Switzerland is only 30 mins drive away and Lake Lugano is well worth a visit. A trip to St Moritz (1.5 hrs) will certainly be one of the highlights of your trip. I do hope this is of some help to you and don't hesitate to ask any more questions that you may have.

The most important thing is to enjoy 'La Dolce Vita' with a glass of vino on the balcony.

Location Type Lake, Village

Rental fees

Additional notes from owner

Contact by e-mail. Non refundable deposit of 20% by time of booking. Balance in cash on arrival. A fully refundable security deposit to be paid to agent on arrival. This will be returned on last day in euros.

What Past Guests Are Saying

• niamhcork
  cork

  fabulous holiday

  Left on 02/17/2011 for a stay in September 2010
  
  

  i had a fab holiday here. the accomodation is gorgeous, and clean. the check in was so easy. there was no hassle what so ever. my holiday was relaxed from start to finish. i will definitely be returning!

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