Lonely Planet - The Italian Lakes Travel Guide

Though Italian design is distributed globally, seeing it in its home context offers a fresh appreciation. From Comos silk weavers to Brianza's furniture makers and the violin artisans of Cremona, this region has an outstanding craft heritage. Today Milan is home to all the major design showrooms and an endless round of trade fairs. But its not just insiders who have all the fun. Northern Italian design houses have branched out into spas, bars, galleries and restaurants. So why not join them for a touch of la vita moda (the stylish life).

The Lake Lifestyle

Home to many of Italys foremost musical talents, writers and artists, Milan and Verona are on the tour circuit of the best international music acts, dance troupes, opera and theatre. In summer, film, music and art festivals abound in city theatres, lakeside gardens and historic villas, while at weekends, urbanites escape to the mountains and lakes for morning markets, sailing, hiking and long afternoon lunches. The key to it all is an unswerving dedication to lifes fine print.

Terrace dining in Varenna, overlooking Lake Como | PHOTOINNOVATION / SHUTTERSTOCK

By Paula Hardy, Writer

From cutting-edge textiles to high-tech olive presses and a sidewalk scene that makes Fashion Week seem entirely redundant, Milan and the lakes are both thrilling and fun. Everyone here is fizzing with ideas, ambition and energy, and its catching. Unlike nonnas Italy further south, Lombards, like New Yorkers, are refreshing modernists and natural entrepreneurs. A surprising number of people here care deeply about marrying the regions craft heritage with modern, sustainable technology. As such, theyre pioneering an exciting and beautiful vision of the future that inspires me.