Villa del Balbianello Tickets: Which One to Book
Villa del Balbianello tickets: park €15 or villa and park €25 from FAI, also on GetYourGuide from $17 and $39 with free cancellation. Checked October 2026.
For a first visit, book the villa and park entry with the guided visit: a set entry time, about 50 minutes inside with a guide, then the terraces and the loggia at your own pace. FAI, the heritage trust that owns the villa, sells it on its own site for €25 and on GetYourGuide from $39, where it can be cancelled free up to 7 days before (checked October 2026). If you only want the gardens and the view, the park-only ticket is €15 from FAI or from $17 on GetYourGuide. Either way you need to book: FAI says booking is required.
The two tickets, side by side
| Ticket | FAI’s own price | On GetYourGuide | Cancellation on GetYourGuide | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park only | €15 adult, €11 ages 6 to 18 and students, €42 family | From $17 | Free up to 24 hours before | Gardens, terraces and the Loggia Durini |
| Villa and park | €25 adult, €17 reduced, €66 family | From $39 | Free up to 7 days before | The above plus a guided tour of the interiors, about 50 minutes |
FAI prices from fondoambiente.it and GetYourGuide prices from our October 2026 check. Children up to 5 go free; FAI members pay €5 for the villa and nothing for the park.
Both listings on GetYourGuide are FAI’s own (the park ticket carries GetYourGuide’s official-ticket badge), so you are buying the same entry either way. What differs is the price and the cancellation terms, and that the GetYourGuide checkout is in English and in dollars.
Booking, closed days and hours
- Booking is required. Each ticket is for a set entry time. For the villa ticket, FAI says the guided tour can start up to an hour after your entry time; you spend the wait in the gardens. Tours run in Italian or English, in groups of up to 16.
- Closed on Mondays and Wednesdays. FAI lists the villa as open from March to January on every other day, usually 10 AM to 6 PM, with the last park entry at 5 PM and the last villa tour at 4 PM.
- Winter is thinner. In January 2027 it opens only on 2, 3, 5 and 6 January, from 10 AM to 5 PM.
If the date you want has no times left in the calendar above, try the park-only ticket, or a boat tour that books its own entry (below).
Getting there: the Lenno path or the water
The villa sits alone on the Lavedo point, south of Lenno on the western shore, with no road to the door. FAI gives two ways in on foot: a 1 km path from Lenno, uphill and partly gravel, about 25 minutes, or a 2.5 km trekking route of about 45 minutes, neither suitable for strollers or anyone with limited mobility. By water, a paid taxi boat runs from the Lido di Lenno by reservation; it is not run by FAI. Lenno itself is on the Navigazione Laghi ferry network, and the Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio guide covers the mid-lake boats that get you there.
Boat tours that include the villa
If the walk or the ferry timetable puts you off, several boat tours stop at the villa and include the visit. Pick by where you start:
Park Entry Ticket
FAI's own ticket for the gardens, terraces and loggia. You make your own way to Lenno.
See the park ticket →Villa and Park with Guided Visit
FAI's own ticket: the interiors with a guide, then the gardens. Free cancellation up to 7 days before.
Check entry times →Lake Cruise and Villa Visit
A classic boat across the mid-lake with a captain's commentary, then a guided villa tour and free time in the garden.
See the Varenna cruise →Prices, ratings and review counts from our October 2026 data check: operators change prices by season, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
From Bellagio, the shared boat tour with garden tickets (from $156) spends two hours on the water and includes the park entry, without a guide. From Milan, the Villa del Balbianello and Varenna by train package (from $121) bundles the train, the public boat to Lenno, the park ticket and Villa Monastero in Varenna, again without the villa interiors. The Lake Como day trip from Milan guide compares the guided days if you want more of the lake.
What you are seeing
Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini built the villa in the late 18th century on the site of a Franciscan convent, and the loggia that crowns the point still carries his name. Its last private owner, the explorer Guido Monzino, led Italian expeditions to Everest and the North Pole, filled the rooms with maps and expedition gear, and left the house to FAI on his death in 1988. Film crews followed the gardens: Star Wars: Episode II and Casino Royale were both shot here. The guided tour covers the house; the gardens are yours afterwards, and the view from the loggia, along both arms of the lake, is the reason most people come.
Villa del Balbianello Tickets: FAQ
Prices, booking, closed days and how to get there, from FAI's own pages (checked October 2026).
FAI, the Italian heritage trust that owns the villa, sells two tickets. The park-only ticket is €15 for adults, €11 for ages 6 to 18 and students up to 25, and €42 for a family. The villa and park ticket, which adds a guided tour of the interiors, is €25 for adults, €17 reduced and €66 for a family. Children up to 5 go free (FAI, checked October 2026). On GetYourGuide, FAI's own listings start at $17 for the park ticket and $39 for the entry with guided visit.
Book ahead: FAI says booking is required, on its official site villadelbalbianello.it, and each ticket is for a set entry time. FAI also sells the same two tickets on GetYourGuide, with free cancellation up to 7 days before for the villa entry and up to 24 hours before for the park ticket: the villa and park entry with guided visit (from $39) and the park-only ticket (from $17, October 2026).
We cannot see FAI's live availability, so check the date you want before you plan around it: the calendar on this page shows open times for the guided villa entry. If your day shows nothing, try the park-only ticket, or a boat tour that includes the visit, such as the Varenna cruise with a guided villa visit, which books its own entry.
Yes. There is no free entry for the general public; only children up to 5 enter free, and FAI members pay €5 for the villa and nothing for the park. The cheapest way in is the park-only ticket at €15 (FAI, checked October 2026). The villa itself, with Guido Monzino's rooms and expedition collection, can only be seen on the guided tour that comes with the villa and park ticket.
Yes, for the terraces and the view more than the rooms. The gardens step down a wooded point on the western shore with water on three sides, and the Loggia Durini looks both ways along the lake. The interior tour is short (about 50 minutes, FAI) and worth it if you like explorers: the last owner, Guido Monzino, led Italian expeditions to Everest and the North Pole and filled the house with them. If you only have time for one, the park-only ticket covers the part most visitors come for.
It costs a half day, because it sits on its own headland at Lenno rather than in Bellagio or Varenna. On a single day it fits best by boat: the Varenna cruise with a guided villa visit (from $146, about 2 hours 30 minutes, 4.7 from 129 reviews) or the Bellagio shared boat tour with garden tickets (from $156). Our Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio guide helps you choose the rest of the day.
Allow about two hours on site with the villa tour, and an hour and a half for the park alone. The guided tour of the interiors lasts about 50 minutes and runs in groups of up to 16, and FAI says the tour can start up to an hour after your entry time, which you spend in the gardens. Add 25 minutes each way if you walk from Lenno. The villa and park entry is the ticket to book for this plan.
FAI lists it as open from March to January, every day except Monday and Wednesday, usually from 10 AM to 6 PM, with the last park entry at 5 PM and the last villa tour at 4 PM (checked October 2026). Winter hours are shorter: in January 2027 it opens only on 2, 3, 5 and 6 January, from 10 AM to 5 PM. Check the closed days before you take the ferry to Lenno, then pick a time in the booking calendar.
From Lenno, on foot or by water. The path is 1 km, uphill and partly gravel, about 25 minutes; FAI also lists a 2.5 km trekking route of about 45 minutes, not suitable for strollers or people with limited mobility. The water taxi from the Lido di Lenno is a paid service, not run by FAI, and works by reservation. Lenno has a ferry pier on the Navigazione Laghi network, and our ferry guide covers the mid-lake boats. Boat tours such as the Varenna cruise with villa visit stop at the villa by boat, so you skip the walk.
Its setting on the Lavedo point and its film roles. Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini built it in the late 18th century, and the loggia still carries his name. Film fans know it from Star Wars: Episode II and Casino Royale, both shot in the gardens. Its last owner, the explorer Guido Monzino, left it to FAI, which has run it since 1988. The guided tour on the villa and park ticket covers the house and his expedition collection.
FAI, the Fondo Ambiente Italiano, Italy's national heritage trust. Guido Monzino left it to the trust on his death in 1988, and FAI sells the tickets, both on its own site and through its listings on GetYourGuide, such as the park entry ticket, which carries GetYourGuide's official-ticket badge.
Yes. The Villa del Balbianello and Varenna by train package (from $121, October 2026) bundles the train from Milano Centrale to Varenna, the public boat to Lenno, the park ticket and Villa Monastero, without a guide or the villa interiors. Our day trip from Milan guide compares the guided days.
Still have questions? Email us at info@lakecomo-boattour.com
Book the Villa and Park Entry
FAI's own villa and park ticket on GetYourGuide: a set entry time, the guided tour of the interiors and the gardens, free cancellation up to 7 days before (checked October 2026).
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