Tours in Como

Start at the lake edge and then turn your back on it. Most people come to Como for the water, and they are right to, but the town behind the promenade is where you work out what kind of place this is. The old centre is small enough to cross in minutes and dense enough that you will want to take an hour over it.

The Duomo is the anchor. Walk into the square and look up at the front of it, then look at the details, because the carved figures and the stonework reward slow attention. Close by, the Broletto stands beside it in its bands of coloured stone, and the streets around them open and narrow in turn. Look at doorways, corners and the faces carved into walls. Much of Como's story is told in small things that most people walk past on the way to a coffee.

That is the best reason to take a walk with a local guide. Symbols turn up on buildings and monuments all over the centre, and once someone explains what they mean you start spotting them yourself. You also begin to see how different periods of the city's past sit on top of each other, a stretch of old wall here, a grander facade there. It is a calm way to get past the postcard.

Then go to the water. Take the funicular up to Brunate if you want the view over the lake and the town together, or stay low and follow the shore past the boats. Evenings on the front are slow and sociable, and the lakeside villas are a short trip away. If there is a building or garden you want to see properly, ask a guide. Someone local can usually arrange it.