Escape Routes: Lake Como, Italy

‘The best game to play on an afternoon in Como is to hire a boat and follow the shores, bingeing on villas,’ writes author and BBC Radio 4 presenter Quirke as she takes readers on an evocative journey along what Virgil called ‘the greatest lake’. Here, the 30 towns and hamlets around the upside-down-Y-shaped lake are all linked by one scenic road – but, of course, the way to truly discover the hidden secrets is from the water. ‘As the late-afternoon light flits through shades of oyster, we pass the real treasures of Como, even closer to the shore: the countless ingeniously carved grottos, the boathouses and mysterious octagonal maritime follies covered in shells.’