Golf in Lombardy: Courses, Wine & Spa

Golf: a historic bench, and Milan’s dense belt

Golf Villa D’Este above Lake Como is ranked No.4 in Italy, a 1926 classic and Italian Open host, and Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club, founded in 1907, is among the country’s oldest clubs. Golf Club Bergamo “L’Albenza” near Franciacorta, opened in 1961, is the course of the Molinari brothers’ youth. Golf Club Milano, inside the royal park of Monza since 1928, has hosted the Italian Open many times over, with Golf Monza a short drive away in the same park. Lake Como has by far the deepest bench, more than twenty courses within range, among them Golf Club Carimate and Golf Club Monticello, and Milan & Monza lists a similar number from the other side of the same metropolitan belt: the density is about Milan’s golfing population, not a lakeside or city specialty.

Franciacorta’s wine, and not much else

Lombardy’s wine identity belongs almost entirely to Franciacorta. Guido Berlucchi in Borgonato makes Palazzo Lana; Ca’ del Bosco in Erbusco makes Annamaria Clementi; Bellavista, also in Erbusco, makes the Vittorio Moretti riserva; Contadi Castaldi in nearby Adro rounds out the corridor. Lake Como has no cellar of its own worth building a day around, only the small, visitable Runch, its nearest real wine country lies toward the Valtellina, further north. Milan & Monza is much the same: the city and the golf are the reasons to base here, not the wine.

No iconic thermal water in this region

None of Lombardy’s three areas has an iconic thermal entry in this guide. What exists, a scatter of day spas around Franciacorta, Lake Como and Milan, is wellness rather than natural spring water. If the thermal leg of the trip matters, it is a short drive into Veneto, Lake Garda’s Sirmione peninsula is 72km from Franciacorta, rather than something to expect locally.

When to go, and which base

September ranks first in both Franciacorta and Lake Como, April in Milan & Monza. Arrival is easy from any base: Franciacorta sits 12km from Bergamo airport, Lake Como 36km from Malpensa, and Milan & Monza just 19km from Linate. Choose Franciacorta & Bergamo for the sparkling wine and a base within reach of both Milan and Lake Garda, Lake Como for the historic courses and the scenery, and Milan & Monza if the city itself, and its two airports, matter more than the wine or the water.