Villas in Trasimeno Lake

Castiglione del Lago suits lake swimming and boats, Città della Pieve suits Perugino and quiet hills, and Passignano suits families. Lake Trasimeno is in western Umbria, on the border with Tuscany, with Cortona and Montepulciano within easy reach. The lake is shallow and warm but its water is cloudy, so many people still want a villa with a pool.

Where

Villas: 62
From, per week: £441
Cheapest month: July
Nearest airports: Perugia is the nearest, around 30 to 45 minutes from most of the lake, with flights from London Stansted and seasonal flights from Heathrow. Florence is about an hour and a half away and Rome Fiumicino around two hours. Flights from London take around two and a half hours.

Where to stay in Trasimeno Lake

Castiglione del Lago (west shore)

Castiglione del Lago has the largest group of our villas around the lake. The old town sits on a promontory above the water, with a castle, the Rocca del Leone, and a covered walkway into the Palazzo della Corgna. Below are a lido, a beach and the jetty for boats to Isola Maggiore. The town has a station on the Florence to Rome line. Perugia airport is around 45 minutes away.

Best for: Families who want a lakeside town with beaches and boats to the islands

Not for you if: You want clear water for swimming: the lake is shallow and the bottom muddy.

Città della Pieve and Piegaro (south of the lake)

Città della Pieve is a hill town built of red brick, and the painter Perugino was born here. His Adoration of the Magi fills a wall of the small oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi. The town also grows saffron. Piegaro, a smaller village to the east, has a glassworks museum in its old factory. Chiusi station, on the main Rome line, is about 15 minutes away, and Rome Fiumicino around an hour and three quarters.

Best for: Couples who want a brick hill town, art and good restaurants

Not for you if: You want to see the lake from the terrace, as these hills are 20 minutes south of the shore.

Magione and San Feliciano (east shore)

Magione is a working town with supermarkets, a short way from the eastern shore, and its castle once belonged to the Knights of Malta. The fishing village of San Feliciano, below it, has a small museum of lake fishing and boats to Isola Polvese, an island nature reserve with an olive grove and walking paths. Perugia is about 20 minutes away and the airport around half an hour.

Best for: Visitors who want the shortest drive to Perugia and its airport

Not for you if: You want an old walled town, as Magione itself is mostly modern.

Panicale and Paciano (south-east hills)

Panicale is a small village of concentric streets around a hilltop square, with long views over the lake. The church of San Sebastiano has a fresco by Perugino of the saint's martyrdom. Paciano, next door, is smaller again, a walled village on the slopes of Monte Pausillo with woodland walks behind it. The lake shore is about 15 minutes' drive. Perugia airport is around 45 minutes away.

Best for: Couples who want a small walled village with lake views

Not for you if: You need shops and a choice of restaurants within walking distance.

Passignano, Castel Rigone and Tuoro (north shore)

Passignano sul Trasimeno has a lakefront promenade, a lido and the busiest jetty for boats to Isola Maggiore. Castel Rigone is a hill village above it, with a Renaissance church and wide views. To the west, the farmland around Tuoro and the hamlet of Sanguineto is where Hannibal defeated the Roman army in 217 BC, and a marked trail follows the battle. Cortona is about 25 minutes away. Perugia airport is around 40 minutes away.

Best for: Families who want a lakefront promenade, boats and Cortona nearby

Not for you if: You mind train noise: the railway runs along the shore at Passignano.

When to go to Trasimeno Lake

May, June and September are the best months: warm days, green hills and a lake warm enough to swim from June. July and August are hot inland, and mosquitoes can be a nuisance by the water in the evening. The lake towns are busy at weekends in summer with day-trippers from Perugia and Rome. Boats to the islands run a reduced timetable outside summer. Winters are cold and damp around the lake and some restaurants close.