Rent a car at Milan’s Malpensa Airport, which is conveniently located between the city and the nearest lakes. Drive about an hour northwest to the Villa Crespi, close to diminutive Lake Orta, within walking distance of the pretty town of Orta San Giulio. Check into your room in this neo-Moorish pleasure palace and stroll into town, having a snack on its lakefront piazza and/or taking a boat to the architecturally harmonious Isola San Giulio.

The Villa Crespi has a Michelin two-star restaurant, but because this is your first evening after the transatlantic flight, dine in town instead, perhaps on the roof terrace of AM Bistrot.

Drive about half an hour to Stresa on Lake Maggiore and make an excursion to the Borromean Islands. Start with a visit to the palace and gardens of Isola Madre, have a delicious lake-view lunch at Il Verbano on Isola dei Pescatori, and finish with a tour of the imposing palace and formal gardens of Isola Bella. Your concierge or travel advisor can arrange a private water taxi to take you from one to the other.

Return to the Villa Crespi. Tonight, don’t miss the chance to indulge in its superb gourmet restaurant.

Check out of the Villa Crespi and drive about two and a half hours to Lake Garda. Check into either the Grand Hotel Fasano in Gardone Riviera or the Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli, a bit farther north in Gargnano. Both have sensational lake views and excellent restaurants. The Grand Hotel Fasano is within walking distance of town and closer to most attractions, whereas the Villa Feltrinelli is in a more removed location. It’s also more opulent, exclusive and expensive.

Take the rest of the day to relax and enjoy your resort.

Spend two full days exploring Lake Garda and its surroundings. Either resort can arrange for private boats for tours, including a circumnavigation of Isola del Garda, crowned by a Venetian Gothic-style villa. I also recommend a visit to the André Heller botanical gardens in Gardone Riviera, which are studded with contemporary sculptures.

It’s also easy to make excursions to the beautiful city of Verona and/or to the world-class wine regions of Lugana and Valpolicella. Ottella, in the former, and Tedeschi, in the latter, are wineries well worth visiting.

If you haven’t yet visited Ottella, perhaps make a slight detour to do a tour and tasting today. Alternatively, or in addition, visit the untouristy city of Brescia, with its lovely main square and impressive Santa Giulia Museum complex (don’t miss the Greco-Roman bronze “Winged Victory” statue).

Continue east to another top wine region, Franciacorta, which makes traditional-method sparkling wines that rival Champagne. Our longtime recommendation here is L’Albereta, a hilltop estate surrounded by gardens and vineyards a short drive from Lake Iseo. Dine tonight on the terrace of its main restaurant, overlooking the distant lake and surrounding mountains.

Take two more days to enjoy L’Albereta and Franciacorta. Visit a winery or two: Ca’ del Bosco offers a fascinating and art-filled tour, and your hotel has its own top-notch winery, Bellavista.

Also allow time to tour Lake Iseo. Book a private boat or take the public ferry to one of Europe’s largest lake islands, the car-free Monte Isola, where pretty villages fringe a mountainous center. Lake Iseo may be small, but it is extremely scenic.

L’Albereta also has a destination spa with an extensive array of wellness treatments.

You might stop for some sightseeing in Bergamo after breakfast, but I’d make a beeline for Lake Como in order to arrive in time for a leisurely lunch at your final hotel, Passalacqua. This converted 18th-century villa retains numerous period details while providing sumptuous contemporary comfort. It’s the newest luxury resort to open on Lake Como, and arguably the best.

Spend at least three nights at Passalacqua. Lake Como offers myriad diversions. A half or full day cruising with a private vintage motor launch is an experience I can’t recommend highly enough. The gardens of Villa Balbianello and Villa Carlotta, which flank the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, make for wonderful outings, and the ungroomed Isola Comacina, dotted with the ruins of several churches, is also fascinating. The town of Bellagio is justly popular.

But be sure to leave ample time to simply enjoy Passalacqua, relaxing beside its lake-view pool and indulging in a treatment or two in its spa. The hotel also offers various complimentary activities each day, including morning yoga classes and afternoon pizza- and gelato-making workshops.

From Passalacqua, it is less than an hour’s drive back to Milan’s Malpensa Airport, where you board your flight home.