Plan Lake Maggiore the way we do: two or three nights in Stresa, the Borromean Islands by boat, the Swiss shore at Locarno, trains from Milan, where to stay.
Plan two or three nights on Lake Maggiore, based in Stresa, and give one full day to the Borromean Islands by boat. That is enough for Isola Bella, Isola Madre and the fishing village of Isola dei Pescatori, plus a second day for Villa Taranto, Lake Orta or the Swiss shore at Locarno. Lake Maggiore is Italy's second-largest lake, about 64 km (40 miles) long, with its southern four-fifths in Piedmont and Lombardy and its northern tip in Switzerland. Stresa is about an hour from Milan by train and under an hour from Malpensa airport by car, which makes it the easiest of the great Italian lakes to reach.
We design trips to Lake Maggiore every season, often in the same itinerary as Lake Como and Lugano. This guide covers how long to stay, which shore to sleep on, how the island boats work and what changes through the year.
| Size | about 64 km (40 miles) long, 212 km² |
| Countries | Italy (Piedmont, Lombardy) and Switzerland (Ticino) |
| Best base | Stresa, or Baveno and Verbania for a quieter stay |
| From Milan by train | about 1 hour to Stresa |
| From Malpensa airport | about 50 minutes by car |
| Nights we suggest | 2 to 3 |
| Islands open | March 12 to November 8 in 2026 |
| Signature day | Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori by boat |
If you are also seeing Lake Como, two nights on each lake is the balance we use most. Our Lake Como vs Lake Maggiore comparison explains how the two lakes differ.
The three Borromean Islands sit in the Gulf of Borromeo, a few minutes by boat from Stresa and Baveno. They are the reason most travelers come, and the day works best in this order.
Isola Bella is a small island turned almost entirely into a baroque palace and a garden of terraces stacked like a ship's stern. Go first, at 10 a.m. opening, before the tour groups.
Isola Madre is the largest island and the quietest: a botanical garden of exotic trees, camellias and azaleas, with peacocks walking the paths, around a smaller palace. Allow two hours.
Isola dei Pescatori, also called Isola Superiore, is a village of fishermen's houses and lanes, with no palace and no ticket. This is where we book lunch, usually lake fish on a terrace.
Opening and tickets. In 2026 the palaces and gardens of Isola Bella and Isola Madre opened from March 12 to November 8, from 10 a.m., with last admission at 5 p.m. until October 24 and 4 p.m. after that. Isola Bella cost €24 to €27 (about $28 to $31) for an adult depending on the day and the channel, and a combined ticket for both islands €36.50 to €40 (about $42 to $46). Children from 6 to 15 pay a youth rate, and visitors with a certified disability of 30 percent or more enter free.
The boats. Navigazione Laghi, the public operator, runs boats from Stresa that reach Isola Bella in about ten minutes, with frequent departures in season. In 2026 a one-way ticket from Stresa to Isola Bella cost €4 (about $4.60) and to Isola Madre €6 (about $7); a free-circulation ticket covers unlimited hops on the day. Private boat operators also wait on the Stresa waterfront. On our trips we book a private boat with a licensed guide, which lets you visit the islands in the best order without waiting at the piers.
The northern end of the lake belongs to the Swiss canton of Ticino, where the language is still Italian but the trains, prices and franc are Swiss. Locarno has an arcaded old town, the Piazza Grande and the sanctuary of Madonna del Sasso above the town. Ascona, next door, has a lakefront of pastel houses and some of the best hotels on the lake. Boats stop at the Brissago Islands, a botanical garden in the middle of the lake.
From Locarno, the Centovalli railway crosses a hundred valleys to Domodossola in Italy, 52 km in a little under two hours, on a narrow-gauge line with dozens of bridges and tunnels. From Domodossola, trains run down to Stresa, which makes a loop of lake, train and lake again.
You can sail from Stresa to Locarno on the public boats in summer, but it is a slow cruise of more than three hours with many stops. By car the trip takes a little over an hour. We usually treat the Swiss shore as a separate stay rather than a day trip from Stresa.
| Base | Why choose it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Stresa | Belle Époque grand hotels, the island boats in front, a train station | Busy promenade in July and August |
| Baveno | Calmer, lakefront hotels with gardens, boats to the islands | Fewer restaurants in the evening |
| Verbania (Pallanza) | A real town, Villa Taranto, a long promenade | Farther from the train |
| Cannobio | A small village near Switzerland | A car is useful |
| Ascona or Locarno | Ticino style, Swiss trains to the rest of Switzerland | Swiss prices |
Stresa is our default for a first visit. Ask for a lake-view room facing the islands: on Maggiore, you wake up to Isola Bella from your window. On our 7-day trip, we use the Regina Palace, a 4-star hotel on the Stresa lakefront.
From Milan. Regional trains from Milan reach Stresa in a little over an hour, and some EuroCity trains between Milan and Geneva also stop at Stresa, about an hour from Milano Centrale. By car or with a private driver, allow about an hour and a quarter from central Milan.
From Malpensa airport. Stresa is about 50 km (31 miles) away, roughly 50 minutes by road. If you land at Malpensa, Maggiore makes a gentle first stop before Milan or Como.
From Switzerland. The EuroCity trains from Geneva, Lausanne and Brig cross the Simplon tunnel to Domodossola and continue along the lake to Stresa. From Zurich, the fastest route to the Swiss shore is via the Gotthard base tunnel to Bellinzona and a regional train to Locarno, about 2 hours 10 minutes. Our guide to Lake Como to Switzerland covers the crossings on the Como side.
The island gardens are at their best from mid-April to early June, when the camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons flower, and in September and early October, when the light is soft and the crowds thin out. The 2026 summer boat timetable ran from March 29 to October 4, followed by a reduced autumn service until November 8.
July and August are hot and lively, with the most boats and the longest days. From November to mid-March the islands are closed, many hotels shut and the boats run on a winter timetable (in 2026 to 2027, from November 9 to March 20); the lake is peaceful, but we only recommend it as a stopover. Our best time to visit tool has the month-by-month detail.
Stresa's lakefront promenade is flat and the hotels along it are close to the piers, which makes it the most practical base on the lake. Boarding a public boat means a gangway that moves with the water, so we prefer private boats with a crew that helps. On Isola Bella the palace and the terraced garden involve many steps, while Isola Madre's lower paths are gentler; we check with the islands which routes suit each traveler. Entry to both is free for visitors with a certified disability of 30 percent or more.
Our Italy and Switzerland in 7 Days, from €2,999 (about $3,480) per person, spends a night in Stresa with a guided boat day on the Borromean Islands and a fish lunch on Isola dei Pescatori, then continues to Lake Orta, Lugano and Zurich. With two weeks, Switzerland to Italy by Train in 14 Days adds a private Borromean Islands day after Lake Como. For the other great lake, read our Lake Como travel guide, and see all our 7-day Italy itineraries. To continue across Italy from Milan, our guide to Italy by train compares Trenitalia and Italo.
If you would like a designer to choose the right shore, hotel and island day for your dates, tell us about your trip.
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Yes, especially if you love gardens, grand hotels and a calmer pace than Lake Como. The Borromean Islands are unique in Europe: a baroque palace with terraced gardens, a botanical island with peacocks and a fishing village, all within minutes of Stresa. It is also the easiest Italian lake to reach from Milan and Malpensa, and the natural link with Switzerland.
Two nights is our standard: one full day for the Borromean Islands and a free morning. Three nights let you add Villa Taranto, Lake Orta or the Swiss shore at Locarno without rushing. A single night works only as a stopover between Milan and Switzerland, if you reach Stresa by late morning and go straight to the islands.
Stresa, for a first visit. It has the Belle Époque hotels, the boats to the islands right in front and a train station on the Milan line. Baveno is calmer with similar island access, Verbania suits travelers who want a real town and Villa Taranto, and Ascona or Locarno work best when the rest of the trip is in Switzerland.
You can, since Stresa is about an hour by train, but a day trip leaves little time for the islands once you add the boats and the lines at Isola Bella. We recommend at least one night. Staying in Stresa lets you reach Isola Bella at opening time and enjoy the lake in the evening, when the day visitors have gone.
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