Lake Maggiore
The Borromean Gulf forms Lake Maggiore's most beautiful corner, sheltering the Borromean Islands and their spectacular, privately owned palaces. Closest…
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Lake Maggiore & Around
Italy's second-largest lake, Maggiore is one of Europe's more graceful corners. Arrayed around the lakeshore are a series of pretty towns (Stresa, Verbania, Cannobio and, on the Swiss side of the border, Locarno) and these serve as gateways to gorgeous Maggiore islands. Behind the towns, wooded hillsides rise, strewn with decadent villas, lush botanical gardens and even the occasional castle. Further still from the lakeshore, but not as far as you might think, the snow-capped peaks of Switzerland provide the perfect backdrop and idyllic vantage points over the lake are many, from the breakfast terrace of your lakeside hotel to the eyries reached by cable car from Locarno, Laveno and Stresa. And fabulous detours await, whether into the high valleys from the northern end of the lake or to Orta San Giulio to the southwest, one of the region's most beguiling villages.
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Must-see attractions
Lake Maggiore
In the unassuming town of Casalzuigno, about 9km east of Laveno, generations of nobles have swanned about the magnificent gardens of Villa della Porta…
Parco Archeologico di Castelseprio
Lake Maggiore & Around
Spread out in peaceful woods about 1.5km outside the village of Castelseprio, around 20km south of Varese, is the ancient archaeological site of Sibrium,…
Lake Maggiore West Bank
Presiding over 10 tiers of spectacular terraced gardens roamed by peacocks, this baroque palace is arguably Lake Maggiore's finest building. Wandering the…
Lake Maggiore
One of northern Italy's most spectacularly sited monasteries, Santa Caterina del Sasso clings to the high rocky face of Lago Maggiore's southeast shore…
Orta San Giulio
Anchored barely 500m in front of Piazza Mario Motta is Isola San Giulio. The island is dominated by the 12th-century Basilica di San Giulio, full of…
Lake Maggiore
A highlight of Laveno is the Funivia, which whisks passengers up to a panoramic spot 949m above sea level, in the shadow of the Sasso del Ferro peak …
Lake Maggiore & Around
Up on Santa Maria del Monte, this beautiful villa and its surrounding gardens house a small but dazzling repository of artworks, with paintings,…
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