ITINERARIES
LAKE MAGGIORE ISLANDS TOUR
AND PLACES ON LAKE MAGGIORE
BORROMEAN ISLANDS TOUR
Isola Bella – Isola Pescatori- Isola Madre
The best way to admire these picturesque landscapes always remains a day spent exploring the Borromées Islands and picturesque locations around Lake Maggiore on a Summer Boats boat.
The Borromean Gulf Islands stand elegant and magical in front of Baveno and Stresa, in the clear blue waters of Lake Maggiore; it is a small archipelago in one of the most scenic locations on the Lake.
Please visit the official website for detailed information on visits and to purchase tickets to the Islands.
THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND
THE ISLAND OF FISHERMEN
MOTHER ISLAND
The most striking, it is occupied almost entirely by the monumental and baroque 17th-century Palazzo Borromeo built by Charles III Borromeo for his wife, Isabella D’Adda (hence the name given to the island), with its sumptuous rooms and the marvelous and well-kept Italian-style gardens formed by 10 terraces sloping down to the lake that occupy the southwestern part of the island.
The palace houses canvases by Luca Giordano, Annibale Carracci, Gianbattista Tiepolo, Francesco Zuccarelli and Pieter Mulier. There is no shortage of surprises: artificial tufa caves accessed by a helicoidal staircase.
The first to host a human settlement. It is home to an ancient and picturesque fishing village with characteristic multi-story houses with long balconies for drying fish; in the narrow, winding alleys is the life of the island’s 50 or so inhabitants who make their living from fishing and tourism.
The largest of the three islands, with its enchanted atmosphere is home to a rich botanical garden with rare plants and exotic flowers where white peacocks, parrots and pheasants live freely. Within its gardens it boasts Europe’s largest specimen of Cashmere Cypress more than 200 years old, as well as countless azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, ancient wisteria, ibicus, Ginkgo biloba.
It is possible to visit the 16th-century Borromeo Palace, rich in collections of liveries, dolls and porcelain. In the complex one can admire splendid interiors enriched by exciting gardens giving an impact of great refinement appreciated by the most demanding tourists.
EXCLUSIVE TOURS
Isola Bella – Isola Pescatori- Isola Madre
Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso
Locarno and Ascona
Cannero and Cannobio
Pallanza
Arona
Angera, Laveno and Luino
Stresa, Belgirate, Meina
Intra
It stands on a narrow ledge overhanging the lake and can be reached via a long flight of steps, after taking a side road. Reaching the hermitage via the lake, however, glimpsing from a distance the arcades of the portico among the whiteness of the limestone rock to which the monastery clings, is decidedly more impressive.
The villages of Switzerland bordering Lake Maggiore can be reached in a short time; tours, recreation and events are truly at your fingertips with Summer Boats’ boats that can avoid car traffic along the border roads.
These are the main towns that divide the capital of Verbania from the Swiss border of Lake Maggiore. A visit is recommended for their special atmosphere, weekly markets , and lakefronts during all seasons.
Sunny and elegant, Pallanza is right in front of the Borromeo Gulf. Temporary exhibitions and displays at Villa Giulia and the Museo del Paesaggio at Palazzo Viani-Dugnani enrich the cultural offerings. Equally important are Villa S. Remigio and Villa Taranto whose botanical gardens are among the best known and most visited in Europe.
The province of Novara presents itself on Lake Maggiore with Arona home to the famous Colossus of St. Charles, a 23.40-meter-high work depicting Cardinal St. Charles Borromeo; from this it is possible to enjoy the breathtaking panorama of Lake Maggiore.
The province of Varese faces all along the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, particularly with the Rocca di Angera, which is one of the most important medieval testimonies still well preserved where inside is housed the Museum of Dolls and Toys, unique in all of Italy of its kind and among the most important in all of Europe. And then Laveno facing the village of Intra of Verbania and further north, Luino, near the Swiss border.
Facing the Borromean Gulf, home to international congresses at lush hotel complexes, the Stresa Music Weeks and Lake Maggiore, Stresa is also an ideal starting point toward Mottarone for summer hiking or winter skiing activities and the Alpine Botanical Garden. Next are all the towns leading to lower Lake Maggiore in the direction of Arona each characterized by unique atmospheres full of charm.
It is the soul of the provincial capital, with its alleyways full of stores for shopping, the Basilica of San Vittore and the old wrought-iron pier with Art Nouveau and neoclassical references.
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