How to choose among the lakes of Northern Italy?

In the North of Italy there are certainly the mountains, the magnificent cities and cultural events, notably Turin, Milan, Bergamo, Verona and Venice, but above all the Lakes.

lakes of northern italy are fascinating because they manage in a few kilometers to combine the gentle way of life of the Mediterranean world with the harshness of mountain life, the luminosity of their blue waters with the verticality of the peaks that surround them.

Rendezvous with the Belle Epoque on Lake Maggiore

Refined holidays on the shores of Lake Como

The famous lakes of Italy! Let's name them from west to east.

Lago d'Orta (in Piedmont, this one), Lake Maggiore, Lake Varese and its smaller neighbours Monate and Comabbio, Lake Lugano (Ceresio), Como lake (with its branch of Como and that of Lecco), its small neighbors of Alserio, Pusiano, Annone and Garlate, the Lake Iseo, Lake Idro and finally the Garda lake.

That's fourteen lakes in one hundred and fifty kilometers! Lake lovers, this is your destination!

Piedmont lake with AlpAddict — Lake Orta

The lakes of Northern Italy, both similar and different

Of course, in the end we will mainly remember the largest and most famous: Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, and Lake Garda. The most curious will perhaps go and poke around Lake Lugano, but it will be more beautiful on the Swiss side, or Lake Iseo, and photo enthusiasts will go to immortalize Lake Orta.

These lakes have both common elements and very differentiating elements.

AlpAddict on Lake Maggiore — Lake Maggiore

They are all glacial lakes, and they are all surrounded by mountains, which makes for beautiful picture-postcard images, especially in winter when the palm trees on the shores contrast with the whiteness of the snow on the surrounding peaks. They all have a milder climate than the surrounding plains (because the water masses cool less quickly than the air) and this makes for magnificent Mediterranean gardens that often make up the grounds of sumptuous villas.

Lake Como with AlpAddict — Bellagio, on Lake Como

They are navigable, and one can therefore cross them from one end to the other to visit them or choose the banks according to the course of the sun.

Some are as vast as seas – this is the case of the Lake Maggiore, and Garda lake, and others are as narrow as fjords – this is the case of the Como lake. Some have islands, like the one in front of Stresa on Lake Maggiore, and others don't, some cross borders, and others don't...

You can choose to stay in a campsite, in guesthouses, in very international hotels, in old palaces on the lakeside, or in very chic establishments surrounded by admirably well-kept parks. You can eat in pizzerias or starred restaurants, eat ice cream while walking at sunset on the "lungolaghi" where modest boats and the latest models of Riva, these superb wooden motor boats, symbols of the Dolce Vita. Everyone will enjoy the beauty of the place in their own way.

Charming villages on the shores of the lakes of Northern Italy

We will not fail to stroll through villages which are jewels, either by the landscape they offer, or by the architectural and historical attractions they propose: the best known are Stresa, Bellagio et Sirmione, but there are plenty more to discover…

Italian beauties with AlpAddict — Sirmione, on Lake Garda

Man cannot fly, and seeing these lakes from above must be a fantastic experience that is offered to us when flying on a Paris-Milan route. Fortunately there are easily accessible viewpoints, almost everywhere, and high enough to have the impression of gliding above the lakes: Mottarone, Sasso del Ferro, Monte Bre, for the Lake Lugano in Switzerland, Monte San Primo, Monte Nuvolone, Monte Crocione, Monte Baldo… Place names that you will need to know and identify to have a full and unforgettable experience of visiting the Lakes of Northern Italy.