The most beautiful and refined corners of Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta

One shore of Lake Maggiore is Piedmontese, one is Lombard, the other is Swiss. Despite this division between Piedmont, Lombardy and Ticino, there is a unity around Lake Maggiore. An architectural unity, a spiritual unity and a unity in the lifestyle.

Lake Orta is entirely in Piedmont. Elongated but smaller than its larger neighbour, Lake Orta has the unique feature of having an island in its centre topped with a medieval basilica. This lake invites you to a more meditative stay. It is a romantic cocoon to discover in any season.

Let’s explore Lake Maggiore

You walk along the quays that run along the shores of Lake Maggiore, Stresa a spring morning. The sun is already bathing this shore, the trees are in bloom, the lawns still wet with dew. The blue color of the immense and almost infinite lake contrasts with the mountains that surround it with their wooded slopes. The peaks are still snow-capped, the sky is free of any clouds. Your day begins…

In northern Italy, where the waters mingle with the sky in an azure embrace, Lake Maggiore spreads its splendor, a grandiose scene where nature and history dance in harmony. Surrounded by mountains adorned with emerald hues and gardens where azaleas and rhododendrons bloom, this lake is a living poem, a painting where every detail adds to the majesty of the whole. The Borromean Islands, like pearls floating on the blue setting of the lake, offer botanical gardens of surreal beauty, palaces where art and history meet in a fascinating dialogue. Isola Bella, with its baroque palace and cascading terraces, is a fairy-tale world where statues and orange trees tell stories of dukes and princesses. Isola Madre, a floating garden where peacocks stroll among exotic trees, is a hymn to the peaceful beauty of nature.

The Belle Epoque on the shores of Lake Maggiore

Along the banks, picturesque villages such as Stresa, with its elegant villas and Belle Époque hotels, invite you to stroll and discover the harmony between man and nature. Verbania, on the bank Piedmontese , with its gardens of Villa Taranto, is a botanical Eden where thousands of plant species from all over the world meet, creating a spectacle of colors and scents that amaze the mind. Further on, the Sacro Monte di Ghiffa, a UNESCO site, offers a spiritual path punctuated by chapels dedicated to the Mystery of the Rosary, a place of meditation facing the majesty of the lake and the mountains.

The eastern bank, the bank Lombardlets you discover the sunset over the lake from the Sasso del Ferro above Laveno, and the spectacular hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso, clinging to a rocky promontory overlooking the lake.

There are fewer famous and touristic villages but sometimes the real journey is experienced on the way and not at the destination. In any case, the roads to the north lead to the Swiss shore where the towns of Locarno and Ascona, bathed in sunshine and embodying the Dolce Vita to the highest degree, await visitors curious to tour this magnificent and very large lake.

Lake Maggiore is also a crossroads of stories, where each city, each island, has its legend. From the ancient fortress of Angera, silent guardian of the waters, to the alleys of Cannobio, marked by a medieval past, the lake is an open book on centuries of life, culture, exchanges. It is a place where every view is a painting, every corner a fairy tale nook, inviting adventure, discovery, contemplation.

The mountain around Lake Maggiore.

It is on the Mottarone, above Stresa, that you have to climb to have an extraordinary view of Lake Maggiore. Whether from the summit, from which you can see many Alpine peaks covered in eternal ice, or from a bench in the Alpine botanical garden a little lower down, the view is breathtaking. It can be reached by car or bus only, while waiting for the reopening of the cable car that connected Stresa to the summit of Mottarone in 2025 or 2026.

A bench for giants has been set up in Tarego Viggiona near Verbania. The view from there is also very clear.

The sanctuary of the Trinity in Ghiffa dominates the Piedmontese shore of the lake, north of Verbania.

Angera Castle, on the Lombard side, offers another perspective and allows you to enjoy a magnificent sunset over the Alps.

Since Lake Maggiore is surrounded by mountains, any road or village located in the heights gives the visitor the opportunity to marvel at the panorama that is offered to him.

Lake Orta

Nestled between the green hills of Piedmont, Lake Orta captivates every visitor who ventures to its shores with its serenity. Less well-known than its neighbor, Lake Maggiore, it offers an intimate interlude where the charm of the villages blends with the splendor of the surrounding nature. Orta San Giulio, the pearl of its shores, invites you to stroll through its cobbled streets lined with colorful houses. At the end of its main promenade, the island of San Giulio is revealed, a jewel set on the calm waters. Accessible by boat, it is home to a Benedictine abbey imbued with mysticism, where silence reigns like a tribute to suspended time.

On the heights, the Sacro Monte d'Orta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, guides curious souls through its chapels decorated with frescoes evoking the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. The panoramas it offers over the lake are captivating and soothing. Hikers will find their happiness on the paths that wind through the hills, revealing views of striking beauty at every turn. Food lovers will be delighted by the local trattorias, where risotto with lake fish is savored with a glass of Nebbiolo.

Each season magnifies Lake Orta: in spring, wild flowers illuminate the banks; in summer, its waters invite you to swim and kayak; in autumn, the surrounding forests are ablaze with red hues; and in winter, a magical tranquility envelops the landscape. Here, authenticity reigns. Nothing overexcited, everything breathes the sweetness of life. Each moment spent at Lake Orta becomes a precious memory, an ode to simple and timeless beauty.

A train line runs along the eastern shore of the lake, where the main village of Orta San Giuilo is located, making the site accessible even on busy days.

Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta are not just travel destinations. They are the discovery of the harmony of gardens, grandiose landscapes, cities marked by the Belle Epoque. Here, nature and humanity meet in an eternal celebration of beauty, an endless dialogue between past and present, between heaven and earth, offering those who visit it an indelible memory, a moment suspended in time.

It's a leap back in time. Ready to go back in time?

Activities not to be missed around Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta

A dive into the Belle Epoque in Stresa, between parks and beautiful buildings, on the shores of the lake
The visit of Borromean Islands
There’s nothing quite like a cruise on lake maggiore at sunset
If I had to choose just one, it would be Beautiful island ! Not to be missed.
Le Mottarone and the alpine garden
the breathtaking site of Santa Caterina del Sasso, hermitage hanging on the rock overlooking the lake.
On gardens from Villa Taranto to Verbania
An excursion to the Lake Orta, with a boat trip to reach Isola San Giulio, located in the middle of the lake and topped with a basilica
A trip to Switzerland, to enjoy the southern shores ofAscona and Locarno
A cultural break at Milan

Discovery of Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta in video

The best webcams around Lake Maggiore

(click on the name of the village)

Stresa : the view towards the Borromean Islands and the north of the lake.
Verbania: from Baveno towards the South, towards Stresa and the Borromean Islands
Mottarone: at almost 1500m altitude, magnificent view of Lake Maggiore and the mountains.

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