Travel in Lombardy without a car:
One day trip to the Isole Borromee

One day trip to the Isole Borromee

From Milano you don't need a car to take this day trip to one of the most beautiful corner of the Italian Lakes: the Isole Borromee on the Lake Maggiore, you just hop on a train of the "LeNord" private train company, and in a short time you are in a magic place of lakes, gardens and palaces.

This is specially recommended in spring or autumn, when often you can leave the fog and cold of Milan to reach sun-shining lakefront wiews in the mild climate of the Lake Maggiore.

Stresa Isole Borromee Lake Maggiore The "LeNord" trains depart right in the center of Milan, at the Cadorna station, the ones you are interested in, the "diretti" (direct) to Laveno stop also at the Bovisa-Politecnico station in Milan, and in the small town of Saronno before reaching Varese, and then Laveno, a nice little town on the Lombard side of Lake Maggiore. The recommended trains you can use for this trip depart from Cadorna at 7:50 and 8:50 AM (7:58 and 8:58 at Bovisa, 8:13 and 9:13 at Saronno and 8:46 and 9:46 from Varese). Check the LeNord site for up-to-date scheduling information or if you want to leave at different times.

Once in Laveno you walk few steps from the train station to the ferry landing station, and in a few minutes you board the ferry to Intra, where you find a boat that takes you to the Isole Borromee.

For your trip back you can do the same itinerary backwards leaving Isola Bella at 4:05 PM or 5:10, and arriving in Milano at the Cadorna station at 7:25 or 8:11 PM. In alternative, from the islands you take one of the many boats to Stresa, a lively town you can visit in a few hours, and then a "Trenitalia" (state railroads) train to Milan. (see the Trenitalia.it site for train schedules). Trains run from Stresa until 8:13 PM. Since they run on the Piedmont side of Lake Maggiore, on a very different route than the "LeNord" route, you will arrive at a different station in Milan, either the Porta Garibaldi or Stazione Centrale, and you will not stop in either Varese, Saronno or Milano Bovisa.

You can also hire a private guide for all the trip, call Myriam Gulla at 0331-958121 or mobile phone 347-7856903 to make arrangements.

Isola Madre

Is the largest of the Borromeo islands and the most characteristic one, with its atmosphere of the silence, meditation and enchantment: a garden of exotic plants and flowers where white peacocks, parrots and pheasants, flying in total freedom, give the charm of a tropical island. Isola Madre is particularly famous for its flourishing azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias.

It is the furthest from Stresa, but it is still easily reachable by boat. In 1978 the 16th century palace was opened o the public.

Isola Madre Lake Maggiore Isola Madre
© Azienda di Promozione Turistica Lago Maggiore

The visit is interesting for the reconstruction of the antique interior decoration and for the liveries, dolls and ceramics collections.

Exceptional exposition of “Puppet Theaters” from the 18th and 19th Centuries.

Isola dei Pescatori

Fishermen’s Island, also easily reachable by boat from Stresa, owes its name to the activity of its inhabitants.

The fascination of this island lies in the archaic simplicity and the rustic candor of its houses and narrow street.

Isola dei Pescatori Lake Maggiore Good restaurants offer the opportunity of tasting the best fish from the lake.

Shops are available on the island.

Isola Bella

In this island just across from Stresa, in 1670 Count Vitaliano Borromeo started construction of the monumental baroque palace, and began to landscape the majestic scenery of the gardens for which the Island, easily reachable by boat from Stresa, became so famous, and which today still bear witness of the splendors of that bygone age.

The stately Borromeo residence contains priceless masterpieces: tapestries, furniture, and paintings by great masters.

The gardens bloom with every variety of trees and rare flowers which, in their succession of ornate terraces, provide a classic, inimitable example of the celebrated “Italian garden” of that period.

Stresa

To the tourist, who for the first time arrives in Stresa, a breathless sight is offered. At the beginning a superb window of the lake front, delineated with lines of palm trees, with flourishing gardens and facades of majestic hotels. Then, turning to look at the lake, enchanted, as if emerged from the same waters the spectacular Borromean Islands (Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori). It is enough the splendor of these visions to make one understand how Stresa has been able to become one of the maximum meetings of international tourism. Stresa, already at the middle half of the 19th century was the most elegant place to stay, the most visited by the international upper middle class.

The waters of Lake Maggiore wash up on the banks of Piedmont and Lombardia in Italy. A wealth of natural beauty awaits you: mellowed lakeside villas, dozens of lush gardens, sparkling waters, and panoramic views. A veil of mist seems to hover at times, especially in early spring and late autumn.

Stresa has skyrocketed from a simple village to a first-class international resort. Its vantage location on the lake is almost unparalleled, and its accommodations level is superior to that of other Maggiore resorts in Italy. The scene of sporting activities and an international Festival of Musical Weeks (beginning in July), it start into action in April, stays hopping all summer, and then quiets down at the end of October.